Quick question to all those self-important PR types (guilty as charged) who have long forecasted the demise of advertising: when's the last time a press release made your spine tingle?
Unless you've been living in a cave for the past few days, the media coverage around John Lewis' much-heralded new TV ad campaign can't have passed you by. With a reputed budget of £6m, it represents arguably the most high-profile marcomms effort to date from the darling of Middle England.
Kudos to the ad agency, Adam & Eve - it's a classy piece of work. Unreservedly sentimental, unashamedly restrained, unabashedly middle-class - bang in line with JL's brand values, in other words. Perhaps featuring on that recent (and also very good) behind-the-scenes BBC documentary helped them secure the brief?
Back to the ad itself, which follows a woman's life circle from cradle to grave - not literally, of course, as JL currently lacks a Co-op-style undertaker department - and uses a lovely cover of Billy Joel's She's Always a Woman, courtesy of Fyffe Dangerfield, he of Guillemots fame. As the camera pans, so landmarks in the woman's (very SW London) life are played out in a series of corresponding montages.
Significantly, this is a pure brand play - at no point are specific products mentioned. Important, this, as I believe it's the one remaining area of the marketing mix where TV advertising can still deliver real bang for the buck. I don't want to watch tone-deaf morons pitching cheap bank loans (sorry, Halifax), nor (God forbid) more bloody gorillas or meerkats, but have absolutely no complaint about the likes of Guinness, VW, etc.
I also like the unexpected nature of this coup. I don't think anyone ever thought of John Lewis as a cutting-edge player in content creation, so to see a venerable old brand come out with something this effective feels a bit like finding out your grandma can body-pop.
There's a link to the ad and more detailed analysis here, courtesy of The Guardian - even this most trendy-cynical of UK broadsheets can't resist a lump in its throat. Even if the comments page is filled with the customary bile - I blame middle-class guilt: -
That said, John Lewis is hardly endearing itself to working-class shoppers in these cash-strapped times. Sure Asda and Tesco won't be losing sleep - less sure about M&S. Nor is this one for the hardened feminists - at no point is it implied that this lucky lady has anything approaching a career.
Be that as it may - it remains a lovely ad. I'd like to think Adam & Eve are planning a follow-up ad about a bloke in a tower block in Dudley. Somehow I doubt it, though. Cue the viral spoofs.
Right, enough blathering - I'm off down Harvey Nicks...
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