The latest John Lewis Christmas ad has dropped and you know what, it’s not that vomit inducing this year. Especially as The Verve’s Britpop classic ‘Sonnet’ is the soundtrack to the commercial.
The department store’s advert focused on the love between two sisters. Named The Gifting Hour, the two hour advert follows Sally as she frantically searches for the perfect gift for her sister Lauren. As she’s searching through a dress rack, she finds it – The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe-style, into her memories of their life together.
The touching ad was accompanied by the slow rendition of the 90s classic. While the ad is emotional – the song also has it’s own sad message.
(Image: PA)
The Verve, fronted by Richard Ashcroft, were reluctant to release the song initially, after the huge success of their album Urban Hymns. They did not want to over-release, but John Lewis thought it was the perfect song for their Christmas story.
“We actually decided on the Verve track quite early on because the lyric ‘Looking through her red box of memories/ Faded I’m sure’ absolutely hits it,” Charlotte Lock, John Lewis Customer Director, says. “It felt like that early 90s rock. It’s one of those, it’s a moving one so hopefully it will hit the spot.”
The meaning of the song has been up for debate and largely undiscussed by the band. However, back in 2018 by unofficial American fan site The Verve Live questioned Richard about this line “red box of memories,” which features in the song.
Richard admitted there was a specific “red box of memories” that triggered the song. “Yes, yeah there was. We even took a picture of it, actually. In England it came on an Urban Hymns deluxe thing at some point and I remember photographing the actual box for the sleeve,” he said.
(Image: PA)
The Verve often left the meaning of their songs vague and unconfirmed, but this song appears to have a sad meaning behind it. It is named after a Shakespearean sonnet, which contains 14 lines and usually centres around love.
Music fans shared their thoughts on the forum Song Meanings, with one weighing in: “It sounds like he’s in love with his friend, but she’s still hung up on someone else.” Another suggested: “I always thought the sonnet thing was a reference to love not being perfect, the way it seems in poetry.”
While the ad provides plenty of nostalgia, some fans were disappointed at the message. Taking to X, one viewer exclaimed: “That’s it. Christmas is ruined. The John Lewis ad is quite comfortably the worst one yet.”
Another added: “The John Lewis Christmas ad is very under whelming. I don’t get it?” A third simply noted: “Richard Ashcroft laughing all the way to the bank bagging the John Lewis Christmas ad.”
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