Challenge
This Christmas, John Lewis wanted to tell the story of how one gift in particular inspired and influenced the course of a little boy's life. That little boy just happens to be Elton John. The story begins in present day and works backwards chronologically through Elton's life, right until the moment he received the special gift of his grandmother's piano.
Insight
Elton John's Christmas gift changed his life forever, because some gifts are more than just a gift. John Lewis wanted to bring this magical feeling to life through a very special ad campaign.
Idea
With the iconic 'Your Song' as the soundtrack, the idea was for the ad to first air in ITV's new drama, Dark Heart. To give a spirited nod to Elton John's beautiful piano work, the soundtracks to some of ITV's most iconic shows, including Coronation Street and This Morning, were given a little twist when they were played solely in piano notes. This allowed the Christmas campaign message to fuse beautifully with ITV's channels, delighting fans from both along the way.
The Boy & The Piano ad swiftly trended #1 on Twitter after it's on air debut, proving to be popular with both John Lewis' and ITV's delighted fans.
At ITV we aim to be ‘More than TV’ and the John Lewis Christmas advert is more than just a TV ad. Bringing this launch idea to life by changing theme music across our biggest programmes and using the Hub to showcase the campaign shows the innovation and creativity that we can deliver to brands around the biggest advertising events of the year, and is testament to the work of numerous teams across the company.Simon Daglish, Deputy Managing Director, ITV Commercial
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