John Lewis has divided fans with its “unexpected” Christmas advert about a young boy called Alfie and his mischievous plant Snapper.
A staple of the festive season, the British retailer’s annual Christmas advert has introduced the world to characters including Buster the bouncing dog, Moz the monster, and Skye the alien and Edgar the excitable dragon.
This year’s offering arrived on Thursday (9 November), unveiling the story of Alfie, who buys a grow-your-own Venus flytrap that soon grows and grows. Alfie develops a friendship with the plant, which he names Snapper and dresses like a Christmas tree.
However, with the plant causing havoc around the house – making a mess and snapping at the dog – Snapper is cast out into the garden by Alfie’s family and forced to watch the family and their actual tree inside. That is, until Christmas Day, when Alfie heads outside in the frost to give Snapper a present, which he promptly chomps down on, before spitting out gifts for the family.
The advert features the tagline: “Let your traditions grow”. Rather than the usual pop cover soundtrack, the music is written by Italian electro duo Le Feste Antonacci and performed by tenor Andrea Bocelli.
But while John Lewis aimed to do something new and different with this year’s advert, many viewers felt that the short film “doesn’t hit the mark”.
“Not really sure how I feel about the plant eating thing in the John Lewis Christmas advert or the music choice,” one tweet read. “Not very Christmassy for me.”
Alfie and Snapper in the John Lewis Christmas advert— (John Lewis)
With a harsher critique, another viewer wrote: “Absolutely by far the worst #JohnLewis Christmas Ad I have ever ever seen. Not one bit emotional or happy. It’s actually a little bit scary, with a creepy plant that’s alive. What a disappointment.”
One viewer wrote that they were “so disappointed”, while another echoed that it was “not heartwarming [or] that funny”.
“Sorry #JohnLewis, but this year’s Christmas advert wasn’t it. Incredibly disappointing. Apart from Lidl, it’s not been a strong year for Christmas ads,” another post read.
One commenter wrote: “Always gets me in the festive spirit hearing the Christmas adverts, but this certainly hasn’t given me that. Dissatisfied @JohnLewis, poor show.”
However, some fans were more appreciative of the unexpected tone and content of the advert.
“Not as heart-warmingly special as I expected but still a great advert nonetheless. Quite comical as well,” one fan wrote, while another viewer added: “Honestly, right now we could all do with a bit of a laugh.”
“A different vibe from a John Lewis Christmas Advert especially, but oh so joyful,” another added.
Many viewers pointed out the similarities between the advert and Little Shop of Horrors, the 1982 musical about a talking, singing (and murdering) Venus flytrap.
The Independent’s Ellie Muir was more positive of Snapper and co. In her four-star review, she wrote: “It’s probably quite cool to be sceptical about Christmas adverts. I really tried to be bah humbug about this one. But I couldn’t fight falling for John Lewis’s protagonist this year… He’s the underdog.
“Venus flytraps are known to be vicious, carnivorous plants. Insects and arachnids are their typical victims; not shiny wrapping paper. He also teaches us a lesson: it’s OK to embrace new traditions at Christmas if the age-old ones aren’t cutting it anymore.”
