The John Lewis Christmas advert pigeons and hedgehog are getting people very emotional

Wil Jones

It’s that time of year again…

It might have been a strange year, but some things don’t change. It is the middle of November, supermarkets are already full of festive stuff, and so, like clockwork, the John Lewis Christmas advert is here.

This year, they’ve gone for a mostly animated take. It opens in live-action, with a boy and a girl trying to retrieve a football from a tree. It then runs through a variety of different animations styles, including stop-motion, CGI and traditional hand-drawn animation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Juv2c0xgGno

Whereas most years have focused on a single story of one person giving a gift to a loved one, this time it consists of multiple vignettes of kindness.

Another change for 2020 is the music. Instead of the traditional cover of a popular hit, this time there is an original song, ‘A Little Love’ by Brit Award winning-artist Celeste.

As well as John Lewis and Waitrose, the advert is also promoting the Give a Little Love charity campaign, which aims to raise £5m for food redistribution charities including FareShare and Home-Start.

The John Lewis Christmas advert went online on Friday morning, and will debut on TV during The Voice on ITV on Saturday evening.

While the advert features a large cast of characters, the pigeons and the hedgehog have definitely been the big hit on social media

“Did I actually fucking cry over animated pigeons and a hedgehog on that John Lewis Xmas ad? No couldn’t have been me,” said one Twitter user.

“I feel like these guys need their own mini-series,” added another.

Just watched the John Lewis Xmas ad. I feel like these guys need their own mini-series. pic.twitter.com/2WCo287zgm

— Ben Southgate (@bensouthgate) November 13, 2020

Did I actually fucking cry over animated pigeons and a hedgehog on that John Lewis Xmas ad? No couldn’t have been me??

— Thomas Thorne’s Pistol ?☃️ {Emily} (@notawaterpistol) November 13, 2020