John Lewis introduces Excitable Edgar in adorable Christmas Ad via adam&eve DDB
In their first ever joint Christmas campaign, John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners have come together to create an advert via adam&eveDDB London, which tells the heartwarming story of a little girl and her friendship with an excitable young dragon.
‘Excitable Edgar’ is a two minute thirty second advert set to the iconic song ‘Can’t fight this feeling’ by REO Speedwagon and re-recorded by Dan Smith, lead singer of the band Bastille. It centres around the theme of bringing people together at Christmas time through delicious food and thoughtful gifts, which show loved ones how much you care.
The story follows a little girl, Ava, who is eagerly preparing for Christmas along with her family and friends. This includes an enthusiastic dragon called Edgar who, unable to contain his excitement for the festivities, is finding it increasingly hard to control his instinct to breathe fire.
The ad follows the pair as they attempt to join in with seasonal activities – with some unexpected consequences. Ice-skating is brought to a standstill when Edgar, in his festive excitement, accidentally melts the ice-rink. A carefully built snowman is reduced to a puddle and the annual dressing of the village Christmas tree ends in disaster once Edgar is involved.
Worried he will ruin the Christmas festivities even further, Edgar shuts himself away. But his best friend Ava dreams up the ideal way to show Edgar how much she cares about him. She presents him with the perfect gift – a delicious Christmas pudding – which ensures he plays a unique role in the spectacular village feast, lighting up Christmas in his own special way.
Says Martin George, partner and customer director, Waitrose & Partners: “The magic of friendship and making our loved ones feel special, are some of the most wonderful things about this time of year. The Christmas pudding in the final scene is not just the showpiece of a spectacular feast which brings all the villagers together. It’s a reminder that a thoughtful gesture – whether that’s a delicious meal or a special gift – can mean so much.”
Says Craig Inglis, partner and customer director, John Lewis & Partners: “I’m delighted our two brands have come together for this year’s Christmas campaign. It started from a spark of an idea – a little dragon’s excitement about Christmas – and became the story of how someone goes the extra mile for their best friend to give just the right gift. It’s a funny, heart-warming story that will resonate with our customers as they seek out the perfect gifts for their loved ones this Christmas.”
Says Dan Smith, lead singer of alt-pop band Bastille: “It’s so great to be asked to be part of this year’s John Lewis Christmas ad. As a band we’ve always had a lot of fun putting a twist on classic songs, and it’s been so good to be a part of this orchestral version of an eighties classic. We’re hoping we get an Edgar for Christmas too!”
From 6.00am on Thursday 14 November, Partners at both John Lewis and Waitrose were the first to share the advert on their social media channels using the hashtag #WeArePartners and #ExcitableEdgar. The advert has launched on both brands’ social media channels and on Johnlewis.com and Waitrose.com at 7.00am this morning.
The ad will first air on television during ITV’s The X Factor: Celebrity on Saturday 16 November.
Customer Director, John Lewis & Partners: Craig Inglis
Marketing Director, John Lewis & Partners: Becky Brock
Senior Marketing Manager, John Lewis & Partners: Emma Wood
Marketing Manager, John Lewis & Partners: Holly Kicul
Customer Director, Waitrose & Partners: Martin George
Head of Marketing, Waitrose & Partners: Rupert Ellwood
Senior Marketing Manager, Waitrose & Partners: Joanne Massey
Marketing Manager, Waitrose & Partners: James Ward
AGENCY: ADAM&EVEDDB
Chief Creative Officer: Richard Brim
Joint Chief Executive Officer: Tammy Einav
Managing Director: Paul Billingsley
Creative Director: Matt Gay
Creative: Simon Lloyd
Agency TV Producer: Sally Pritchett
Agency Integrated Producer: Hayley Carter
Digital Producer: Chris Battye
Assistant Digital Producer: Claire Peacock
Project Manager: Amy Waldman
Executive Content Director: Simon Adamson
Head of Content: Jessica Taylor
Social Media Director: Rebecca Wilson
Social Media Manager: Francesca Jaconelli
Social Media Executive: Phoebe Wright
Designer and Typographer: Sam Stabler, Paul Knowles
Head of Integrated Production: Ben Sharpe, Cave Ellson
Executive Strategy Director: Martin Beverley
Business Director: Sam Brown
Account Directors: Skye Stoppani, Rob Jones
Account Manager: Alice Lowden
Business Affairs: Dolores King, Lois Edwards
Legal Counsel: Annika Patel, Trine Odin
Media agency: Manning Gottlieb OMD
Business Director: Andrew Darby
Account Directors: Lauren Ashford, Emma Hawkins
AV Media Planners: Gabriella Michalski, Becci Wilson
Social Media Planners: Gilad Mandelboim, Ioannis Pelekis
FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY: Blink Productions
Director: Dougal Wilson
Producer: Ewen Brown
Production Manager: Ellie Britton
D.O.P: Joost van Gelder
Production Designer: Andy Kelly
Costume Designer: Rebecca Rich
Food Stylist: Katie Giovanni
POST PRODUCTION COMPANY: Untold Studios
Creative Director VFX: Diarmid Harrison-Murray
VFX Supervisors: Alex Gabucci, Amir Bazazi
Animation Supervisor: Tim van Hussen
Executive Producer VFX: Ian Berry
ECD Untold Studios: Neil Davies
Producer VFX: Nell Lloyd-Malcolm
Asset Lead: Michael Diprose
Rigging Artists: Aaron Hopwood, Daniel Kmet, Joffrey Zeitouni, Nicolas Seck, Sauce Villas, Jakub Krompolc
Comp Artists: Denis Krez, Doruk Saglam, Gustavo Ribeiro, Luke Massingberd, Matthew (Wispy) Clarke. Thiago Vilas Boas, Julie Cruette
CG Artists: Amandine Comes, Andreu Lucio, Annie Rowland, Ardahan Sernaz, Baptist Jaquemet, Cindy Libbrecht, Daniel Longe, Emre Sumer, Kenny Ip, Manon Cauzid, Marc Picco, Marcel Ruegenberg, Platon Filimonov, Ran Manolov, Simon Legrand, Yaz Raji
DMP/Concept Artists: Aurelian Ronceray, Fabio Santoro, Lino Khay, Therese Larsson
Colourist: Jean-Clément Soret @ MPC
Editing Company: Final Cut
Editor: Joe Guest
Music Supervisor: Leland Music
Sound Design & Mix: Anthony Moore, Factory
Audio Producer: Lucy Sprong
Song: Can’t Fight This Feeling
Artist: Bastille
Writer: Kevin Cronin
Producer / Arranger: Mara Carlyle and Hugh Brunt
Record Label: Universal Music
BTS: Ronan Pollock