The festive season is here, or at least John Lewis would have us believe with the launch of their latest tear-jerker advert yesterday, designed to break our hearts and empty our wallets while teaching us the true meaning of Christmas.
The two-minute advert, produced in support of Age UK, set social media ablaze with wise-cracks and outpourings from weepy sentimentalists alike.
An old nursery rhyme character, the man on the moon, is brought back to lonely life as his solitary existence living in a lunar crater is observed by a little girl on Earth.
Desperate to cheer him up she tries various ways to reach him but all fall short until her ingenious Pixar-inspired solution means a Christmas gift reaches the lonely old man.
The message neatly circumvents consumerism and shines a cold, twinkling light on the loneliness epidemic, as Age UK tell us 60% of older people don’t expect to be happy this Christmas.
Chief executive of Age UK Merton, Charmaine Bennett, told South West Londoner: “We are delighted that John Lewis have chosen to shine a light on loneliness this Christmas with their advert.
“It is a brilliant way to raise awareness of the issue of loneliness in a powerful and heart-warming way.
“At Age UK Merton one of our key aims is to bring people together to tackle loneliness and during December we have a packed programme including a Christmas lunch every day in the week of the December 14.”
Christmas can be a difficult time for those who feel excluded from festive fun with their families, missing a loved one who has passed away was top of the ‘worry list’ for the over-65s.
Age UK have themselves releases a short film to coincide with their campaign to end loneliness – a series of interviews with older people reveal the bleakness in daily life if you have no one to talk to.
Dame Judi Dench is one of the high-profile supporters of the campaign, she said: “I’ve come to know that the most important thing in life as you get older is the people around you. Like many others, I eagerly await the arrival of loved ones at Christmas and without them the festive celebrations just wouldn’t be the same.
“So it’s heart-breaking to think of those who will have no one at all to share these special occasions. Age UK is trying to change this: help them to help an older person this festive season and support its No one should have no one at Christmas campaign.”
There are a number of ways you can support Age UK help to end loneliness in older people, from their telephone befriending service to helping out at your local branch giving advice and support.
Images courtesy of John Lewis via YouTube, with thanks
