The John Lewis Christmas advert has become a UK institution since 2007, with millions watching each November. Here’s a ranking of all 18 adverts and the stories behind them.
First Aired: 2007 ·
Latest Advert: 2025: Where Love Lives ·
2025 Tagline: If you can’t find the words, find the gift ·
Official Archive: johnlewis.com since 2007 ·
2025 Release Trend: 10 days earlier than 2024
Quick snapshot
- Campaign launched in 2007 after a three-year advertising gap (Wikipedia)
- 18 adverts aired from 2007 to 2025 (Radio Times)
- 2025 title: “Where Love Lives” (John Lewis Official)
- Definitive most popular advert remains contested across polls
- Exact complaint counts for controversial adverts not publicly disclosed
- Detailed production budgets for adverts after 2007 not publicly available
- 2007: First advert after three-year gap
- 2015: Man on the Moon — peak emotional storytelling
- 2025: November 4 release, 10 days earlier than 2024
- 2025 campaign carries tagline “If you can’t find the words, find the gift”
- Early release pattern signals growing competition for Christmas attention
- Official archive at johnlewis.com continues expanding
Eight years of adverts reveal clear patterns in storytelling ambition, musical choices, and cultural impact.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Campaign Start | 2007 |
| Retailer | John Lewis & Partners |
| 2025 Title | Where Love Lives |
| 2025 Tagline | If you can’t find the words, find the gift |
| Release Trend | Early November |
| Archive Site | johnlewis.com/content/gifts/every-john-lewis-christmas-advert-ever-aired |
| Total Adverts by 2025 | 18 |
| 2015 Charity Partner | Age UK |
What’s the story behind the John Lewis Christmas advert?
The John Lewis Christmas advert began in 2007 after a three-year gap in seasonal advertising. According to Wikipedia (the open encyclopedia), the inaugural campaign marked a significant shift in British retail marketing.
Origins since 2007
The 2007 “Shadows” advert cost six million pounds — John Lewis’s biggest seasonal ad spend at that point, according to Wikipedia. Directed by Michael Gracey (who later helmed “The Greatest Showman”), the advert used Prokofiev’s “Morning Serenade” from Romeo and Juliet as its soundtrack.
The concept was simple but striking: presents and products arranged to create a shadow image of a woman and a dog in the snow. John Lewis’s official archive (the retailer’s content hub) documents this as the campaign’s founding visual language.
Evolution of themes
The 2008 advert featured a cover of The Beatles’ “From Me To You,” marking the first of many musical choices that would become central to the campaign’s identity, according to Marketing Week (retail industry publication).
2009 introduced the first tear-jerker elements — children opening gifts typically given to adults, including slippers, a coffee machine, and a laptop. The agency Adam & Eve (now part of DDB Worldwide) created this campaign, their first for John Lewis. Wikipedia confirms Adam & Eve would go on to shape the campaign’s emotional trajectory.
John Lewis spent £6 million on its 2007 campaign — at the time, its biggest ever seasonal advertising investment. The bet paid off: the advert became an annual cultural event that competitors still try to match.
What is the most popular John Lewis Christmas advert?
Definitive popularity rankings remain contested, as viewer preferences shift based on emotional resonance, production quality, and cultural timing. However, certain adverts consistently surface at the top of viewer polls.
Viewer polls and rankings
Radio Times (British entertainment media outlet) ranked all 18 adverts from 2007 to 2024. Their rankings show the “Man on the Moon” advert regularly appearing at or near the top, while earlier campaigns like “Shadows” (2007) ranked lower in contemporary polls.
Iconic entries like Man on the Moon
The 2015 “Man on the Moon” advert stands as arguably the series’ peak. Featuring a girl spotting a lonely old man on the moon through a telescope and sending him a gift, the advert combined Norwegian artist Aurora’s ethereal reworking of Oasis’s “Half the World Away” with a charity partnership with Age UK.
John Lewis’s official archive (the retailer) describes it as “ranked as one of the top-ranked Christmas adverts.” The campaign also included a tie-in with charity Age UK, extending the emotional narrative beyond sales.
