We can now officially say it's Christmas as John Lewis has just released their Christmas advert for 2025 and it's got us sobbing already into our Quality Street tin.
The new advert 'Where Love Lives' was shared earlier today (4th November) and follows in John Lewis' heartstring pulling tradition of creating memorable and moving adverts that capture the spirit of Christmas.
This year's advert is set around a father and his teenage son. After the Christmas presents have been opened the family set around to clearing up the gifts, however, the dad spots one for himself still hidden at the back of tree.
He unwraps it to discover a vinyl record of Alison Limerick’s 1990 song 'Where Love Lives' and he's instantly transported back to his 1990s raving days. The mood then changes when he reflects on his relationship with his son through the various stages of his life.
The advert ends with the pair wordlessly embracing. Watch the full advert in the box out above.
Apart from making us completely sob on our morning commute, there's also a lot to be taken away from this years's advert, here's the four hidden meanings we spotted in this year's advert.
The hidden meanings of the John Lewis Christmas advert
Nostalgia for youth
One of the perhaps more obvious meanings of this year's advert is the nod to a nostalgia for youth. As soon as the dad unwraps the vinyl record of Alison Limerick’s 1990 song 'Where Love Lives', he's instantly transported back to his nightclubbing days and that feeling of being care-free. We see moments of him dancing away in a sweaty club, watching the other young people chat on sofas and have drinks - a euphoric feeling of not having adult concerns, aches and pains.
Connection between father and son
Amid all the dancing, the dad then sort of catches up with his life in the present and remembers what is important to him now - his family - and in that moment specifically, his teenage son. He catches sight of him across the dancefloor as the young man he is now, before the camera cuts to seeing him as a toddler, and then as a baby. It's a reminder of the strength of their connection that might have been missing throughout the rest of the Christmas day, or even in the year leading up to Christmas.
As the YouTube description explains, "We don’t always know how to say how we feel. Not out loud. Not properly. But then comes Christmas and something in us wants to try. This is the story of a dad and his son, and the gift that helps them find their way back to one another. Because, sometimes, a gift can say the things we can't."
How quickly time passes
The scene in which the son ages backwards from young man to a baby is also a reminder of how quickly life happens, and then in an instant the child you saw as a young toddler can quickly become a teenager in the blink of an eye.
Male loneliness
Perhaps the biggest message viewers are taking from the John Lewis Christmas advert this year is that there is a big Adolescence adjacent meaning to the advert. In a year where male loneliness, the manosphere and toxic masculinity have been front of our minds, John Lewis looks to show a physical manifestation of the situation right now.
The father and son find it difficult to communicate in words, as demonstrated by the ending slogan of the advert "if you can't find the words, find the gift".
All day it seems the son has been distant from his family (he's wearing headphones rather than interacting) but is clearly trying to emotionally communicate with his dad as he hovers while watching his dad unwrap the present.
It's only until after unwrapping the gift does the dad realises how much his son needs him and how much he in turns needs his son, and the pair are able to connect on a deeper emotional level.
Honestly, can someone pass the tissues?
