The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2011–2012
John Lewis 'The Long Wait' sells the joy of giving — 1M+ views in days, 5.2M total
John Lewis's 90-second Christmas spot flips the story around: a boy can't wait to give his parents a present — 1M online views days after TV debut.
John Lewis (John Lewis Partnership)
What it had to solve
John Lewis, a UK department store, wanted a Christmas campaign that stood out amid rivals' glitzy seasonal pushes and reminded shoppers the brand is about thoughtful gifts, not discounts.
How it works
In November 2011 John Lewis and agency Adam & Eve launched 'The Long Wait', a 90-second Christmas film that re-ran the season's story from the giver's side. A boy marks off each day until Christmas with growing impatience — viewers assume he can't wait for his presents — until Christmas morning, when he jumps out of bed, runs straight past his own gifts and hands his parents a haphazardly wrapped parcel. The strapline: 'For gifts you can't wait to give'.
The spot was directed by Dougal Wilson (who had directed John Lewis's acclaimed 'Always a Woman'), produced by Blink and set to Slow Moving Millie's cover of The Smiths' 'Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want'. In a deliberately digital-first move, it appeared on Facebook and YouTube before its TV debut in the ad break of ITV's The X Factor, as part of a £5m campaign backed by print, in-store, online and social activity.
Within days of the 15 November TV debut the film had passed one million online views, helped by US viewers, and it eventually recorded more than 5.2M YouTube views. It became the annual John Lewis Christmas ad franchise's defining moment — LBBOnline later called it the 'alpha and omega' of Christmas ads and said adam&eveDDB and Wilson 'set the template for festive flogging for the rest of the decade'.
Why it lands
- The twist made the viewer re-evaluate the whole film — emotion landed in the last seconds and made the ad feel clever as well as sentimental.
- Giving (not receiving) as the emotional hook fit John Lewis's department-store positioning naturally, so the ad built brand rather than just selling a product.
- Digital-first release before the TV slot turned YouTube and Facebook audiences into distribution, adding earned reach on top of the £5m paid plan.
- The Smiths cover created a repeatable cultural trigger — the song became inseparable from the film.
What it did
Passed 1M online views days after its 15 November TV debut, boosted by US viewers, and was later reported at 5.2M+ YouTube views. LBBOnline calls it the 'alpha and omega' of Christmas ads and credits adam&eveDDB and Dougal Wilson with setting the template for festive advertising for the rest of the decade.
What you can take
Use the brand as a vehicle for a human truth rivals aren't telling — giving outshines receiving — and seed the film where people share before the paid TV slot.
Since then
'The Long Wait' turned the John Lewis Christmas ad into a national event and a yearly franchise. Later films — 'The Journey', 'The Bear and the Hare' and 'Man on the Moon' — followed the same recipe, and by 2014 Campaign reported the hype had grown so large that John Lewis's managing director promised a more modest approach. The 2011 film itself stayed a benchmark: LBBOnline's 2019 decade retrospective still called it the 'alpha and omega' of Christmas advertising.
Sources
- John Lewis TV ad passes 1m views online
- John Lewis unveils £5m Christmas ad
- A Decade of Creativity: 2011
- John Lewis Christmas ad hype irritated customers last year, admits boss
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.
Your turn
You just read one. Describe the brief you are staring at, and see who has been given the same problem.
Free account · 3 free questions · no card