Tearful viewers call on John Lewis to hire filmmaker over £50 Christmas advert

I'm not crying

Filmmaker Phil Beastall produced a low budget Christmas advert with more emotional gravitas than this year's offering from John Lewis. The project, entitled 'Love is a gift', focuses on a young man counting down the days to Christmas but on December 25, instead of being surrounded by loved ones and festivities, he sits alone at a kitchen table. He plays a cassette to hear a message from his mother, an apparent Christmas tradition since her death. It is her final tape, and the man is reduced to tears. The film ends with the message: "Love is a gift, that lasts forever. Merry Christmas." Beastall originally published the video in 2014 but reposted it this year after John Lewis published their own advert. After being viewed more than 5 million times, commenters are now calling on John Lewis to hire Phil for their 2019 production, although I expect that's already in production and the next free slot likely in the mid 2020s. One posted: "In tears. I have no words except John Lewis, tell your advertising team they [are] sacked. Stop plugging Elton John's song and get this man to do your adverts." Another read: "Best advert ever, maybe John Lewis should pay him a million." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHX0btJYcyI