As I am sure I have mentioned before, penguins are a big deal in our house.
The obsession began three years ago after a trip to the Melbourne Aquarium. A small, pink baby penguin toy was purchased for my then five year old. This bundle of, what is now only sort of pink, fluff has changed our lives. Its increasing complex personality has developed over the past years into a fully fledged member of the family. It even had its own Halloween costume this year.
I digress.
So, being penguin focused is only one of the reasons why this Christmas ad from John Lewis is so awesome.
But, what really works is the story. It’s a complex one that is told in two minutes but, if you’re not teared up at the end, I’ll be surprised.
And, it’s received more than five million views in two days (at the time of writing).
Why does it work? We all know that telling a story is vital. Many ads that you see are attempting to do this. But this one has something extra. You suspend your beliefs and just go with the story.
I mean, who doesn’t want a baby penguin to help find those tricky bits of Lego?
But, sense of longing becomes very real. And, it’s an emotion that everyone can relate to – that’s the kicker. The emotion felt by the penguin is something we know, something we don’t want to feel. And, we don’t want the penguin to feel it either.
You may feel a bit choked up or, you may feel a bit silly at tearing up over an ad, but this evidence of this ad’s success. It connected with you. The story mattered and you felt something.
John Lewis Christmas Advert 2014 – #MontyThePenguin
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