John Lewis Christmas Ad Explores Modern Male Connection with Classic House Tune

Saatchi & Saatchi and John Lewis have today unveiled the 2025 Christmas campaign, ‘Where Love Lives’.

The fully integrated campaign is built on a simple yet profound insight: when you can’t find the perfect words, you can still find the perfect gift. Inviting the nation to say what they truly feel through the timeless power of thoughtful gifting, exploring how the right present can express what words can’t, capturing connection, memory, and emotion in a way that feels both new and unmistakably John Lewis.

The work has music at the heart as the great connector. ‘90s dance icon Alison Limerick provides the soundtrack with her iconic hit ‘Where Love Lives’, with a newly reimagined version by globally acclaimed artist and producer Labrinth featuring in the campaign.

“This year more than ever the music plays a massive role in the ad,” says Rosie Hanley, director of brand for John Lewis. “The music kind of is the ad in a way. It's the story, it's the emotion. It brings that 1990s nostalgia that it also brings, a really fresh take on it. It not only talks to our 50-year-old dad. But it talks to his 18-year-old son, that intergenerational connection and that ability for a gift to form that connection.”

Music was so central to the idea, in fact, that it guided the choice of director. Being from acclaimed French duo The Blaze, Jonathan Alric was perfectly in tune with the idea and, as Saatchi & Saatchi chief creative officer Franki Goodwin says. “Absolutely amazing, hugely collaborative and because of his music credentials as well as his directing chops he felt like a perfect fit.” In fact, when the agency sent Iconoclast the script, the production company responded saying “Jonathan feels like this was written for him,” she recalls. “It wasn't, to be clear. But I think he was such the dream director for this and it's just amazing.”

The hero film - which will run across TV, digital and cinema – is supported by a fully integrated mix of OOH, social and digital activity. This is supported by extensive in-store experiences and gifting initiatives throughout the festive period, ensuring a cohesive brand presence across every touchpoint.

The campaign leads with a two-minute film. Set on Christmas Day in a family household, takes viewers to Christmas Day in a family household. Passing a son who’s in his own world with headphones on, the focus shifts to the Dad, who is by the tree on his hands and knees clearing up discarded wrapping paper.

Amongst the wrapping paper, he discovers an unopened present marked ‘Dad’ with a smiley face. Inside is a vinyl record of Where Love Lives by Alison Limerick. He heads straight to his record player and drops the needle gently into the groove. As the opening bars of the '90s classic fill the room, he closes his eyes - and the power of the music evokes a core memory, transporting him back to the 1990s he remembers and loves.

Viewers are then taken on the Dad’s journey as he loses himself in the music. Suddenly, he’s in a ‘90s club, dancing with his friends. Through the strobe lights he spots his teenage son across the crowd. Calling out to him, the son begins to fade beneath the flashing lights as the music swells to a crescendo.

In the flashes of the strobe lights, the Dad calls for his son who – not as a teen, but as a toddler, takes his first steps towards him. Another flash, and the Dad holds his newborn son bundled tightly in his arms.. The music becomes a bridge between memory and love, between then and now.

The scene shifts back to the present day, as Labrinth’s newly reimagined version of the track echoes softly. The Dad is in the living room when his son comes down the stairs and catches him enjoying his gift. The son looks on, slightly embarrassed, until his Dad pulls him an embrace. They share a quiet, unspoken moment – a wordless "thank you", carrying the weight of "I know we aren’t as close as we used to be but I love you.”

The ad will launch on Tuesday November 4th on Channel 4 at 8pm during ‘Great British Bake Off’.

Rosie recognises that after years of Christmas campaigns with varied ideas – including some pretty wacky ones (I’m a fan of 2023’s Venus flytrap opera, for the record) – 2025’s ‘Where Love Lives’ is “back to basics” for both the retailer and its agency, Saatchi & Saatchi. “We've been really thoughtful about going back to our heritage,” she says. “The DNA of John Lewis advertising is rich story, emotion and a real connection with the customer. Clearly the role for the brand and this ad is that we're a destination for thoughtful gifts. We really push ourselves to make sure that we're doing something different and exciting and unexpected every year because that's the only way you can keep having days like this. But I think it's really back to that customer insight that we have had right from the very first brief which is that as a nation we struggle to explain how we feel and Christmas is the time of year when we try and listen.”

