New John Lewis Ad
It continues that well observed through-the-ages thing, but jumps around a bit from era to era just to keep you on your toes. Lovely little touches, like the teacher’s smile when the kids don’t turn Elton John down.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC07KCeVITs
As another point, though, how come so many ads are ‘through the ages’ these days? Is it a good-old-days-trying-to-help-us-forget-how-fucked-the-economy/government/footie-is thing?
I for one don’t buy it: the seventies always look a bit brown, dirty and depressing, like a long distance lorry driver’s shreddies. The eighties were full of rah-rah yuppies and Grange-Hill grimness. The nineties were all Color Me Badd, laddism and the awful arrogance of the Conservatives followed by the foetid cynicism of New Labour. Then we got into the 21st century where everything looks really rather lovely (except for the phone hacking, famine, genocide, tsunamis, Clive Allen’s moaning etc.).
‘There for the latest thing’?
The Kooks. The latest thing, really? They’re a bit past it aren’t they? That song was out years ago. Hardly the latest thing. Or are they ‘cool’ to John Lewis’ target market (which I obviously don’t fall into)?
Anywayyy… I think it’s a cracking ad. So I’ll be quiet.
whats john lewis got to do with it? for the latest thing? eh? too much drinks i must have had.
on the bright side, its good to see people with different skin tones / backgrounds in one ad. the fact i noticed that must mean its not that common.
Same thing 20 years ago with The Darling Buds of May. There’s also a roaring trade in classic cars, which indicates that there’s worse to come in the next year or so.
I feel this campaign lacks a fully intergrated idea. What is in it for me? Can I seemlessly shop at John Lewis and comment about it on twitter at the same time?
Consumers these days dont watch TV. They want to immerse themselves in 360 non-conventional media that allows them to rate and comment – and invent the clothes of the future.
The teacher’s smile.
Does he smile because they don’t turn the music down?
Or does he smile because the 15 year old girl with the glasses has smiled at him and he’s smiling the smile of teacher / under-age pupil sex guilt…?
Why does it jump from the 70s to the 50s? Shouldn’t it be the other way round?
pass the kleenex (ad)
doesn’t do it for me.
disjointed.
and awkward.
and i am so, so bored of through the ages.
hey i know – let’s do through the ages.
hey i know. let’s get ringan to direct it.
not a good insight.
i’d prefer to watch a choir of fucking bankers.
“We’ve always been Never Knowingly Undersold”
No.
I don’t really see the connection between John Lewis and ‘having the latest’.
I see John Lewis has quality products , and lots of it, but not the absolute latest.
And The Kooks are shit.
Uh oh. Client-loved-the-last-set-of-ads-and-wants-the-same-but-different syndrome. I’ll give it 6 months before they shift agency. Not least cos the press ads off this are dog toffee.
Also, that payoff line is clunkier than a Dalek on a stepladder.
xx
Sorry, I may be a little dim, but I had to work REALLY hard to figure out what this ad was trying to communicate to me. A long way from their best.
Not fun at all. Boring in fact. How many more of these nostalgic pieces do we have to endure? Purrlease, pass me the mogadon.
The latest nostalgia themed ads could be attributed to Hovis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADrsqat4j1M British Airways’ incarnation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4JdQi60an0
seems to suffer by comparison to the immediacy of this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfDw6CeLmEk
for Easyjet. Sometimes not having a pedigree can be really useful, don’t you think? Meanwhile on another planet entirely http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54qzSgY7vT0
I like it. I’d go to say it’s the best thing I’ve seen from you poms in a long time x
I was a kid in the 70’s. I had a fucking brilliant time.
If i listen to it without the visuals I would think it’s a radio station tvc for those really crappy stations that plays top 40 hits since the 50’s.
If I watch it without the sound, I would think it’s a mood edit of something about nostalgia or the reel of a colourist.
With both, I don’t get it.
That’s the strangest smile I’ve ever seen.
Can we use the term ‘Golden age thinking’ next time we’re discussing the merits/demerits of some agency’s sepia toned output?