A group of art students has made a £700 parody of John Lewis' Christmas advert to mock the retailer's £7m budget, and remind us all Christmas isn't all about flashing your cash.
The spoof ad was made by students at the School of Communication Arts, who said they "couldn't wait" to see everyone's reaction. The John Lewis advert, which was unveiled last week, cost around £1m to produce, with the company spending a further £6m on in-store advertising and TV slots.
"John Lewis' #ManOnTheMoon advert cost £7,000,000 and took seven months to create. This one took seven hours and £700," a message under the video reads. "All the props are hand-made, all the backdrops are hand-drawn, we made our own soundtrack and all the creatives were freshly developed in the immediate aftermath of watching the JL ad launch.
The video has had more than 38,000 views so far, which pales in comparison to the official advert's near-on 10m views. But, like John Lewis' version, which supposedly aims to highlight loneliness of the elderly during the festive season, the students' video also contains an important message.
The ad used dolls instead of people, and an er, interesting soundtrack
At the close of the parody advert, a piece of cardboard is dangled down containing a handwritten note which reads: "Some things need a big budget. Your Christmas isn't one of them."
The video contains a poignant message
Chloe, one of the School of Communication Arts students involved in making the ad, said: "Everyone in advertising treats the John Lewis advert like a public holiday, so to be able to do something this reactive was a fantastic challenge and one we had a lot of fun doing.
"We can't wait to see everyone's reaction and it was of course lovely to see a few grown men playing with dolls all afternoon."
The group of students worked with MyVoucherCodes to create the budget film, which was aired on Friday.
So, £700 or £7m, which advert did you prefer?