From a strategic point of view, storytelling that unites your audience or ICP behind a shared enemy is very powerful in creating trust.

The 2026 John Lewis Christmas ad was released today.  The moment the great and the good of the marketing, creative and advertising community officially watch it and analyse its merits and pitfalls. 

3 things I take from it as a marketer:

1. Uniting your audience or ICP against a shared enemy is very powerful in building connection and trust.

   In this John Lewis ad it's the 'lazy' cash in the card gift. They execute it with some distance to the viewer, through the voice of a beloved toy, so we don't feel judged for having done it ourselves.

   
   

2. Emotional and commercial results go together.

   A Statista study shows that 81% of UK consumers state that an emotional connection to a brand or retailer makes them more likely to purchase. And I feel positive sentiment towards this years' ad - I won't be the only one.

   
   

3. When products are anchored in real behaviours that are true for multiple generations, nostalgia becomes a powerful marketing tool.

Okay, so John Lewis is a retailer who ultimately wants us to spend our money with them and yes, most of us are lured into over consumption at Christmas and yes, we all have an opinion on whether we like the ad or not.  Largely, on how it makes us feel.  

This year, the timing feels very relevant to me having just celebrated my son’s 10th birthday and seeing the delight on his face when opening the gift he’d been hoping for.  Because that’s the line from this advert that really resonated with me…it’s 1 min in and Pickles the Fisher Price pull-along dog, and Gloria are having a conversation.  Spoiler alert….Gloria has just put cash in her grandchildren’s cards and Pickles, her cherished childhood toy, challenges her to do better, saying “you can do better than cash - remember when you unwrapped me?  You can’t fit that feeling into an envelope.”  

I spent years of my career working on beloved toy brands like Barbie that are incredibly powerful and occupy a special place in our hearts and memories.  

Leading my team we would take weeks finalising the selection, ranging, pricing and marketing for an extensive range of products designed to capture the imagination and hearts of children - my region being Europe, Russia and MEA. We did this twice a year as the range changed for spring summer and autumn winter.

I wasn’t a parent at that point but I understood deeply the impact unwrapping a Barbie can have for a child. 

When I led the UK girls portfolio of fashion doll brands we would run PR and experiential events for Barbie and Monster High and to see the wonder and delight on young kids’ faces when meeting their absolute, ultimate favourite characters was magical! To these kids they weren't characters - they were real friends who they’d watch on TV, spend hours talking to, dressing up, dragging around the house, into the bath, to the supermarket, on holiday and often tucked up with them at night.

I’ve worked on other brands where I would have paid to achieve that kind of fandom from a target consumer!    

I’m sure the vast majority of us have had that moment at Christmas, opening a present with our name on it that creates pure joy and delight.  And that feeling is incredibly powerful and it stays with us through to adulthood.  The memory is almost visceral. For me it was the Barbie camper van.  I couldn’t believe my luck, thank you, Santa!

So, did I enjoy the John Lewis Christmas ad this year - yes I did. 

Was I surprised to see Gloria created a disco den for her gift - well, yes!  But as a marketer whose developed insight led ad campaigns across a range of different, much loved brands, what I like is it creates a red thread back to my favourite line…”remember when you unwrapped me?  You can’t fit that feeling into an envelope” because I know my kids love a home disco, and that fun and joy creates connection and memories.  

And in a world where our homes are full of ‘stuff’ I can see the value in that disco den.  It’s rather OTT but hey, it’s a Christmas ad!  

From a strategic point of view, storytelling that unites your audience or ICP behind a shared enemy is very powerful in creating trust. 

In this instance it’s the ‘lazy’ cash in a card for the grandkids (no judgment here, we’ve all been there).  And funny as I’m sure John Lewis also sells a decent amount of gift cards at Christmas.  But it serves to remind us of the joy we’ve all felt in receiving a gift someone has taken thought and care over choosing for us.  This shared common enemy can create a powerful positive sentiment.  

So, did it make me feel something, yes it did.  And does that impact where people want to spend their money and buy their Christmas gifts - yes, it does!  

Written by Denise Namakando

Denise is the founder of Tandi Consultancy Limited and operates as a fractional Chief Marketing Officer. With 18+ years across global, regional and local roles leading marketing strategy, product development and comms campaigns at Dyson, Barbie, Unilever and Owlet Baby Care, Denise now partners with ambitious business leaders to provide flexible senior marketing leadership. Her experience spans FMCG, AI and tech, B2B and SaaS having spent time leading the marketing for start-up and scale-up businesses.

Awarded 42 under 42 by North West Insider Media in 2025 for her work at Dote, and qualified in AI Marketing Strategy and Tools by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Denise brings clarity, creative problem-solving and commercially focussed strategies that drive execution and unlock growth for her clients and partners.