John Lewis has unveiled their emotional new Christmas advert for 2022.
Every year, the retailer’s festive campaign proves to be an important part of the lead-up to Christmas, with this year’s offering being unveiled on Thursday morning.
Titled The Beginner, the 90-second ad focusses on a man teaching himself to skateboard around the Christmas season, with not-so-great results.
As viewers are left questioning exactly why he’s so keen to perfect his skating technique, despite not exactly being a dab-hand, his motivations are revealed at the end of the advert, when a teenage girl arrives at his home – where he and his partner are to become her foster carers – with a skateboard in hand.
The John Lewis ad traditionally features a cover of a popular song, with this year’s clip being soundtracked by US artist Mike Geier’s rendition of All The Small Things by Blink-182.
John Lewis’ new ad follows the launch of its Building Happier Futures campaign, which has been described as a “long-term commitment to help young people with experience of the care system in a number of ways, including to find meaningful careers”.
In a press release, the department store said: “In a challenging year, we felt it was important to demonstrate that it’s what we do that matters most.
“We are proud to use our Christmas advert as a way to generate conversation and action around an often overlooked issue.”
John Lewis’ customer director Claire Pointon said: “We are fortunate to have a truly unique platform in our Christmas ad, which sparks a national conversation.
“At John Lewis we care deeply about families and recognise that they come in many different forms. For our biggest moment of the year, we decided to focus on one kind of family that is often overlooked.
“We are also very aware that not all care experience outcomes are as positive as Ellie’s. The home Ellie enters is filled with kindness and the foster father’s actions demonstrate that, ultimately, it’s what you do that matters most.”
Watch the advert in full above.