STEAL THIS IDEA.... if you have a Celebrity Endorsement

Hello, creative souls!

Everyone in the UK has listened to and loved at least one Elton John song in their lives, and that’s just bare minimum. Simply put - he’s a legend among legends.

John Lewis & Partners had Elton John endorsing them for their Christmas Campaign in 2018 and they made one of the best tribute advertisements of all time. (There’s a caveat, more on this later).

THE GIST: The narrative begins with present-day Elton John playing "Your Song" and then transitions through various stages of his career, including significant performances and iconic moments. The ad concludes by circling back to young Elton receiving the piano on Christmas morning. The ad aims to evoke nostalgia and highlight the impact of meaningful gifts. It focuses on the emotional journey and how a single gift can influence someone's future, encapsulated by the tagline, "Some gifts are more than just a gift"​.

The advert ‘reverse traces’ Elton John's life and career, from present to when he received his first piano as a Christmas gift from his mother and grandmother. This piano is depicted as a transformative gift that set him on his musical path.

Why this works so well?

The idea of the ad is to glorify the journey and not the brand itself. Let’s face it, no one likes a narcissist, especially when a brand does it. But how do you then sell your product without letting people know who you are?

You talk about what you stand for - let your audience connect with you on a larger, sacred principle. The two brands that have consistently nailed this?

Nike, and Apple. I’m sure everyone remembers the voiceover that goes “Here’s to the crazy ones..” with Einstein on screen in Apple’s famous campaign from 1997.

This Elton John ad is about celebrating a journey. It hinges on decoding an external factor that made you, you. This external factor is shown to be the act of giving wonderful gift, alas facilitated by John Lewis. The story unfolds backwards to one moment in time that lead to the legend or the status quo. This telling of a simple story of the origin of something intangible in that person, like a spirit, a quality, an attitude, a way of living or a school of thought - it could be any of this, really.

But that also is a little bit of a problem…

Elton John was the core focus of this ad. That’s great - but the campaign was for Christmas, which occupies a very minor portion of the ad. As brilliant as it is, it still didn’t hit the exact mark it set out to achieve.

Lesson to learn: Make sure that there’s a tie in - and make sure said tie in is strong. What would have made the Christmas messaging stand out? Could be anything - perhaps a narrative on the lines of “Journey across multiple Christmases”, where each element of the flashback tied into the final reveal of the Christmas Gift. Or a more on the face presentation. Either way, It would have functioned both as a Christmas advert and a tribute to the legend.

Here are your takeaways from this advert:

1. You have a brand ambassador - great. Their influence will help you. But for it to help you effectively, your material should be as much about them as much as it’s about you.

2. People care about representations more than they do about product. Michael Jordan represented a winning mindset and peak athletic ability - which helped convince people to buy Nike. It’s the former that convinces people, not how snazzy the latest sneakers look.

3. Make sure your brand vision resonates with the celebrity and their public image.

Ideas corner:

1. Emulate the same ad with a sports person if you’re a sports or sports related brand. It’s very straight forward - turn back from the biggest achievement, the apex point to the first time this now living legend received X equipment to start playing the sport.

2. If you’re a B2B company, you can represent the journey of entrepreneurs - starting from garages, to ending up at the stock exchange, with your product helping them along the way.

3. If you’re a smartphone brand that’s looking to market your latest 108249 MegaPixel camera, think of a simple evolution of photographs across generations of a single family with the final shot being one from your phone.

Until next time, have a wonderful creative week ahead.

Figment is written by Abbhinav Kastura, a writer/producer who has spent a decade making impactful internet videos and Guru Nicketan, an advertising nerd, B2B Marketer, stand-up comedian, and a film buff.