#BusterTheBoxer: Our thoughts on the John Lewis Christmas Advert
It’s official. Christmas has begun.
Yesterday, John Lewis released their much anticipated Christmas Advert, which on the whole seemed to put everyone in a much needed good mood. Unlike their past adverts which always caught us unawares and caused a few tears (Monty the Penguin, we’re looking at you), this £7 million campaign really got us chuckling.
On Christmas morning, Bridget runs downstairs and into the garden, only to be beaten by Buster who launches himself onto the trampoline. The slogan ‘Gifts everyone will love’ fills the screen at the end, featuring a gleeful buster bouncing in the background.
We’ve now had a chance to mull it over, and watch it again and again… so what did we think of it?
The positives
Although the prospect of bouncing badgers and frolicking foxes on a trampoline seems highly unlikely, John Lewis seem to make it look totally feasible with a sprinkle of Christmas magic. After all, we don’t really know what goes on in our gardens as we sleep!
It was still as heart-warming as the previous adverts, but just in a different way. It highlighted the excitement and magic of a family Christmas, and we’re sure most parents will be able to relate to the desperation of preparing everything on Christmas Eve. As always, the soundtrack was great, featuring Vaults’ cover of One Day I’ll Fly Away.
It definitely got us giggling too – the look of excitement on Buster’s face and the look of confusion on Bridget’s was the perfect comical contrast. A quick scroll through the #BusterTheBoxer hashtag on Twitter proves it got others laughing too.
Oh, and we LOVED the snow.
The not-so positives
Well, it wasn’t our favourite advert. Like most people, a heart-warming sob story of a snowman or a cute penguin who needs a friend seemed to go down a lot better… It didn’t quite have the same level of enchantment as previous years, but perhaps that’s a good thing, because we can now watch Christmas TV without fear of welling up!
We didn’t feel like the characterisation was quite there this year. We know it’s pretty hard to make people fall in love in two minutes, but after 10 seconds of watching Monty the Penguin in 2014, we were already wondering where we could get our own penguin.
Final thoughts
Overall, it’s still a pretty good advert. The build up to John Lewis ads have become part of the build up to the festive season, and it’s a sure fire way to get people talking about you. John Lewis said they wanted a light-hearted advert after what they described as a ‘tough year.’ It put a smile on our faces, so they definitely achieved their aim.
What did you think of the new John Lewis Christmas advert? Tweet us your thoughts! @NeoPRLtd.
