1 week Ago By [email protected] (Dan Laurie)
Dermot O'Leary has revealed that new John Lewis Christmas advert left him in tears. The 51-year-old presenter was back on This Morning on Thursday (November 14) alongside Cat Deeley as regular host Ben Shephard takes a break from the ITV daytime show to new series Summit in New Zealand. They discussed the latest headlines with contributors Nick Ferrari and Ashley James, including the highly-anticipated festive trailer from the High Street store.
As they discussed the advert, Dermot admitted "I cried" as he watched the two-minute clip titled The Gifting Hour which follows a woman's last-minute dash to find a present for her sister. After 17 years, it's the first time that one of John Lewis’ 34 shops has featured in the advert. It has been reported that the mini-film was shot inthe store on Oxford Street during an overnight shoot back in October.
The department store had a multi-million pound makeover earlier this year after the retailer invested £6.5million. The advert, created by Saatchi & Saatchi, follows the woman, Sally, rushing into a John Lewis store looking for a last minute gift.
The beginning is reminiscent of a Christmas film but Sally quickly enters a fantastical world , where she journeys through childhood memories looking for clues to help her pick the best present. She sees her sister as a child at Christmas, fighting with her as a teenager and as a pregnant mum-to-be. The scenes represent the thought process that goes through your head when you’re thinking about buying a gift at Christmas.
She returns back to reality once she has found the gift, which is ready and wrapped.Then, she heads outside and has a special moment with her sister. It ends with the strapline: "The secret to finding the perfect gift? Knowing where to look".
The soundtrack is also a little different this year. John Lewis is famous for using covers of popular songs for its advert - but this year it’s Sonnet by The Verve. It’s one of the nods to the 90s, which is a major theme this year.
The retailer is also launching a search for a cover star on TikTok, and legendary lead singer of the band Richard Ashcroft will help pick the new star. The winner will record and release their own track with BMG and a version of the advert with their rendition will be played on TV on Christmas Day. This Morning airs weekdays on ITV at 10am.
