The launch of the John Lewis Christmas advert signals the start of the festive season. This year's offering, titled 'The Gifting Hour', features former Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft providing the soundtrack with his song 'Sonnet'. The advert celebrates sisterly love, following a woman named Sally as she searches for the perfect gift for her sibling, with flashbacks to her childhood.
The 2024 advert opens with Sally rushing into John Lewis's Oxford Street flagship store—the first time a John Lewis store has appeared in its Christmas ad—15 minutes before closing. She falls through a rack of dresses and steps into the attic of her childhood home, embarking on a journey through memories of growing up with her sister.
Previous child stars include Lewis McGowan, who played the impatient boy in the 2011 advert. He was chosen from 250 children and later appeared in 'Doctor Who', 'Houdini and Doyle', and the 2017 film 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales' as a young Henry Turner. Rhys Edwards, star of the 2014 Monty the Penguin advert, earned £2,500 for his role but his parents insisted he save the money for the future.
Orli Star Knill-Goldstein, who appeared in the 2015 'Man on the Moon' advert, had already starred in 'Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children'. The advert, which cost a rumoured £7 million to film, featured a little girl communicating with a lonely man on the moon. French actor Jean Masini, who played the moon resident, became a huge star in his native country.
