John Lewis focuses on gifting for second episode of ‘golden quarter’ ad series

John Lewis has launched the second instalment of its ‘golden quarter’ trilogy of ads, which it describes as its biggest-ever marketing investment.

‘Give Knowingly’ focuses on gifting and looks to reinforce the brand’s value credentials. It follows the resurrection of John Lewis’s Never Knowingly Undersold price promise in September and the launch of the first ad in the series, ‘Live Knowingly’, with the final episode set to be revealed later in November in the run-up to Christmas.

The latest ad, created by Saatchi & Saatchi, is product-focused, showcasing the brand’s top 100 gifts for the season, such as cashmere jumpers, china and soft toys, as well as brands including Charlotte Tilbury, Ninja, Google and Dyson.

Black Friday is a crucial trading period for the retailer, which says nearly two-thirds of all purchases in November are expected to be Christmas gifts.

A total of eight films will run on TV, broadcast video on demand, digital, social, a large-scale out-of-home and print campaign, and social media and radio.

When John Lewis reintroduced its Never Knowingly Undersold price promise, customer director Charlotte Lock admitted that value perceptions have been a “detractor” for the brand.

Of the latest campaign, she says the hope is it “reminds” people “they can always buy the right gift at the right price at John Lewis, not just over the Black Friday period”.

“As Black Friday builds and our customers focus on finding the right gift for their loved ones, this campaign offers them inspiration,” she adds.

The reimagined Never Knowingly Undersold promise sees John Lewis match the price of products to those of 25 retailers and is supported by John Lewis’s biggest-ever marketing campaign.

Executive director Peter Ruis said in September that the activity to date has “hit a sweet spot”, having “over 55,000 extra organic visits to the site despite no advertising campaign” at the time.