Of late, there’s a new ad for the UK retailer John Lewis, doing the rounds of ad blogs. Filmed to Billy Joel’s ‘Always a woman to me’ it shows the life journey of a toddler through many stages of her life – from a school-going child to a teenager to a mother to an old woman. You get the picture.
Agency: Adam & Eve
It is sweet stuff especially if you have a little daughter. No wonder it is said to be moving a nation to tears. What’s more, it has resulted in a 40% jump in sales at the online store.
Remember VIP’s Kal Bhi, Aaj Bhi? Any brand which has some kind of heritage – say, being in business for 50 years or more is prime candidate for this kind of advertising. You can always claim to be part of history, having witnessed several landmark events and so on. Macys tried it. And so did Hovis. What’s common to all of these? Montage of visuals, cut to some nice soul stirring music. If you can evoke a goose flesh feeling, it’s a bonus. Not sure if the John Lewis advert is goose flesh stuff, but it is guaranteed to connect emotionally and evoke that ‘it’s so sweet’ response. For 100-year old brands with great equity, the montage is a life long commitment.
