#MontyThePenguin taking social media by storm

November 10, 2014

John Lewis ads over the past few years have always been a hotly anticipated affair, and for many marks the countdown to Christmas. The department store is renowned for creating highly evocative commercials which tell moving stories around the magic of Christmas and going the extra mile for our loved ones. Last year we saw Bear and the Hare celebrating Christmas in the forest, and this year we were introduced to Monty the Penguin in his Christmas quest for love.

Already John Lewis has done well in stirring emotions in its potential Christmas shopper with some 14,500 people expressing on social that they’d even shed a tear after viewing the ad!

As you might imagine, John Lewis’ incredibly cute mascot has become a real star on social media. Although it’s still early days, the latest Christmas ad by John Lewis is looking to outdo its previous performance. Within a matter of days, Monty has more followers on Twitter compared to last year’s Bear and Hare, which to date amassed just over 4,000 followers. @MontyThePenguin has over 23,000 followers, and according to Topsy, #MontyThePenguin has had over 120,000 mentions, becoming a “trending topic” on Twitter in the UK, within 90 minutes of the ad’s launch. And let’s not forget to mention a staggering 9 million people have seen Monty in action on YouTube  — that’s not too shabby considering the ad only went live on the internet a mere 4 days ago.

Monty can be often found tweeting about his dating antics, here’s just one highlight:

Craig Inglis, Marketing Director for John Lewis and the man behind the super cute campaign said:

“We hope this uplifting tale of Sam’s love for his friend Monty will remind people of the magic of Christmas through a child’s eyes and inspire them to think how they can make the festive season extra special for their friends and loved ones.”

Ostensibly, these stats suggest that John Lewis’ Monty the Penguin campaign has been success, and if you aren’t familiar with John Lewis’ Christmas 2014 advertising campaign, here’s your chance to see Monty in action:

https://twitter.com/johnlewisretail/status/530270159777189888

Whether you’ve been left misty-eyed by Monty, or you think the ad failed to live up to its hype, tweet us @iftweeter 

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