Sheff students take to Crookes Valley Park in spoof John Lewis advert ‘Swan Lewis’

Move over Monty the Penguin, Swanaldo is the new hero in town


With December nearly upon us, the inevitable wave of Christmas adverts is once again swamping our TV screens as supermarkets attempt to win the hearts of viewers.

Students from the Uni of Sheff decided to create their own mascot for the festive period, and housemates Michael Johnson, 20, and James Mooney, 21, created an Instagram page for their loveable house pet, an inflatable swan named Swanaldo. 

The page documents the light-hearted goings-on of Swanaldo, such as him enjoying bonfire night, having a few drinks with the lads and *checks notes* him trying to pull on Tinder.

But without a doubt, their funniest exploit is Swan Lewis, a Christmas advert parody.

The ad is backed by Tom Odell’s “Real Love” and shows Swanaldo’s antics throughout the year, like the pair playing video games, watching movies, and even a trip to Crookes Valley Park. 

It then reveals Swanaldo’s desire for his own lover which Michael provides in the form of Flamenco, an inflatable flamingo. Let’s just say the video becomes a little less PG afterward (we won’t spoil why so you will just have to see it for yourselves).

Swanaldo & Flamenco: The Romance We Never Knew We Needed

Speaking to The Tab, the students said the inspiration behind the video was that this year’s John Lewis advert had “something missing” and so thought they may as well “have a crack at a better one”.

With the Monty the Penguin advert for inspiration, Michael said: “We tried to do it shot for shot, or something slightly different with our little twists.

“There’s not much to do in lockdown so we thought as we’ve got an inflatable swan we may as well take him to the park for a walk and get him on the lake.”

When asked about any interactions whilst filming, the pair said they had a few stares and photos.  “We also had an old man watch us for a while which was a bit weird but when we talked to him he never even asked us about the inflatable swan!” 

James also answered the most important question of all: Will there be a sequel?

“There will be more to come before next year. Definitely a Christmas and Valentine’s day special.”

It’s safe to say that we’ll be watching the Instagram page for the next adventures of Swanaldo, which can be found here.

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