“Strange with a Lot of Heart”: Creating 2023’s John Lewis Christmas Ad
In February this year, the advertising gossip mill whirred to life as John Lewis’ incumbent agency for 14 years, adam&eveDDB, announced it would not be re-pitching on the British department store account. Suddenly, a competition for the iconic Christmas advert brand was on. And some of London’s best creative agencies stepped up to the plate.
After one of the most high-profile advertising pitches in history, Saatchi & Saatchi London emerged victorious. Of course, Christmas had been at the heart of what the team presented to their would-be clients. The idea needed to live up to the anticipation that people in the UK and beyond hold for the John Lewis Christmas ad, but it needed to take things in a drastically different direction too.
The result was ‘Snapper, the Perfect Tree’ – the story of a boy’s unexpected relationship with a Venus flytrap that he grew from seed, a wannabe Christmas tree named Snapper, who puts a new twist on Christmas traditions. An emotional, if frenetic and unexpected, tale, it was was directed by powerhouse directing collective Megaforce and soundtracked by the legendary tenor Andrea Bocelli who performs a song called ‘Festa’, which means ‘celebration’, and is written and produced by Le Feste Antonacci specifically for the John Lewis advert.
To get an insight into how this memorable festive treat got made, LBB’s Alex Reeves speaks to Avani Maan and Alex Kosterman, senior creatives at Saatchi & Saatchi London.
LBB> The very high-profile pitch for the John Lewis account was Saatchi’s idea for this ad. What was the idea at that stage?
Avani & Alex> The basic idea was the same – kid wants to grow a perfect Christmas tree, ends up with a giant Venus flytrap.
We wanted to tell a story that was inherently Christmassy but unlike anything we’ve seen at Christmas before. Something a bit strange with a lot of heart. The kind of Christmas ad we wanted to see. And that’s how we came up with Snapper. Like a lot of kids, we too were once very into carnivorous plants. Now, take that childlike wonder and make it massive – and you’ve got yourself a fantastic Christmas tree.
We had a character, but the story itself could shoot off in any number of directions, and we tried many. Snapper and an old lady, Snapper and a village, Snapper and a forest of trees… but we kept coming back to Snapper and the kid. And Megaforce’s treatment was truly grounded in that relationship.
LBB> How did entering into a collaborative process with John Lewis change that idea? What were the most important components of the story to get right?
Avani & Alex> These are the nation’s most beloved ads, and for a good reason. It was important to balance doing something new and unexpected with respecting the heritage of what makes a John Lewis Christmas ad, well, a John Lewis Christmas ad.
To do this, we implemented a completely new strategic approach based around the nation’s evolving festive traditions and the role John Lewis plays in their evolution. We’ve launched John Lewis’s Festive Traditions Tracker – looking at the traditions, new and old, shaping Christmas 2023 – and built the first fully integrated Christmas campaign around these insights. The advert itself is the perfect embodiment of this strategy, both narratively and tonally. It’s got a reassuring nod to all the things that we love about a John Lewis Christmas ad, but it’s also full of surprises – from the music to the present giving.
LBB> What was guiding the tone that you ended up creating?
Avani & Alex> This year, we wanted to bring some lightness and joy. We weren’t going for tear-jerkers – although we still managed to jerk some tears – we were aiming for evolution. John Lewis defined the category of Christmas ads for so long, and our ambition for this year’s campaign was to create a joyfully bold evolution of a franchise we have a lot of love for.
We knew we wanted this ad to not only tell an incredible story, but to also do what ads are inherently supposed to do – advertise. And styling was key to that. The line between showroom and beautiful home is a thin one to tread, and one that John Lewis are experts at. The clothes, the decor, everything in the home is available to buy – but you don’t feel like you’re being bashed with sales messaging. And that’s a skill in itself.
When it came to the story, we worked with John Lewis to craft what we wanted our outtake to be – they know that their adverts are scrutinised for messaging, with people reading between the lines every year, so we made sure our message for this year was clear throughout – as life changes, let your traditions grow.
LBB> When did the bonkers rock-opera idea for the song come into play?
Avani & Alex> From ‘Nessun Dorma’ to ‘The Nutcracker’, opera has long formed a part of many people’s Christmas listening here in the UK – we wanted to nod to those more nuanced traditions, and we think it’s perfect for this spot. We wanted to take people on a journey. There’s moments of anticipation, joy, sadness, and joy again. The track had to hit all of those beats, and there’s no better genre for that than rock opera. And, if you’re talking opera – Bocelli’s your man.
Plus, an incredible gift from Andrea Bocelli and Decca to create a long-form track with all the proceeds going to John Lewis’s Building Happier Futures charity.
LBB> Megaforce are incredible, but not the directing collective we'd expect to be doing the John Lewis Christmas ad. What kind of magic did they bring to it? Can you remember any specific touches or moments that validated your choice of directors?
Avani & Alex> For us, it makes total sense. Megaforce make culture-defining work, just as John Lewis has. They have an exceptional talent at seeing through a script to the heart of a story, and then using unexpected visuals to bring it to life.
They helped us turn an ad into a movie. Their idea for the opening scene was a huge unlock to the idea of ‘perfect’ being whatever you want it to be, and their vision of shooting on film and pushing on the reality of the plant were key to making a film that felt really different. Megaforce don't just make great ads, they re-set what is great for entire categories. They are the reference and who better to re-set the bar for the Christmas ad in the UK.
While filming, news of who the directors were leaked describing them as “depraved French directors”, which we all found hilarious. They guided performance so subtly and softly, getting the best from every actor – not a hint of depravity in sight.
Snapper would not exist in the same way without Megaforce. At many points, it would have been easy to go the more expected route. To give him eyes, make him cartoony, make him less giant – but they knew that the story would suffer, and so they didn’t take it. Hands on, working with ETC, they crafted every wisp of hair and bump of skin to make sure that Snapper was the exact creature we see today.
