Big brands use the convergent nature of today’s media to compete for customers.

John Lewis has been launching a Christmas advert since 2009. The 2014 advert is considered another success.

  • The television advert cost £1 million to make.
  • It was part of a £7 million campaign.
  • The advert features a cover version of John Lennon’s ‘Real Love’ by Tom Odell.
  • It was launched on YouTube prior to its first television broadcast.
  • It received 7 million views in the first 24 hours.
  • All penguin-related merchandise sold out online before the TV advert had even aired.
  • The TV advert was broadcast during Channel 4’s Gogglebox.
  • The main TV advert was launched after a teaser campaign using Monty the penguin on digital outdoor ad sites, Twitter and Channel 4 idents.

Narrative

  • Summarise the advert in five sentences.
  • For each image explain the content. Make sure you use the correct media terms.
  • Identify the camera shots used.
  • Explain how the audience might be expected to respond.

Advertising companies will be given a brief by their client (in this case John Lewis) when undertaking an advertising project.

Q. What do you think the brief given by John Lewis was?

Outline what type of advert John Lewis wanted the advertising company to create. What message did they want to communicate to their audience? What did they want the advert to say about their brand?

Related questions/activities

Identify the benefits of having an official website as part of a campaign. The convergent nature of the media is apparent through: the availability of downloading Tom Odell’s ‘Real Love’ via iTunes, the TV advert can be viewed, there are links to Facebook and Twitter, a storytelling app for Monty’s Christmas can be downloaded, Monty and Mabel can be followed on Twitter. There are also in-store links such as the promotion of Monty’s Den where customers can have their photo taken. User experience is considered the key to success. What user experiences are offered?

Explore the convergence in ‘Monty’s Christmas’. Click on the image below to visit the web page.

John Lewis website