Radio Times ranked “Shadows” (2007) 18th out of 18 adverts and “The Feeling” (2009) 17th. Early adverts, while groundbreaking for their time, lack the animated sophistication and charity partnerships that later campaigns developed.
What date does the John Lewis Christmas advert come out?
John Lewis typically releases its Christmas advert in early November, but the exact date varies. The 2025 advert dropped on November 4 — approximately 10 days earlier than the 2024 release.
2025 release details
The 2025 campaign, titled “Where Love Lives,” carries the tagline “If you can’t find the words, find the gift.” This represents a continuation of John Lewis’s strategy of releasing earlier each year, competing for attention before the Christmas shopping season fully begins.
Historical release patterns
The 2013 “The Bear and the Hare” launched online on November 8, 2013, as documented by Marketing Week (retail industry publication). This timing — early to mid-November — has remained consistent, though the exact date has crept earlier in recent years.
The pattern reflects growing competition for Christmas attention: brands now release festive campaigns in October, making early November releases feel almost “late” by comparison.
What is the twist in the John Lewis advert?
The emotional twist has become John Lewis’s signature move — a reveal in the final moments that recontextualizes everything before it.
Hidden meanings and surprises
The 2011 “The Long Wait” advert set the template: directed by Dougal Wilson and featuring a reworking of The Smiths song, it followed a boy’s anxious wait for Christmas morning. The twist: he wanted to give a gift to his parents rather than open his own. John Lewis’s official archive (the retailer) confirms this was “the first tear-jerker in the John Lewis Christmas campaign series.”
Specific examples
The 2015 “Man on the Moon” featured a girl with a telescope — the reveal being that the lonely man she observed was an astronaut on the moon, isolated and deserving of connection. The 2012 “The Journey” showed a snowman traveling through forests and mountains to buy a gift for a snowlady, with Gabrielle Aplin singing “The Power of Love.”
The 2021 “Unexpected Guest” advert featured an alien crash-landing on Earth and befriending a young boy, released during what Radio Times (British entertainment media outlet) describes as “a challenging year for the UK.” The theme of friendship resonated with audiences coping with pandemic isolation.
The boy in the “Man on the Moon” advert has reportedly been speculated to be autistic, though John Lewis has not officially confirmed this detail. The campaign’s partner, Age UK, focused on addressing loneliness among elderly people — a cause that transcends any single diagnosis.
Every single John Lewis Christmas advert ranked
Eighteen adverts aired from 2007 to 2025, each building on the previous while developing distinct emotional signatures.
Top ranked favourites
Based on aggregated polls and critical consensus, the top performers include the 2015 “Man on the Moon” (Aurora’s cover of Oasis), the 2012 “The Journey” (Gabrielle Aplin’s “The Power of Love”), and the 2021 “Unexpected Guest” (alien theme).
From Snapper to Edgar & Moz
The 2013 “The Bear and the Hare” was the first John Lewis Christmas advert to use animation, launched online on November 8, 2013, as documented by Marketing Week (retail industry publication). The campaign featured a hare searching for the perfect gift for a friend who had never seen Christmas, ultimately giving him an alarm clock.
Recent adverts include the 2023 dragon-themed advert, 2024’s Edgar advert, and 2025’s “Where Love Lives.” The official archive at johnlewis.com/content/gifts/every-john-lewis-christmas-advert-ever-aired (John Lewis’s retail site) provides the complete listing.
The campaign timeline
Eighteen years of adverts tell a story of evolving ambition, musical sophistication, and increasingly complex emotional storytelling.
| Year | Advert Title | Key Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Shadows | First advert after three-year gap; £6 million budget; directed by Michael Gracey |
| 2008 | From Me To You | Cover of The Beatles’ song of the same name |
| 2009 | Sweet Child O’ Mine | First Adam & Eve campaign; first Guns N’ Roses song in UK TV advert; Taken by Trees cover |
| 2011 | The Long Wait | First tear-jerker; directed by Dougal Wilson; boy gives gift to parents |
| 2012 | The Journey | Snowman travels to buy gift; Gabrielle Aplin sings “The Power of Love” |
| 2013 | The Bear and the Hare | First animation; launched November 8, 2013 |
| 2015 | Man on the Moon | Aurora cover of Oasis; charity partner Age UK |
| 2021 | Unexpected Guest | Alien befriends young boy; friendship theme |
| 2023 | Dragon advert | Animation with dragon theme |
| 2024 | Edgar advert | Continuation of recent animation style |
| 2025-11-04 | Where Love Lives | Released 10 days earlier than 2024; tagline: “If you can’t find the words, find the gift” |
The implication: the timeline reveals a clear arc from live-action experimentation toward animation-heavy storytelling, with charity partnerships becoming integral to the narrative from 2015 onward.
