The two-minute ad, also intended for the company’s supermarket arm, Waitrose, was inspired by the kindness shown by the British public towards each other throughout the pandemic and intended to encourage viewers to “give a little love” to others, the company said in a press release.
UK retailers face a grueling holiday season, as restrictions on rapidly rising Covid-19 cases are expected to affect consumer spending and cause the economy to contract during the last three months of 2020.
The restrictions forced John Lewis to close its stores in England for the second time this year, but Waitrose’s locations remain open and the company’s delivery trucks are on the way. Better than expected holiday sales can help save a tough year for the company.
John Lewis reported in September that he had lost 635 million pounds ($ 835 million) during the first half of this year. “It is clear that the outlook for the second half is uncertain given the broader macroeconomic situation,” the company said in the results statement. “The Christmas trade is also particularly important to the profits in John Lewis.”
This year’s ad, released online on Friday, tells the story of a “chain of giving” – beginning with a girl helping a boy take a soccer ball off the tree and ending with a woman helping the same girl fix her glasses while traveling together on the bus.
John Lewis said it was designed to show how “gentle acts, big and small, can multiply and positively affect the world we live in when we pass them on to others.”
As part of the campaign, the retailer is also aiming to raise money for food poverty, family charities, FareShare and Home-Start.
“We have felt humbled by the kindness shown by the British people during the pandemic. We want this campaign to be encouraging and inspire everyone to show some kindness in their own way this Christmas, especially for those who need it most,” Pippa Wicks said. John Lewis, CEO.
“The epidemic has proven that it is our little acts of love and compassion, especially in difficult times, that capture what it means to be human; and when a small act of kindness is multiplied, it can have a lasting effect.”
Charles Riley of CNN Business contributed to this report.
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