John Lewis Sends Christmas Campaign to the Moon

John Lewis Man On The Moon 01
In what has quickly become an annual tradition, John Lewis has launched its seasonal campaign with a high-budget television ad, this year focusing on the relationship between a young girl and the Man on the Moon.

The advert launched on the retailers social media channels and YouTube earlier today, and will feature on television for the first time this evening. The launch was supported with a teaser campaign using #OnTheMoon which ran across social media and television in the week leading up to the launch.

“Our Christmas advert is once again all about going the extra mile to give someone the perfect gift,” said Craig Inglis, customer director at John Lewis. “This year though, the story is told in a uniquely creative and engaging way as we see Lily, our heroine, go to great lengths to connect with the Man on the Moon.”

As part of the campaign, John Lewis was partnered with Age UK to drive awareness and support for older people spending the holidays alone. The retailer will be supporting the charity through in-store and online activity, a text-to-donate mechanism and through sales of selected Christmas merchandise.

“We hope it inspires people to find really special gifts for their loved ones and, through our partnership with Age UK, raises awareness of the issue of loneliness amongst older people and encourages others to support in any way they can,” said Inglis.

To accompany the campaign, John Lewis has launched a Man On The Moon app that uses augmented reality that will bring images on John Lewis bags, click-to-collect boxes and posters to life, and can even be pointed towards the actual moon to unlock interactive content that will change in the countdown to Christmas.

Moon pop-ups will also be deployed in 11 John Lewis stores, providing customers with a chance to take photos against a moon backdrop and learn more about the companys partnership with Age UK.

The campaign has already proved hugely popular on social media, with the #onthemoon and #manonthemoon hashtags garnering over 16,000 mentions in the first hour of the campaign alone. Last year, the hashtag for the Monty the Penguin campaign saw almost 100,000 mentions within the first 24 hours of the campaign, while 2013s #bearandhare campaign saw less than 7,000 mentions on its first day.