John Lewis has recently launched a new advertising campaign, “Let Life Happen,” promoting its home insurance package that offers clients greater flexibility and choice. The move — which is part of the company’s plans to quadruple the size of its financial services business — features a one-minute-long video, made with the help of creative agency adam&eveDDB, showcasing a young boy doing a small yet quite messy performance at home.

Played by nine-year-old actor Reggie, the boy, dressed up in his mom’s clothes, jewelry, shoes, and make-up, looks like he’s having a great time while dancing on Stevie Nicks’ “Edge of Seventeen” song. But, as this little rock star gives his performance, he creates a trail of accidental damage, turning his house into a mess.

“We wanted to inject joy, freedom, and humor into this campaign,” says Claire Pointon, Customer Director for John Lewis. “The story we landed on fulfills this, with the idea that when you have John Lewis’ Home Insurance with the option of accidental damage cover, you don’t need to worry anymore, you can just ‘let life happen’.”

Despite the fact that many people appreciated John Lewis’ initiative — including Stevie Nicks — the ad triggered a social media backlash. While some internet users have criticized the ad saying that it depicts “male entitlement” and “gender extremism” or that the kid is misbehaving, others have pointed out the company’s insurance policy, arguing that it wouldn’t cover the mess made by the boy.

In response to those who contacted the brand regarding the advert, John Lewis said that they “believe in children having fun and that’s why we chose this playful storyline for our latest advert. It’s designed to show the young actor getting carried away with his dramatic performance. He is not willfully damaging his home and is unaware of the unintentional consequences of his actions. If customers have Accidental Damage Cover with our Home Insurance, this would cover a range of major and minor home disasters — including unintentional breakages caused by children in the family.”

According to Pointon, John Lewis’ latest spot “playfully highlights the things that could happen as Reggie dances around, freely expressing himself, from knocked vases and picture frames, to paint on the carpet and nail varnish along the banisters.” The company mentions that the ad is “a dramatic, fictional story created to entertain,” hoping that the audience will enjoy it in the spirit it was intended.

Back in 2015, the brand launched a similar commercial (video posted below), only this time, the hero of the story was a little girl dancing like a ballerina around the house. But even her adorable performance — which received 1.6 million views — attracted some unkind comments from the internet.

The brand’s latest ad clearly captured social media users’ attention. And while people have been busy debating whether the spot is “fun” or “offensive,” one Twitter user invited the rest to “smile into the weekend” with a “fixed” version of the ad that is probably getting more positive attention than the original, seeming a bit more on brand in this later case.

https://twitter.com/alvo_muses/status/1448912882968809472

Credits:

Client: John Lewis

Agency: adam&eveDDB