John Lewis Christmas Ad: Definitely Not The Worst Ever!

If you like Christmas, unlike Scrooge’s article of “BAH HUMBUG”s, then you’ll love John Lewis’s 2014 Christmas Advert. Monty the Penguin has taken our screens by storm and won our hearts.

The advertisement tells the story of a young boy and his penguin best friend. You don’t find out until the end that his lonely best friend was a toy all along – cue the “aww”s. The advert finishes with Monty finding happiness and love in another penguin.

Southampton University English student Becky Standish told us what she thought:

The John Lewis advert represents the beginning of Christmas spirit coming round, it’s a heart-warming story and makes me look forward to going home and celebrating with people I love!

John Lewis are famous for their sentimental, heart-wrenching Christmas adverts and this year is no different. The snowman’s scarf, the bear and the hare and now a penguin!

Monty’s tale reminds us that Christmas is about love and togetherness, and the boy’s imagination encourages us to remember the true magic of Christmas. We all had that one toy with matted fur and a strange smell; we all remember a Monty.

The advert is a welcome break from typically materialistic campaigns by other companies such as Argos or Littlewoods and focuses on the sentimental value of giving presents. Does the boy unwrap an Xbox or an iPhone 6? No. He unwraps a toy. Remind me again how this advert is focused on consumerism?

It must be accepted that campaigns like Monty the Penguin are created to boost John Lewis’s sales and the resulting line of Monty products are concrete evidence for this. However, a few minutes being reminded of the magic and happiness that Christmas brings causes no harm to our daily lives.

Grab a tissue! This ending provoked a few unashamed tears.

Yes, starting the Christmas cheer a few days after Hallowe’en is a tad enthusiastic, but who really cares? There are only six Saturdays left before Christmas so turn that frown upside down and embrace the excuse to smile, eat good food and drink too much!

Get in the festive spirit and spend time with the people you love instead of criticising campaigns that remind you of this. We need to accept that the John Lewis and Coca-Cola adverts are a recurring tradition that mark the start of Christmas!

If you still haven’t seen the advert (have you been living under a rock?), you can check it out here.

What do you think? Great advert or consumerism nonsense? Tell us in the comments below!