Stories behind the ads

John Lewis: “Monty the Penguin”

A boy notices his penguin friend is lonely and finds him a companion for Christmas.

Brand
John Lewis
Year
2014
Agency
adam&eveDDB
Category
Retail

A little boy and his penguin, Monty, do everything together. But Monty looks sad when he sees couples in love. On Christmas morning the boy gives him a present: a female penguin. Then the twist: Monty is a stuffed toy, and the whole story was the boy's imagination.

The 2014 Christmas ad by adam&eveDDB for the British department store John Lewis used a cover of Real Love by Tom Odell. By then, the store's Christmas ad had become a national event in the UK, eagerly awaited each November.

Monty became a best-selling toy, and the ad confirmed a new British tradition: emotional Christmas stories that are shared, discussed and ranked every year.

John Lewis — Monty the Penguin Watch the full ad on YouTube

Could you recognise it with the logo hidden? This ad is one of 129 famous commercials in Guess the Ad.

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