6 REASONS THE NEW JOHN LEWIS AD CAN'T FAIL

Did you know that whatever KPIs John Lewis uses to measure the success of their newly unveiled Christmas ad, it will meet them? No doubt. No question. Fact.

How do we know?

​Simple. 

There's a little-known golden formula to storytelling that John Lewis honours every year with forensic precision. 

You'll find this golden formula in your favourite movies, books & TV series. No doubt, no question, fact... IT'S THERE.

The 6-step formula:

1: ​What does the protagonist want?
2: What's stopping them from getting it? (obstacle or conflict)
3: So, what do they do next?
4: How does it fail?
5: So, what do they do next?
6: How does it end? (transformation)

​SIDE NOTE: PIXAR are masters at this. I'll never forget re-watching Toy Story after I discovered this formula. Ticking-off each step was morbidly satisfying.

Now watch John Lewis' brand new ad — ticking-off each step as you go.
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​Satisfying, right?

​It sounds simple, and theoretically, it is. The real magic, however, is in the vehicle by which the story is told, and more critically, the manner in which our protagonist transforms. A story without conflict and transformation is not a story, it's just inconsequential stuff happening that audiences won't give two sh*ts about. 

Fact is, as we tumble through life, there's nothing more inevitable than these two things:

1: We'll encounter obstacles
2: We'll transform personally

And it is this shared inevitability that makes ads like this engage more people than it annoys — ergo, whatever KPIs John Lewis uses to measure the success of their newly unveiled Christmas ad, it will meet them. No doubt. No question. Fact.

​So, why are we telling you this?

Well, as it says on our homepage, we want to be the most helpful PR agency in the world. 

Now, please be off...  go tell your brand story! Or, if you'd rather we tell it for you, click here to email us — we know all the tricks and have won some of the awards, you see.

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