When Saatchi & Saatchi took the John Lewis account from Adam&EveDDB, many wondered if it would stick to the tried-and-tested formula or evolve it to tackle business challenges. System1’s Andrew Tindall shows how the the agency has done both. Every November, the marketing industry turns to System1 to understand what real people think of the biggest advertising event of the year – Christmas.
Which brands have created effective campaigns that make consumers feel something? Are there any flops? How has John Lewis done? Some even work with us in private to pre-test their ads to improve them (hint: it’s often the ones that go on to gobble up market share, like Aldi...
). Well, despite it being September, John Lewis has made the first move by releasing the first of a three-part campaign that will end in (hopefully) effective Christmas goodness. And we’ve already tested it with a representative group of the UK public .
You may have seen some opinions about the ad on LinkedIn or even read The Drum’s take on it. But I’m here to share what normal people feel, not marketers. Because how the intended audience of the ad feels predicts how the campaign will perform in the market.
The campaign is a massive winner. But there’s a lot more going on here that needs to be applauded. As you can see from the Test Your Ad sec-by-sec emotional trace below.
What’s brilliant here is the use of story, character and craft to take the viewer on a journey, importantly leaving you feeling int.