John Lewis Bets Bigger on 20th Christmas Ad as £14bn Ad Season Opens

John Lewis has raised spending on its 20th Christmas advertisement as the department store fights for shopper attention ahead of Black Friday, marketing director Rosie Hanley confirmed.

The three-minute film launches on social media on Tuesday morning across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. A 60-second version airs that evening on ITV's Coronation Street and Channel 4's The Great British Bake Off.

Who stars and what happens?

Kristin Scott Thomas, known for playing upper-crust characters in Four Weddings and a Funeral and the Apple TV show Slow Horses, plays Gloria, a grandmother hunting for gift inspiration. The tagline reads "don't give up on giving". A toy dog called Pickles, voiced by comedian Paul Whitehouse, challenges Gloria to "do better than cash" when choosing presents for her grandchildren.

Pickles drags Gloria out of the house on a last-minute shopping mission. After rejecting options in other shops, she takes a magical tuk-tuk ride to John Lewis, where she buys disco balls and fairy lights to build a "gran cave" for hanging out with her grandchildren, Freddie and Maggie.

Why spend more now?

Hanley said John Lewis had increased spend on this year's festive ad because production costs had risen and the retailer wanted to "push the boat out" for its 20th year. She said the company expected "a really strong return on our investment" as it tries to grab shoppers' attention before the Black Friday discount period later this month.

She also said the company had wanted the ad "to be more joyful" this year because "things are tough for lots of families". Despite British households worrying about higher energy bills and housing costs, spending on Christmas-related goods at John Lewis was already up on last year, Hanley said.

What does the ad sell?

The film, set to a Sam Fender version of the Rolling Stones song You Can't Always Get What You Want, places John Lewis products across price brackets on screen. Items include:

• The £12.99 Fisher-Price pull-along toy dog
• A £255 Weekend Max Mara top
• A matching £290 skirt worn by Gloria

Pickles is based on an existing Fisher-Price pull-along toy called Little Snoopy, which is celebrating its 60th year.

Why a grandmother this time?

The ad, created by Saatchi & Saatchi, returns to the cute-character formula of Monty the penguin in 2014 and Buster the boxer in 2016, after two years foregrounding other family relationships. The twist: the story centres on the relationship between Pickles and a grandmother rather than cute children.

Hanley said research inspired the concept. It found 52% of grandparents give cash as presents because they are not sure what youngsters really want. "People want to give thoughtful gifts but can often lack confidence, so resort to giving cash," she said.

What about the music and the charity tie-in?

Fender's track features the choir from the John Spence community high school, which Fender previously attended, and the Easington Colliery Band. The song will be released on vinyl later this month, with proceeds going to Action For Children.

The Christmas ad is now a national moment that invites social media comment and skits. The first big-budget John Lewis festive TV ad launched in 2007, soundtracked by Prokofiev. Previous editions used covers of the Smiths' Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What You Want, Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakey's Together in Electric Dreams, and last year the 1990s club classic Where Love Lives by Alison Limerick.

How big is the festive ad market?

John Lewis is late to a crowded field. Most big supermarkets launched their festive ads last weekend. Total UK ad spending across the festive period is set to reach £14bn, up 8.2% year-on-year, according to the annual review by the Advertising Association and research group WARC. Social media spend is driving that growth with an 18.5% year-on-year surge, while total TV spending is expected to rise 1.6%.

John Lewis will also erect a giant Christmas tree outside its Oxford Street store in London to mark the recent pedestrianisation of the road. The company said visitor numbers to the store last week were up by more than a fifth on the same week last year — an early signal the bigger bet on Christmas may already be paying off at the till.