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A recent John Lewis TV commercial prompted an outpouring of emotion from us normally reserved Brits. The ad is a narrative of cosily sentimental shots of the life of a woman, from birth to old age, set to a cover of the classic Billy Joel song, “Always A Woman”. The ad was uploaded to YouTube too, where it was watched an amazing half a million times in the first three weeks.
The viewings sparked a huge number of comments on YouTube and Twitter, and most (but not all) have been positive. Those who like it love it; they see their own story in the ad – or at the least, it’s the one they want. A few are neutral and unaffected, but those who don’t like it hate it, seeing it as everything they are not. The papers picked up the story, with The Times, Financial Times, Telegraph, Daily Mail and the marketing press reporting on the phenomenon.
We have yet to see whether this translates into sales, but what’s undeniable is the force of the reaction. People say they have been ‘moved to tears’. Those who hate it express equally extreme reactions. This is an ad for a department store, right? John Lewis isn’t a cool brand, or a wannabe like Cadbury’s. Its slogan, ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’, which ends the ad, is old-fashioned. It isn’t snappy or clever or funny and neither is the ad. It isn’t any of the things marketing is often assumed to be about. But both the ad and the slogan play to the brand’s strengths and both are targeted precisely and enviably accurately at the people that buy from John Lewis.
Clearly the ad agency did its research. The ad is aimed squarely at the women – mostly middle-class, middle-aged women, from middle England – that make up the majority of John Lewis’s customers. It also affects others, of course, but this is the main target market. But it also works because it reinforces the perception that people already have of John Lewis.
Every product you see in the ad – from kitchen units to clothing – is available from John Lewis, but that’s not the real message. It’s the company’s lifelong commitment to best value for its customers. Now this is said by businesses all over the world, in all types of ways, but somehow, this time, it’s authentic: we believe John Lewis. Even rumours that the format of the ad (and its song) had been poached from an Italian ad for underwear, hasn’t hurt the brand. Its reputation rests on selling quality (but not premium) products with a great service.
John Lewis, like Marmite in its famous advertising, knows its customers so well that you either love it or hate it. If you can define your customers as accurately you’ll hit your marketing sweet spot too.
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