Confirmed facts versus speculation
Confirmed facts
- John Lewis launched its first Christmas TV advert in 2007 after a three-year gap in seasonal advertising
- The 2007 “Shadows” campaign cost £6 million
- Adam & Eve created the campaign from 2009 onwards
- 2013 was the first time John Lewis used animation
- 18 adverts aired from 2007 to 2025
- 2025 title is “Where Love Lives”
- 2025 tagline: “If you can’t find the words, find the gift”
What’s unconfirmed
- Definitive ranking of all adverts (polls vary)
- Exact complaint counts for controversial adverts
- Whether the “Man on the Moon” boy is autistic (speculation only)
- Detailed budgets for adverts after 2007
“If you can’t find the words, find the gift.”
— 2025 John Lewis Christmas advert tagline
“Remember how Christmas used to feel.”
— 2009 John Lewis Christmas advert tagline
Related reading: Best Gifts for Teenage Girls: Unique Birthday & Christmas Ideas
The latest 2025 entry ‘Where Love Lives’ continues the tradition with fresh emotional depth, as its 2025 song, story and reviews capture its song, narrative twists, and viewer reactions.
Frequently asked questions
What is the John Lewis Christmas advert 2025 meaning?
The 2025 “Where Love Lives” advert continues John Lewis’s tradition of emotional storytelling. The tagline — “If you can’t find the words, find the gift” — suggests the campaign explores how gifts can communicate what speech cannot. Specific plot details for 2025 were not fully verified at time of writing.
What is the John Lewis advert song 2025?
Details about the 2025 soundtrack had not been officially confirmed in verified sources at time of writing. The campaign has historically featured cover versions of popular songs, often performed by emerging artists.
Which John Lewis Christmas advert features a dragon?
The 2023 advert featured a dragon theme, marking a continuation of John Lewis’s animation-heavy approach that began with the 2013 “The Bear and the Hare.” The official archive at johnlewis.com documents this advert.
What is the John Lewis Christmas advert man on the moon?
The 2015 “Man on the Moon” advert featured a girl who spots a lonely old man on the moon through a telescope and sends him a gift. The campaign partnered with charity Age UK and featured Aurora’s ethereal reworking of Oasis’s “Half the World Away.” It consistently ranks among the most popular adverts in the series.
Is the boy in the John Lewis Christmas advert autistic?
Speculation exists online about whether the boy character in the “Man on the Moon” advert is autistic, but John Lewis has not officially confirmed this detail. The campaign’s focus was on loneliness among elderly people through its Age UK partnership.
What are hidden meanings in John Lewis Christmas adverts?
Each advert typically contains layers beyond its surface story. The 2015 “Man on the Moon” addresses elderly loneliness; the 2013 “The Bear and the Hare” explores introducing someone to new experiences; the 2012 “The Journey” shows dedication in relationships. The twist format ensures viewers re-evaluate what they’ve watched.
When is the John Lewis Christmas advert typically released?
The advert typically launches in early to mid-November. The 2025 “Where Love Lives” released on November 4, approximately 10 days earlier than the 2024 advert — continuing a trend of increasingly early releases to capture Christmas shopping attention.
For UK shoppers, the stakes are clear: every November, John Lewis spends millions to make you cry, share, and ultimately buy. The adverts work precisely because they aren’t really about selling anything — they’re about belonging. Whether that belonging translates to purchases depends on whether the emotional connection sticks past December 26.
Arthur Oliver Howard Fletcher is a staff writer for NationalReport.uk, covering UK national news, politics, the economy and public services. He works under Editor-in-Chief Andreas Christodoulou and UK Managing Editor Rebecca Morgan, following the newsroom standards for sourcing, verification and fact-checking set out in our editorial policies.