THE John Lewis Christmas advert is finally here, and the nation is already falling in love with Excitable Edgar.
We’ve rounded up every John Lewis Christmas ad from best to worst according to how fans reacted to them at the time. You’ll have to scroll a bit to find this year’s …
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2007 – Shadows
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In its first Christmas advert, John Lewis showed how people placed products together to create shadows that look like a woman walking her dog through the snow and having a drink at a party.
It was quite memorable but this was before the era that John Lewis adverts created a huge buzz as social media was barely even a thing at this point.
2008 – From Me To You
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This was probably the most basic John Lewis advert – and the most boring.
Set to a cover of The Beatles’ From Me To You, it showed how you can find the perfect present for different characters in your life.
It ended with the message: “If you know the person, you’ll find the present.”
2009 – Sweet Child O’ Mine
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This was the first year John Lewis used an acoustic cover of a popular song – Guns N Roses’s Sweet Child Of Mine – as the song for their commercial.
It’s a sweet advert which shows children opening adult presents such as an e-reader and large slippers, and says at the end: “Remember how Christmas used to feel? Give someone that feeling.”
But do you remember it? Neither do we.
2010 – A Tribute To Givers
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Ellie Goulding recorded a cover version of Elton John’s Your Song for this advert – the same tune that appeared in the 2018 film.
But it’s probably the only thing you remember about this advert, which was about the lengths that people go to to surprise their friends and relatives on Christmas Day.
2011 – The Long Wait
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This was the first year John Lewis used its advert to tell a whole story, and it made the nation weep.
It told the story of a little boy impatiently waiting for Christmas and all because he wants to give a heartfelt gift to his two sleepy parents on Christmas morning.
It was set to Slow Moving Millie’s cover of Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths.
This was the film that cemented the department store’s reputation as the best Christmas advertiser so we think that has to put it at the top of the list.
2012 – The Journey
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It’s often forgotten but John Lewis’s tale of a snowman who travels over mountains and through horrible weather to bring his snow-girlfriend a scarf to keep her warm was very touching.
It was set to a Gabrielle Aplin cover of The Power of Love by Frankie Goes to Hollywood and had many people shedding tears at the time.
2013 – The Bear And The Hare
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This was the charming animated tale which tells the story of a bear who has never seen Christmas so his animal friends buy him an alarm clock so he can wake up from hibernation just for the day.
Lily Allen sung a cover of Keane’s Somewhere Only We Know.
People went wild for the story at the time and a lot of people on Twitter call it the best John Lewis ad the department store has ever made.
2014 – Monty The Penguin
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This was the heartwrenching advert about a little boy and his friend Monty The Penguin who wants to find love at Christmas.
He’s revealed to be the boy’s stuffed toy – and under the Christmas tree is a girl penguin toy for Monty to fall in love with.
If people don’t say The Bear And The Hare is their favourite, they often choose 2014’s advert as the John Lewis ad they like the best.
2015 – Man on the Moon
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This advert really tugged on people’s heartstrings, as it told the story of a little girl who spots a lonely old man living on the moon through her telescope.
She finds a way to float presents over to him on balloons so he can enjoy Christmas Day too as Aurora’s cover of Half The World Away plays in the background.
It’s one of John Lewis’s most sentimental and emotional Christmas adverts and definitely had people crying across the nation.
2016 – Buster the Boxer
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John Lewis decided to mix it up with Buster The Boxer in 2016 by having a funny advert rather than a gut-wrenching sentimental one.
It told the tale of a dog who loved to bounce on his family’s trampoline while they were asleep.
Fans loved it, but some people were left a bit disappointed as they didn’t feel like it packed as much of an emotional punch as in previous years.
2017 -Moz the Monster
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The 2017 advert was about a cuddly blue monster called Moz who befriended a little boy called Joe.
They stayed up together all night every night until Moz realises Joe needs to sleep at night so leaves him a present of a night light under the Christmas tree.
People weren’t as fond of Moz as they were of Buster or Monty, but they still found the advert cute.
But John Lewis was accused of stealing the character from an existing children’s book.
And it was said to be the least successful campaign John Lewis ran in five years.
2018 – The Boy And The Piano
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In the 2018 John Lewis ad Elton John starred in its most showbiz-inspired advert yet.
Viewers are taken through key moments in his life, including stadium tours, travelling on a private jet, playing at his local pub and performing at a school.
But it had a mixed reaction on social media, with not everyone loving the festive ad.
It spans the veteran singer’s life and shows how a gift of a piano from his grandmother helped make him the international superstar he is today.
2019 – Excitable Edgar
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The 2019 advert is a heart-warming tale of a dragon called Excitable Edgar set in a far-away mythical land.
The ad – the first joint-effort with its sister retailer Waitrose – follows young girl Ava and her friendship with cute young dragon as his accidental fire-breathing nearly ruins Christmas.
Edgar loves Christmas but every time he gets excited he uncontrollably breathes fire into the medieval-style village causing comical catastrophes.
The two and a half minute John Lewis Christmas advert follows the pair as they join in with seasonal activities.
It’s backing track is a cover by Bastille’s Dan Smith of 80s classic Can’t Fight This Feeling by REO Speedwagon.
The ad, known as Excitable Edgar, ends with the strapline “Show them how much you care”.
