The release of the John Lewis Christmas advert is a monumental event in the British calendar.
In the years gone by, the retailer has managed to make its customers sob and laugh over their festive ads – and expectations are always extraordinarily high.
This year, the John Lewis 2025 advert centres on a teenage boy who gives his dad a vinyl of Alison Limerick’s classic dance hit Where Love Lives for Christmas.
The dad is transported back to a joyful 90s dancefloor, before he and his son share a heartfelt embrace over the gift and their shared passion for music.
As is often the case, the advert has proven polarising.Metro‘s TV Editor Sabrina Barr described it as the retail giant returning to its ‘tear-jerking best’, while others haven’t been as moved by the message.
Metrohas taken a look back at the John Lewis Christmas ads which have charmed us over the past decade and a half, and ask the question – which of them is the best of all?
It’s time to get nostalgic…
19. Shadows (2007)
This is where it all began, and it’s definitely not one to write home about. The advert sees a shadow of a woman and her dog created by a variety of products, with a light being placed down first, giving us major Pixar vibes.
It was the first advert from the retailer in three years and you would have thought it would have been a little bit more creative, right? Alas, it wasn’t.
18. Clues (2008)
Like other early efforts, the 2008 ad predated John Lewis’ fondness for telling us a festive story, and instead consisted of a bunch of people sitting in silence before showing us what Christmas presents they were clearly thinking about in their quiet contemplation.
With a slowed down piano version of The Beatles’ From Me To You giving us an indication of what was to come in John Lewis ad soundtrack terms, this is pleasant but not terribly exciting – which is why many of us may even have forgotten they even released a festive ad in 2008.
17. The Feeling (2009)
The first John Lewis ad to be produced by the Adam & Eve/DBB agency (who have produced them ever since), it shows a bunch of excited kids unwrapping ‘grown-up’ Christmas gifts – laptops, Kindles and the like – with the tagline ‘Remember how Christmas used to feel? Give someone that feeling.’
Cute? For sure, and it does bring back fond memories of being a youngster and getting those gifts on Christmas morning. Aside from that though, it’s not terribly memorable.
16. A Tribute To Givers (2010)
The first John Lewis Christmas ad to use the Elton John classic Your Song – albeit covered here by Ellie Goulding – features a bunch of people going to extreme lengths to hide Christmas gifts from their friends and loved ones before the big day.
Not one which stuck in our heads for long, but nabs extra points for the ending, as a young boy hangs a brim-full Christmas stocking outside his pet dog’s kennel (at which point our hearts collectively burst).
15. The Gifting Hour (2024)
This year’s Christmas ad hasn’t reached a high spot on our list, but it’s nonetheless a heartwarming tale of a sister on the hunt for a gift for her sibling.
Along the way, she reunites with her sister throughout the ages: as a sweet child, the dreaded teenager, and excited parent-to-be.
The Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft is behind the song, though John Lewis is giving a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for aspiring musicians to sing their famous cover song.
14. Unexpected Guest (2021)
2021’s John Lewis advert featured an intergalactic friendship between space traveller Skye and teenage boy Nathan, who teaches her about Christmas in her brief trip to Earth.
Set to a decidedly downbeat version of the 80s classic Together In Electric Dreams performed by Lola Young, it should be out of this world but instead just feels a bit ordinary, the sort of thing we’ve seen many times before. Still, props to Skye for giving us a giggle by trying to eat a mince pie with the foil still on it.
13. Moz The Monster (2017)
Directed by Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind’s Michel Gondry, 2017’s effort – soundtracked to Elbow’s cover of Golden Slumbers – told the story of Moz The Monster and the little boy he befriended, with their late night antics affecting his sleep – until he bought him a night light as a Christmas gift.
Sadly it wasn’t one of their finer efforts, leaving us with too many questions. Why as the monster there in the first place? Where did he go? Why is he keeping this kid up all night?
The pressure was on to rustle up something spectacular for 2017 and they didn’t rise to the challenge.
