John Lewis does it again...

Latest tear jerker by John Lewis and how campaign maxes out their instore/online buy in

The latest Christmas advert from John Lewis has just been released and I defy you not to balls your eye out by the end of it! I don't think I've ever fallen in love with a penguin before but there's always a first time for everything!

It is the seventh advert for John Lewis that Dougal Wilson has directed. His first hit was the 2010 “red dress” advert that made us all cry and then the “Long Wait” Christmas ad, about a biy that you think can't wait for his presents but actually can't wait to give his parents his own... awwwww! - He's also the man behind the coolest Lurpak and IKEA adverts. Although it was the creative agency Adam and Eve who were behind last years amazing 'Bear and Hare' Campaign.

The advert cost £1 million to shoot, Monty the penguin was made entirely from CGI. The total cost of the campaign is £7 million, which includes the cost of in-store advertising, the cost of taking out TV spots in ad-breaks, billboards, newspaper adverts etc. John Lewis has gone to town on pushing their campaign as much as it can inside their stores.

http://www.johnlewis.com/christmas-advert-2014-montys-christmas

You can buy a whole host of things that sync with the campaign on the John Lewis website, such as Monty's Goggles, which are virtual reality goggles you use to explore 'Monty's Christmas' in an 360º panoramic world, see Sam and Monty's World on a computer, tablet or mobile. Or visit Monty's Magical Toy Machine, where you

put your (or your child's) favourite toy into Monty’s Magical Toy Machine at the Oxford Street shop and watch it come to life on screen!! -You can also make your very own Monty and Mabel

Although the advert is clearly a success, how will it rate against Adam&Eve's contribution from last year? Shares of 'Monty' have already surpassed 100,000 but 'Bear and Hare' clocked up 200,000 shares within the first 24 hours. It became the third most shared Christmas ad of all time with over one million shares.

To become the most shared Christmas ad ever, Monty the penguin would have to surpass last year’s ad for Canadian airline Westjet. This incredible event, experience and campaign gained more than two million shares, I didn't even know about it until this week, maybe I'm just feeling the christmas cheer but this advert had me reaching for the tissues too - It features holiday travellers wishing for something for Christmas at an interactive Santa and then having them delivered to their destination's luggage carousel when they arrive! truly magical!

One lovely thing John Lewis have also done is made sure they promote a charity whilst they get a moment in the spotlight, adopting penguins through WWF. A really nice thought that hopefullky some will also use as a christmas gift this year.

SOCIAL MEDIA INSIGHT:
While YouTube is synonymous with viral videos, new research about video uploads revealed that Facebook video shares are surging ahead compared to YouTube. 
YouTube video shares across social platforms are currently 14,720, while shares of the video from Facebook across social platforms is currently 89,088.