John Lewis – Christmas advert

Remember the John Lewis 2013 advert, the one with the hare, the bear and Lily Allen’s Somewhere Only We Know? These annual offerings from John Lewis are an anticipated part of the festive season. The Graphical Tree were proud to have produced the print for the animation.

The ad was created by creative agency Adam & Eve/DDB, and directed by Elliot Dear and Yves Geleyn from production companies Blinkink and Hornet. The characters were designed by Disney artist Aaron Blaise, who previously worked on the Lion King and Brother Bear.

Adam & Eve/DDB commissioned The Graphical Tree, with the upmost secrecy of course, to produce the stills for the animation. That’s over 500 A1, prints equating to approx 25, 000 frames. It was thrilling to see the ad taking shape over the months of production prior to its launch.

The finished advert is an innovative combination of 2D stop motion drawings shot on a 3D set. It has the charm and nostalgia of 2D animation, with the texture and tangibility of stop motion.

Illustrator Blaise did the character design for the bear and the hare, working with a team based in Florida. They ‘cleaned-up’ the drawings once they had been signed off. A team in the UK were assembled to work with the drawings to add the colour on them. Once the line drawings were coloured, The Graphical Tree printed each drawing variation onto boards. These were then laser cut and given to the animator to use on the 3D set.