A Global Cultural Moment

John Lewis, the British department store giant, premiered its highly anticipated 2025 Christmas advert on Tuesday, 4 November 2025, officially kicking off the festive season for many around the world. The campaign, a significant cultural and commercial event in the United Kingdom, has evolved from a simple marketing tool into a global phenomenon, with its annual release marking the unofficial start of the holiday shopping period. Created by the agency Saatchi & Saatchi for the second consecutive year, the advert strategically shifts focus from the cute characters of past campaigns like 'Monty the Penguin' to explore the power of family relationships.

Nostalgia as a Strategy

Titled 'Where Love Lives,' the 2025 advert centres on a middle-aged father who receives a vinyl record from his teenage son for Christmas. The gift triggers a nostalgic journey back to his 1990s clubbing days, interweaving memories of his youth with tender moments of his son's childhood. The soundtrack is the iconic 90s club classic "Where Love Lives" by Alison Limerick, with a new, slower version reimagined by British artist Labrinth also featured. This deliberate use of nostalgia is a powerful marketing tool; research shows that ads evoking nostalgia can increase enjoyability and emotional connection, with 75% of consumers more likely to make a purchase. Franki Goodwin, Chief Creative Officer at Saatchi & Saatchi, stated that this year, "music is the gift itself," designed to inspire "thoughtful, expressive gifting."

Economic Drivers and Early Launches

The advert's launch is notably 10 days earlier than in 2024, reflecting a broader industry trend among major UK retailers like Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury's. According to John Lewis's brand director, Rosie Hanley, this shift is a direct response to consumer behaviour. With households facing high living costs, shoppers are starting their Christmas planning as early as August to "spread the cost of gifting across several paydays." This trend is amplified by major sales events like Black Friday, which encourage early purchasing. Data from Sensormatic Solutions indicates that 73% of UK shoppers plan to spend more time searching for deals this Christmas, with 23% having already started shopping by October to find bargains.

The Kenyan Context: Parallels in Festive Marketing

While the John Lewis campaign has no direct link to Kenya, its strategic underpinnings resonate with trends in the East African retail market. Kenyan retailers, like their global counterparts, leverage the festive season for major campaigns focused on family and value. Naivas Supermarket, for instance, has run extensive Christmas campaigns like "Krisi na Naivas," which are designed to be authentically Kenyan and create memorable experiences to drive sales and in-store traffic. These campaigns often involve significant giveaways and offers, reflecting a similar understanding of the consumer's desire for value during the high-spend holiday period. The adoption of global shopping phenomena like Black Friday is also gaining traction in Kenya, driven by the growth of e-commerce platforms such as Jumia. Jumia's 2025 Black Friday campaign, positioned as an "early Christmas gift," runs for the entire month of November, explicitly linking the sales event to festive shopping. This mirrors the UK trend of an extended promotional period leading up to Christmas. However, the impact of Black Friday in Kenya is still developing compared to markets like South Africa. A 2018 GeoPoll survey noted that while the event is growing, a significant portion of Kenyan consumers were not aware of the sales, indicating a different market maturity level. Ultimately, the John Lewis advert serves as a high-profile example of global retail strategies that are increasingly visible in Kenya. The focus on emotional, nostalgia-driven storytelling and the economically-motivated trend of earlier, value-focused holiday campaigns are universal tactics being adapted by local retailers to capture the crucial festive market. As Kenya's retail sector continues to expand and formalize, these global trends are likely to become even more pronounced.