For over a hundred years, John Lewis has been a purpose-led business. When times are tough, John Lewis steps up and leads from the front. They were in the early stages of a commitment to helping children from care. A group of 110,00 that face major disadvantages when leaving the care system and who faced an uncertain future. In a time when the nation needed reassurance and hope, we decided it was right to shine a light on this topic and be a brand of substance. We would shift from telling a story about a thoughtful gift to tell a story about a thoughtful gesture, of becoming a foster parent to a vulnerable foster child. Coupled with the unrivalled anticipation around our Christmas campaign gave us a unique and powerful platform to surprise the nation.
We wanted to show that giving a wrapped-up gift is a lovely thing, but there is no greater gift someone can give than their time, love and attention to someone in need. To bring this to life, we told a story about a dad learning to skateboard called 'The Beginner'.
Towards the end of the story, we realise that he is learning to skateboard as he is about to become a foster dad to a skateboard-mad girl called Ellie just before Christmas - and he wants to make her feel as welcome as possible when she arrives. It was a story that felt right for the time we were in; a story one of hope, thoughtfulness and love, and about what really matters in life. We used our film to launch our initiative 'Building happier futures' - committing to helping children from care over the next 10 years.
The Beginner became a phenomenon. Within a week, awareness of John Lewis advertising leapfrogged every other UK brand to become the most famous and talked about campaign in the UK. The campaign generated 1,004 media articles and 33,000 social media comments and mentions - six times more than any other brand in the UK. More importantly, it ignited a conversation in British culture about an important issue that had been hiding in the shadows, giving experienced community a voice and a platform. Within the creative industry, John Lewis was widely praised for 'reading the room' and delivering one of its best campaigns to date.
