The social snowman driving an 11.4% increase in sales…

John Lewis have pulled out all the stops with their Christmas advert this year. Presumably trying to top last year’s heart warming offering. They have extended their campaign across social media platforms. The advert was first unveiled on Facebook before its prime time spot later that day on TV. Their Facebook page is awash with little snowmen and John Lewis is engaging with customers by asking their fans ‘what present they would have snowwoman’ and similar. Continuing to extend the ad, you are now able to upload a snap of the best snowman you’ve ever made to their Pinterest account.

Twitter is buzzing with tweets about the new ad. The hashtag #snowmanjourney is being used by people to proclaim their love for what must surely be one of the most highly anticipated festive ads each Christmas. However, not everyone has got in to the Christmas spirit with the hashtag #failedjohnlewisads doing an equally impressive job of getting noticed.

The ad cost a cool £6 million so John Lewis are using their social media accounts to ensure a bigger return on investment. With the advert trending on Twitter almost immediately after its release and the YouTube video already having already clocked 1.9m views already it’s no wonder that John Lewis have reported an 11.4% increase on sales compared to this time last year.

© JohnLewisRetail. “John Lewis Christmas Advert 2012”. Video.

Latest Posts

I don’t read a lot of marketing books cover to cover. Most get a flick-through, a speed read (or even a Blinkist), then quietly shelved. But Marketing & Psychology by Dr Tom Bowden-Green and Luan Wise, I read it properly. With a…
Read More
TikTok has released its annual trend prediction report for marketers, designed to help brands understand where the platform – and its users – are heading next. If you’re trying to grow your presence or plan smarter content for the year ahead, it’s well worth…
Read More
2016 is when social stopped being “posts in a feed” and became a ranked system that decides what gets seen, shared, trusted. In 2026 that same logic sits everywhere, in-platform search, Google snippets, and AI overviews that summarise your brand before anyone clicks. Ofcom says around 30% of UK keyword searches now show AI overviews, and 53% of adults often see AI summaries. The uncomfortable truth is that buyers get a machine-written version of you, then sanity-check it with humans in DMs and group chats. Brands win when their claims are clear, proof is easy to find, and real people show up consistently.
Read More