John Lewis will launch its biggest Christmas ad campaign to date on Monday at a cost of £6.2 million – more than triple last year’s spend.

The seasonal offensive includes press, online, cinema and outdoor media and is only the department store chain’s second to include TV advertising.

Marketing director Gill Barr, who was appointed to the newly created board role in June, said the campaign was “directional” for the John Lewis brand.

The TV commercial features a team of people arranging John Lewis products to project a shadow of the person for whom the items are intended as gifts. It is set to Morning Serenade from Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet.

Barr said: “John Lewis has a unique role for our customers at Christmas. They rely on us to find the perfect presents because of the quality, but also the extent of our range – more than 350,000 products. We want to use that range to inspire customers to get a present that perfectly reflects the personality of the person they are giving to.”

All eyes will be on today’s trading figures from John Lewis, a key indicator of the health of the high street. Sales have been lacklustre over the past three weeks, prompting industry observers to speculate that a consumer spending downturn may be setting in.

On Wednesday, John Lewis’s flagship store on London’s Oxford Street will host the switch-on of this year’s Oxford Street Christmas lights, which are sponsored by Disney movie Enchanted.

X-Factor winner Leona Lewis will turn on the display and Irish boy band Westlife will perform.

Topics