Highlights:
- John Lewis reveals its 2025 Christmas campaign Where Love Lives
- Story centres on a father and son reconnecting through music and memory
- Features Alison Limerick’s 1990s hit Where Love Lives and a new version by Labrinth
- Limited-edition vinyl (£14.99 / ₹1,580) to raise funds for the “Building Happier Futures” charity
The John Lewis Christmas advert has dropped, and with it, the unofficial start of Christmas in the UK. The 2025 John Lewis film Where Love Lives drops the fairytale stuff. No mascots this time. Just a dad and his teenage son, a bit of distance between them.
It’s all shot inside an ordinary home, wrapping paper scattered across the floor. The son’s got his headphones on, half present. The father’s picking up after the morning chaos, looking tired. He spots a small box still under the tree, a vinyl record of Where Love Lives, Alison Limerick’s 90s club track.
He places it on the turntable. The first beat lands, steady and familiar. For a moment the room fades and he’s back in his younger days, lost in music and memory. The Labrinth rework softens the edges and pulls him through those flashes. He comes back to the living room, music still playing. His son watches him, half amused, half moved. They hug. Nothing is said, but you feel it.
John Lewis’s 2025 Christmas advert focuses on a father and son reconnecting through music and memory Youtube Screengrab/John Lewis
Why Where Love Lives hits harder this year
This John Lewis Christmas advert feels different. There’s no cartoon magic, no animals. It’s the first John Lewis campaign to focus entirely on a father-son relationship, a subtle nod to how British families, including many British-Asian households, navigate emotion and affection.
The message lands simply: love doesn’t always need words.
- YouTube youtu.be
A new tone for a national tradition
Since the early 2010s, the John Lewis Christmas advert has become part of Britain’s December DNA. Each year’s short film sparks debate, parodies and even chart hits. But this one is more grounded, swapping fantasy for feeling.
The new strapline, “If you can’t find the words, find the gift” speaks directly to that.
And yes, there’s still a product tie-in: a £14.99 vinyl sold in stores, with all profits supporting the retailer’s Building Happier Futures programme for care-experienced young people.
John Lewis’s 2025 Christmas advert closes with a heartfelt hug, marking the first time John Lewis spotlights a father-son bondYoutube Screengrab/John Lewis
Music, memory and a touch of 90s nostalgia
The ad also taps into the UK’s ongoing vinyl revival. John Lewis recently partnered with Rough Trade to bring record collections into its stores, and this campaign fits that perfectly. For Gen X and older millennials many now parents, Where Love Lives isn’t just a song; it’s a time capsule. That link between the music of one generation and the emotions of another gives the advertisement its power.
In homes where words don’t always come easily, where gestures matter more than speeches, Where Love Lives lands right on beat. And just like that, Christmas in Britain has officially begun.
