John Lewis Shows the Joyful Side of Being Stuck Home in Playful Ad

Anyone whose home has become a landscape of forts in recent months should get a chuckle out of adam&eveDDB’s charming new campaign for John Lewis, in which one family’s home furnishings appear to spring to life on their own—and creep around the house, to the growing consternation of its human inhabitants.

The work has an endearing quality that this agency and client have perfected in recent years in advertising storylines involving parents and kids—like the “Bohemian Rhapsody” spot (for John Lewis and Waitrose) a couple of years back.

Check out the new “For the Joy of Home” spot below. It was directed by Traktor.

So, it wasn’t a playful poltergeist after all, but rather a pair of pint-size performers—a cute way to illustrate the lighter side of at-home everything in the months since the pandemic began. The Muppets theme carries the spot nicely along, too, adding to the farcical charm.

The spot is part of a broader campaign that also includes a new home magazine for customers, called At Home. The glossy will include home ideas, think pieces around modern living, and features about redecorating and redesigning.

John Lewis is also holding a competition on Pinterest using the hashtag #LoveJL to encourage customers to share photos of their recent John Lewis purchases.

“Our customers have told us that their homes have never mattered more to them,” says Claire Pointon, partner and customer director for John Lewis. “In addition to sleeping and eating, they’ve had to use them to fulfill new functions such as offices, gyms, entertaining children and much more, and so they have proved to be the most important place in their lives.”

She adds: “This new flexible approach to living is here to stay, and as they adapt to this, our customers want to be inspired by stylish, high-quality home products at affordable prices. This campaign will raise awareness of our home products, celebrate our unrivaled design credibility and craftsmanship while communicating our great value.”

CREDITS

Client: John Lewis
Agency: adam&eveDDB
Chief Creative Officer: Richard Brim 
Creative Directors: Matt Gay and Feargal Ballance 
Social creative: Camille Standen 
Agency EP: Sally Pritchett
Agency producer: Rosie Grayson 
Production Assistant: Nia Maclean 
Planners: Martin Beverley, Hugh de Winton, Tom Roach
Managing Partner: Paul Billingsley
Business Director: Jo Lorimer 
Account Director: Campbelle Saville-Smith
Designer/Typographer: Sam Stabler 
Media agency: Manning Gottlieb OMD 
Media planner: Lauren Ashford 
Production company: Stink 
Executive Producer: Andrew Levene 
Producer: Lucy Gossage 
Director: Traktor
Cinematographer: Lasse Frank 
Editing Company: Final Cut 
Editor: Rick Russell
Post Production: Untold 
Post Producer Ellie Jospeh, Lauren Oldfield, Ian Berry
VFX Supervisor: Ben Cronin 
2D Artist: Bruno Fukumothi
Colourist: Company3 – Sofie Borup
Audio Post Production: Factory – Antony Moore & Josh Campbell 
Senior Audio Producer: Factory – Deborah Whitfield
Song: The Muppet Show Theme
Music Supervision Company: Leland Music
Music Supervisor: Codie Childs
Music Arranger: Guy Farley