Sally emerges back into the shop holding a pre-wrapped gift and finds her sister as she is now outside. As the camera pans away, the youngest version of her sister is seen in the shop window.
The shop-based scenes were filmed on a Sunday night in October, with film crews moving in as the final shoppers left and finishing up before 7am to maintain the secrecy around the advert.
Charlotte Lock, customer director for John Lewis, said: “Our shops are the beating heart of our brand and our customers love the ritual of Christmas shopping there – so we wanted to give the store a starring role in our ad for the first time.”
It is the second year that advertising company Saatchi & Saatchi, best known for the Thatcher-era “Labour Isn’t working” posters, has been responsible for the advert.
Franki Goodwin, chief creative officer at Saatchi & Saatchi, said: “We’ve all been there – time’s running out, and you’re still looking for the perfect gift for someone in your life who’s impossible to shop for. That’s why I believe viewers will truly connect with our heroine.”
The high street has continued to struggle as more shoppers move online. Footfall was down by 3.6 per cent in the year to October, and there have been more then 65,000 closures, according to consultants Altus Group, the majority of which were small, independent retailers.
John Lewis has had a difficult year. It scrapped its chief executive position last month after Nish Kankiwala and chairman, Dame Sharon White, stepped down. Losses narrowed to £30 million in the six months to the end of July, having been double that the year before, as it battles to regain momentum.
The family-focused advert marks a departure from the cartoon characters that have featured in several John Lewis Christmas adverts previously, including “Snapper”, a venus flytrap that replaced the traditional festive tree in the 2023 rendition.
After sales of the toy based on “Edgar”, the dragon character in the 2019 advert, meant that shops ran out of stock, John Lewis bosses ordered 15pc more of the “Snapper” toys.
But staff members said that they were giving the toys away for free to children and those spending more than £50, after the venus flytrap toys failed to capture the imagination of shoppers. The retailer said the £18 toys had proved popular.
John Lewis is also running a TikTok competition to find a cover star for the musical backing to the advert. It is currently using the original version of the Verve’s Sonnet, but the winner will record with Richard Ashcroft for a special Christmas edition.
Previous musical accompaniments have included Lily Allen’s Somewhere Only We Know, Bastille’s cover of Can’t Fight This Feeling and Ellie Goulding singing Your Song.