John Lewis Launches 2017 Christmas Advertising Campaign 'Moz The Monster'

Friday 10 November 2017


Advert set to a cover version of The Beatles' song 'Golden Slumbers', performed by Elbow. Directed by Oscar winning director Michel Gondry.

Today at 8.00am, John Lewis will launch its 2017 Christmas advertising campaign 'Moz The Monster' on johnlewis.com, social media channels and in its shops across the UK.  

The advert will first be shown on TV this evening at around 9.30pm on Channel 4 and at approximately the same time it will also be broadcast on all Sky's own channels.

Set to a cover version of The Beatles' song 'Golden Slumbers', recorded by British band Elbow, the two minute advert tells a heartwarming story of a little boy called Joe, who is kept awake by a 7ft imaginary Monster called Moz who is living under his bed. The two form a friendship and play together every evening, but staying awake through the night starts to take its toll on Joe, who can hardly keep his eyes open during the day.  For Christmas, Joe receives the perfect gift of a night light which helps him finally get some peace and quiet from Moz, and a good night's sleep. Just as you think the ad has come to a close, Joe turns the light back off and hears the familiar rumblings of his friend and is reminded that he can bring Moz back any time he thinks of him.

Moz The Monster was created by advertising agency adam&eveDDB and was directed by French director Michel Gondry who is best known for his feature films Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep and The Green Hornet. He has also directed legendary music videos for Bjork, Daft Punk, the White Stripes and the Rolling Stones.

Michel is well known for directing one of the most awarded commercials of all time - Levis Drugstore. More recently he has been directing commercials for Gap, Nike, Coca Cola, Pandora and Apple.

Craig Inglis, John Lewis's Customer Director commented on the ad saying; 'This year's Christmas campaign brings to life the power of children's imaginations and the joy of great friendships. Moz and Joe's story is magical and heartwarming and I'm sure it will be loved by all of our customers, young and old.'

Michel Gondry said; 'When I told my ex girlfriend I was doing the next John Lewis Christmas film she said: You have big shoes to fill, this John Lewis commercial must make people cry, don't forget. Last week I showed it to her and she cried. Phew.'

The 'Golden Slumbers’ track will be included in Elbow’s 'Best Of' album which will be released on 24 November.  Guy Garvey, lead singer of Elbow said; 'This project was such a pleasure. Michel Gondry and the song did all the work for us. We are really proud to be involved.'

In addition to watching the advert people will be able to enjoy Moz and the story in a number of different ways. At the John Lewis flagship shop on Oxford Street visitors will be able to see and hear what's thought to be the world's first farting and snoring window as Moz plays in the rooms in Joe's house.

On Facebook  people will be able to have fun 'mozifying' their face using their Facebook camera, and in 10 shops customers will be able to create their own monster selfie at a Monster Maker station.

A recording of actress Sally Phillips reading the Moz The Monster story will be available for download from johnlewis.com, Sky boxes and Google Home. Google Home customers will also be able to personalise their story choosing their own sounds effects.

This Christmas John Lewis has chosen Barnardo's as its charity partner and will make a donation to the charity from the sale of Moz cuddly toys and mugs.

The advert can be viewed on www.johnlewis.com/christmas-advert and on John Lewis's YouTube channel www.youtube.com/johnlewisretail.


Notes to editors

The cast:
Joe: Ethan & Tobias, twins aged 7
Sister: Olivia aged 11
Mum: Mia Austen
Dad: Kevin Mathurin

List of Moz products:
Cuddly toy £20.00 (suitable for 18mths)
Book £8.99
Mug £5.00
Red pyjamas  £18 for sizes 2-6 £20 for sizes 7-10
Blue pyjamas £18 for sizes 2-6 £20 for sizes 7-10
Slippers  £14-16 (available in children’s size 10 to adult size 6)

About Elbow 
Elbow are one of the most popular and best loved UK bands in contemporary music. Their last two studio albums, ‘The Take Off and Landing of Everything' (2014) and 'Little Fictions' (2017) have both debuted at Number One in the UK, their fourth studio album, 'The Seldom Seen Kid' (2008) has sold over 1.2 million copies in the UK and 'One Day Like This', the single taken from that album, is a national anthem, heard across television and radio from its release to the current day.

The band are winners of the BRIT for Best British Group (2009), the Mercury Music Prize (2008), two prestigious Ivor Novello songwriting awards and a host of other awards in recognition of their huge contribution to UK music.

Film production details 
Moz The Monster has been created by advertising agency adam&eveDDB and Partizan's Oscar winning director Michel Gondry, with media planning and buying by Manning Gottlieb OMD. 

Editing was done by Whitehouse Post and the post-production and CGI was done by The Mill. 

About John Lewis 
John Lewis operates 49 John Lewis shops across the UK (35 department stores, 12 John Lewis at home and shops at St Pancras International and Heathrow Terminal 2) as well as johnlewis.com. John Lewis,  'Best In-Store Experience 2017', 'Best Furniture Retailer 2017,' 'Best Homewares Retailer 2017'1, stocks around 350,000 separate lines in its department stores and johnlewis.com across fashion, home and technology. Johnlewis.com is consistently ranked one of the top online shopping destinations in the UK.  John Lewis Insurance offers a range of comprehensive insurance products - home, car, wedding and event, travel and pet insurance and life cover - delivering the values of expertise, trust and customer service expected from the John Lewis brand.

1Verdict Consumer Satisfaction Awards 2017

You can follow John Lewis on the following social media channels:

www.johnlewis.com/twitter 
www.johnlewis.com/facebook  
www.johnlewis.com/youtube.


Enquiries

For further information please contact:

Katie Robson
Mobile: 07764 675608
Telephone: 0207 5926296
Email: katie.robson@johnlewis.co.uk

Mandy Pursey
Mobile: 07813 696637
Telephone: 0207 7983896
Email: mandy.pursey@johnlewis.co.uk

Rachael Brown
Telephone: 0207 7592 4653
Email: rachael.brown@johnlewis.co.uk