It might be freakishly warm for the middle of November but Christmas has officially begun – the John Lewis advert has arrived and, as per, it’s a real gut-punch.
Titled The Beginner, the 90 second clip is set to a cover of Blink 182’s All The Small Things by former America’s Got Talent contestant Mike Giere – who also goes by Puddles Pit Party – and follows a man desperately trying to become the next Tony Hawk by trying and failing to master skateboarding.
He spends his evenings at a local half pipe, body slamming the floor, his afternoons zooming down the street, again falling flat on his face.
Just looking at a skateboard seems to spell disaster.
Midlife crisis? No, there must be more to it.
Eventually we see the poor bloke open his front door to meet a social worker standing with a young teenager, Ellie, who is clutching her skateboard while anxiously entering what might be her new home and meet her new foster parents.
All the man’s efforts become clear as he tried to former bond with the nervous teen even before she’s welcomed into their house.
This year, John Lewis customers can support children in care with 25% of the following products going to Action for Children and Who Cares? Scotland, two of the leading charities in the UK.
‘The story itself is based around kindness and how it’s what we do that matters most,’ a spokesperson from John Lewis told Metro.co.uk.
‘In this instance, Dad has learned to skate for the young Ellie.’
John Lewis Christmas advert 2022: Everything you need to know
The advert is titled The Beginner
The music is cover of Blink 182’s All The Small Things, performed by Mike Geier
The ‘Father’ is played by John Paul Hurley who will appear in BBC’s The Reckoning
Ellie is played by rising star Brooke Hart
The Beginner will make its TV debut on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!
‘We launched a long term commitment in October with our Building Happier Futures program that supports people that are care experienced in a number of different ways and Christmas is very much kind of the start of that journey.
‘We felt it was the right year to use our advert, which we’re very grateful that lots of people wait for, to use as a platform to get topics spoken and raise awareness of what we care about as much as our charity partners.’
Last year’s John Lewis advert followed two teens in love, one happened to be an alien, to a cover of Together In Electric Dreams.
Some of the brand’s most loved adverts include The Man on The Moon (2015), Monty The Penguin, and The Bear and The Hare, while the likes of Lily Allen, Sir Elton John and Ellie Goulding have provided the music.
The John Lewis advert will make its televised debut during I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! On Friday night at 9pm.
