John Lewis Christmas Ad: will the real one be as good as the fake?

An A level media student caused a phenomenon this weekend when a fake John Lewis Christmas ad produced for his coursework racked up almost half a million views on YouTube and was of such high quality that many people assumed it was the real thing.

In the meantime the real John Lewis ad is believed to have been trailed this morning on Twitter when an account @bouncing2016, which was registered in September, made its first post of a short film of a dog watching a young girl bounce around a snowy garden on a space hopper, complete with hashtag #bouncebounce.

It is believed John Lewis, and its long-standing creative agency Adam & Eve/DDB, will be releasing their Bouncing ad later this week. The retailer had previously promised that its 2016 festive promotion would be its most creative yet and that it had listened to feedback that last year's spot, featuring the lonely Man on the Moon, was a bit too melancholy for some. Though weeping at John Lewis' Christmas ads has as much of a festive tradition as mince pies and and Carol singing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuz2ILq4UeA

As is stands John Lewis is not yet laying claim to @Bouncing2016 being theirs and consumers have been fooled already by Nick Jablonka's A Level coursework, which has led many people to suggest the retailer should recruit the teenager.

Bouncing: trailed on Twitter

Over a suitably emotional soundtrack of Follow You Follow Me by Vapor feat. Adaline (a contender for Christmas number one?), the fake ad shows a lonely snowman stranded in a snow globe desperately waiting for Christmas Day and reminiscing about a Christmas past when he shared gifts with a snow-woman. It ends with the snowman smiling and the legend "Appreciate the Moments".

Despite the overwhelming response Jablonka, who has appeared across the media and on television today, said the ad was a rush-job "I’ve left it till the last month to do it," he is quoted as saying in The Guardian. "Creating a short film is a lot of work especially when it’s CGI. I was responsible for things outside of my comfort zone like character animation and lighting."

Now it just remains to be seen if the real thing is as good as a fake...