John Lewis’ Christmas ad highlights loneliness of old age

British retailer John Lewis has used its highly anticipated Christmas advert to highlight the prevalence of loneliness among the elderly during the festive period.

The company has teamed up with Age UK to help what it has called “the million older people who go for a month without speaking to friend, neighbour or family member”. It has invited consumers to make a donation to the charity, which supports the elderly throughout the UK, and will itself hand over 25% of the proceeds of the sale of its special edition mug, card and other products, plus VAT.

The advertisement follows a young girl who, playing with her family’s telescope one night before Christmas, discovers an old man living an isolated life on the moon. Determined to send him a message that someone cares about him, she sets about flighting, firing and finally floating a letter and Christmas present up to him. He is then seen unwrapping a handheld telescope of his own, which enables him to see back down to earth.

The soundtrack is a cover version of Oasis’ Half the World Away, performed by Norwegian singer Aurora, while the £1m creative is the result of a collaboration with London-based agency Adam&Eve/DBB.

John Lewis will drive engagement with the campaign using the hashtag #ManOnTheMoon and will set up telescopes and moon-themed environments in select stores nationwide, including on the roof of its store on London’s Oxford Street.

John Lewis’ Christmas advert is widely considered to be the benchmark in festive advertising – although the retailer didn’t start broadcasting commercials at Christmas until 2007. A number of the company’s previous creatives, and their soundtracks, have been met with widespread acclaim.

Rich history: John Lewis’ previous adverts

2011: The advert that first made John Lewis’ Christmas advertising famous follows a young boy as he waits with much frustration for Christmas to come round, seemingly so that he can unwrap his presents.

But when the big day comes, he is seen rushing into his parents’ bedroom to give them the present he has bought for them, and closes with the line “for gifts you can’t wait to give”. The song was Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want by Slow Moving Millie.

2012: Dubbed The Journey, it shows the adventure that a snowman goes on – through winds, across rivers and over mountains – to buy a new pair of gloves, scarf and hat for his snowman wife. Song was The Power of Love performed by Gabrielle Aplin.

2013: The Bear & The Hare was the animated story of a bear who had never seen Christmas and his friend, the hare, who gifted him an alarm clock to wake him up in time for the big day. One of the most acclaimed, it featured the Keane song Somewhere Only We Know, sung by Lily Allen.

2014: Last year’s John Lewis advert, titled Monty the Penguin, stuck with an animal theme: it follows one young boy who spots that his pet penguin Monty is pining for a mate. So the boy gifts Monty a female penguin, before it is revealed that both penguins are actually stuffed toys and the story took place in the boy’s imagination. Song was Real Love by Tom Odell.