Positive Modern Masculinity in the Year of ‘Adolescence’

Masculinity and male relationships are clear themes of the campaign too, although the renewed focus on father-son relationships that ‘Adolescence’ has sparked in 2025 is coincidental – the script was finished before that show came out, Rosie confirms. “This is the first time to my knowledge that we have really focused on a father and son relationship,” she continues. “Every year we try and do something different. Last year it was about sisters, the year before it was about a young boy and a big green plant. Every year there's a different relationship to explore. Obviously, a lot of men shop at John Lewis and this felt like a relationship that we hadn't explored before and I think there's a lot of emotion in it.”

Rosie notes that John Lewis relished the “opportunity to present a really positive male relationship,” citing Channel 4 research about how men in advertising are often portrayed as providers or problem solvers. “There's not really much of this – showing a bit of love and being emotional.” She points out that he finds his son's present while he's clearing up wrapping paper after a morning's gift-giving frenzy. "It was very important to me that it wasn't just mum doing housework," she says. "Dad's doing some housework too."

Pre-empting another discussion that the ad will spark, Franki speaks to the timetable of each family's Christmas: "Also, the controversial topic of the fact that they have done the presents before lunch, that will be big," says the CCO with a wry smile.

A Moment of Emotional Realism

It’s a moment that anyone with a parent can recognise – that first time when you’re old enough to really understand what sort of gift they might want, and you take pride in showing that you care with whatever you choose for them. “Maybe this is the first time he's gone off on his own and bought his dad a present,” imagines Franki. “The detail of that crappy Post-It note with ‘Dad’ written on it because he's 18 – he didn't know he had to buy a card as well. And it's not about Mum doing it for him this year. And all of those little details in the storytelling, I just am so proud of. That’s hopefully what you reacted to – this sense of ‘Maybe I can connect with him with this music that I've just discovered, because I know that was part of his adolescence.'”

For the whole of 2025, the relevant John Lewis and Saatchi & Saatchi teams have been living with these characters. And one thing that Rosie underlines as very important is that there isn’t any huge problem or conflict to resolve here. “To be clear that there's nothing wrong with the relationship,” she says. “They love each other, but they've just sort of forgotten how to communicate. He is a slightly awkward teenage boy and this is his opportunity to show his dad how thoughtful he can be and how much he's grown up.

“Christmas is that moment of the year when, especially if you've got children, you kind of mark the passage of time. It's that moment and Dad's thinking he used to be a baby and now he's buying really thoughtful gifts.”

Lost in that moment that the film depicts, Franki jumps in: “But it also takes him back to being 19, so he's like, ‘Oh my god, that's how old he is. It's how I felt when I listened to this song. I've been probably treating him like a 12-year-old.’ He realises there's they have so much for him to connect over.”

Beyond the Film

Alongside the film, social created by Saatchi & Saatchi pulls back the curtain with bespoke behind-the-scenes snippets from the making of the campaign. Bespoke executions for OOH, print, digital and radio also launch on 4th November, and feature hero gifting products from partners including Oura, De’Longhi, Dyson and Shark.

Additionally, Rough Trade at John Lewis will exclusively stock a vinyl record of “Where Love Lives”. Side A of the vinyl treats music fans to Alison’s iconic original version, while Side B presents globally acclaimed artist and producer Labrinth’s beautiful, newly reimagined version also featured in the film.

All John Lewis profits from the £14.99 limited-edition vinyl record will support the John Lewis Partnership’s Building Happier Futures programme, which helps people build brighter futures.

Franki Goodwin, chief creative officer at Saatchi & Saatchi, said: “Music is always the beating heart of the John Lewis campaign at Christmas but this year it’s the gift itself. The campaign poignantly explores the power of a gift to communicate something we might not be able to put into words. A banger on many levels in many channels, I hope it inspires lots of thoughtful, expressive gifting and some family trawls through old playlists on Christmas Day too!”

Rosie Hanley, director of brand for John Lewis said: “This year’s John Lewis Christmas campaign is a celebration of connection, memory, and the unspoken emotions that make the season truly magical. At John Lewis, we understand the power of a thoughtful gift, and we hope the Ad will inspire our customers to find the gift that articulates their feelings, allowing the present itself to speak volumes where words may sometimes fall short.”

Alison Limerick said: "I squealed when I heard that 'Where Loves Lives' would be in the advert - literally squealed like an excited child. Music has always had the power to bring all kinds of peeps together, but I hope this year's John Lewis Christmas advert will give those who see it a new, emotional connection with the song - especially with what Labrinth has created. His gentle version is just so beautiful; it’s sure to fill the heart with love.”

Labrinth said: "To think a boy like me from East London Hackney, who grew up watching this iconic advert would one day reimagine a classic and compose a piece of music for John Lewis’s forward thinking direction is a big deal for me. This advert is embedded in British Christmas culture and I miss home, so I’m honoured to be a part of it.”