Snapper the Venus flytrap takes on a life of its own (Picture: John Lewis)
Every year as summer turns to autumn and the festive season begins to gradually creep in, excitement for the new John Lewis Christmas advert reaches fever pitch.
For 16 years, the retailer has been delighting consumers with its enchanting tales of love and generosity, creating classic ads such as The Long Wait, Monty the Penguin and The Man on the Moon.
Now, for its 2023 offering, the company has done it again, launching a joyful story that goes in unexpected directions… and features one of their most legendary music stars to date.
While in the past, John Lewis has set its adverts to the tunes of recognisable covers, this time around, they decided to include an original track sung by none other than globally-renowned Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.
Yes, you read that right. The iconic singer – who is widely regarded as having one of if not the most beautiful voice in the world, and is ‘very passionate’ about Christmas – has joined forces with the retailer to tell the story of Snapper, an uncontrollable but lovable Venus flytrap.
When Metro.co.uk had the opportunity to preview the advert, we spoke to John Lewis and advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi about the film, hearing about how Andrea, 65, recorded the original song Festa from his home in Pisa.
The dulcet tones of Andrea Bocelli are unmistakable (Picture: Andrea Bocelli)
The young boy, played by eight-year-old Teddy, finds a curious box at a market (Picture: John Lewis)
The adorable Snapper sprouts from the seed (Picture: John Lewis)
The power of the opera artist’s voice brings the story of Snapper to life, after a young boy discovers a box at a market with an old-fashioned design that reads: ‘Grow your own perfect Christmas tree.’
The boy, played by eight-year-old Teddy Holton-Frances, plants the seed that was inside the box at home, and watches attentively as a little plant sprouts out of the soil.
Much to his surprise, the little Venus flytrap comes to life… and then, it begins to grow in size and personality at an alarming pace.
Very soon, Snapper is almost the same height as Teddy, who beams with delight over his new friend as his mum, gran and sibling look increasingly concerned by the Little Shop of Horrors-esque creature in their home.
The boy tries to convince his family that Snapper is the perfect alternative to their traditional Christmas tree – but they’re not convinced, dragging the plant out of the living room when he becomes too big and continues to cause havoc in their home.
The boy is overjoyed by his new plant friend (Picture: John Lewis)
He tries to convince his family that Snapper would make the perfect Christmas tree (Picture: John Lewis)
The Venus flytrap looks overcome with sadness when forced to stay outdoors (Picture: John Lewis)
Snapper looks distraught when he’s cast out into the cold and forced to watch festive activities from the garden, witnessing as a traditional Christmas tree is put up, much to the boy’s dismay.
When Christmas day arrives, the young boy decides to take a present from the tree and place it on the snowy ground by his devastated plant friend, before his family go out to join him.
For a split-second, it appears as though Snapper has inadvertently put a stopper on the Christmas magic, when he snaps up a present and seems to gobble it down his throat.
But it’s quickly revealed that the Venus flytrap is simply unwrapping the gifts for his family, as he spits them back out into their arms.
The main message of the advert – which is titled ‘Snapper, the perfect tree’ – is celebrating old family traditions, as well as embracing new ones that might have evolved over time.
Who knows – perhaps we’ll all start putting up giant Venus flytraps instead of Christmas trees in the years to come?!
The boy refuses to let Snapper be excluded from the festive activities (Picture: John Lewis)
The plant ends up becoming an integral part of the family (Picture: John Lewis)
Snapper even belts out the final notes of Andrea Bocelli’s song Festa (Picture: John Lewis)
Teddy was able to convey the innocent sadness and unadulterated joy of a child with immense skill, despite having to imagine Snapper with the help of puppeteers and human stand-ins.
The eight-year-old, who apparently doesn’t have past acting experience, was discovered after an open casting call, prompting around 2,000 children to audition for the lead role.
John Lewis purposely wanted to go down the more joyful route with their ad this year, in response to the ‘mood of the nation’ and a ‘tough few years’ that many have experienced.
‘Lots of people tell us that the John Lewis ad kicks off the Christmas season for them. So bringing all that together, we were like, do you know what – it feels like it’s a year for a bit more joy and a bit more uplifting,’ Rosie Hanley, Director of Marketing at John Lewis, told Metro.co.uk.
‘We wanted to bring back the Christmas magic and entertain. We wanted to have a little fun and hopefully that comes through.’
The John Lewis ad is the epitome of festive celebration – but ironically, it was filmed on one of the hottest days of the year in August, with the residential backdrop of a street in Pinner.
Our hearts go out to all of the actors who had to wrap up in winter knits for the shoot!
Franki Goodwin, Chief Creative Officer at Saatchi & Saatchi, spoke at greater length about how the character of Snapper was designed, who’s set to appear on all sorts of John Lewis merchandise, including fluffy children’s slippers.
Having begun the process of coming up with the ad in February, Franki said: ‘Because of time we had to start designing before we had the directors on board. It was brilliant because we were able to really figure out what we needed to create the emotion.
‘You may have noticed that he doesn’t have eyes, which is a big conversation that went on for a long time. But we develop these lovely – we call them feelers – these leaves that create characterisation.
‘It was really important to us that in the film specifically, he wasn’t a cartoon, but actually slightly more lifelike, slightly more rooted in plant world.’
Andrea Bocelli belting out a powerful melody in Italian while a young boy finds a best friend in an anthropomorphic Venus flytrap is certainly not what we expected of this year’s John Lewis Christmas advert – but the unlikely combination is full to the brim with festive magic.
Andrea Bocelli is a globally-renowned music icon (Picture: Noam Galai/WireImage)
What does Andrea Bocelli’s song Festa mean?
Written and produced by Italian electro-pop duo Le Feste Antonacci, Andrea’s song for the John Lewis 2023 Christmas advert is called Festa, meaning ‘celebration’.
While it was predicted that the ad would feature a cover of a recognisable and famous ballad, the tune is an original song.
Speaking about his involvement in the campaign, Andrea said: ‘I am delighted to take part in this wonderful and unique tradition of Christmas storytelling.
‘It is very special for me given the great support this will bring to both the John Lewis and Andrea Bocelli foundations. Joy to all of your worlds this Christmas!’
Festa is set to be released in a longer form as a charity single, with proceeds of the sale going to the John Lewis Partnership’s Building Happier Futures charities, which help to support young people and families with experience in care who are in need.
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The advert we’ve all been waiting for is finally here!