One for the Dads… John Lewis Xmas ad harks back to the 90s

It has become almost as much a part of the festive season as Santa Claus and a tree surrounded by gifts.

But John Lewis’ Christmas TV advert will be breaking with tradition this year and won’t be the tearjerker we’ve come to know and love.

The ad, released today, will tap into parental nostalgia by taking a trip down memory lane for those who may have spent their pre-childhood years enjoying the glory days of Britain’s nightclubs.

It might not seem like a particularly festive theme, but the new ad centers on the relationship between a father and his teenage son; This is a first for one of the store’s Christmas campaigns.

The film opens with the teenager nervously waiting for his father to find his gift (a vinyl record containing dance music) hidden under the Christmas tree.

Surprised by the thoughtful gift, his father goes to his record player to try the gift, while his son has his headphones wrapped around his neck, timidly watching for a reaction.

As soon as the song’s first beat – Alison Limerick’s 1990 club anthem Where Love Lives – fills the room, her father is ushered from the living room into a sweaty, overcrowded nightclub full of party-goers.

The ad soon moves on from the father dancing at the club to his son’s toddler and baby days. The scene then flashes back to the present day, as the modern version of the track echoes softly in the background; where the embarrassed teenager is embraced by his emotional father.

The ad, created by Saatchi & Saatchi, shows a father cleaning up discarded packaging when he comes across an unopened gift bearing a yellow sticky note with the word ‘Dad’ and a smiley face on it.

He opens the vinyl wrapper (there’s a picture on the wrapping paper) and heads straight for his record player; In the commercial, she is seen dancing at a club in the ’90s, while flashbacks show her remembering her son as a little boy and a baby.

The young boy (pictured), wearing headphones around his neck, timidly watches his father’s reaction

As soon as the first beat of the ’90s classic fills the room, the father returns from the modern living room to a sweaty, overcrowded nightclub (pictured) full of party-goers.

The advert soon cuts to flashbacks from the father dancing in the club, filmed at Electric Brixton in London, showing his son remembering being a toddler and a baby in the 90s (pictured)

Then, as Labrinth’s new version of the track echoes softly in the background, the scene flashes back to the present and the slightly embarrassed teenager is embraced by her emotional father.

The two have a quiet moment before the man starts dancing again, causing the teen to laugh. The ad ends with the message: ‘If you can’t find the words, find the gift.’

Rosie Hanley, brand director at John Lewis, told the Daily Mail that this year’s ad, created by Saatchi & Saatchi, carries “all the DNA” of the brand’s festive campaigns for which it is known, but is also quite “unexpected”.

The vinyl disc will be sold exclusively at John Lewis, with Miss Limerick’s version on side A and British rapper Labrinth’s new version on side B.

All profits from the £14.99 registration will go towards the firm’s Creating Happier Futures campaign to help people growing up in care.

Ms Limerick, 66, said she ‘squealed like a child’ when she heard her song would be featured in the advert, adding: ‘the storytelling, the cheerful resolution at the end, the thoughtful gift… it’s John Lewis through and through.’