Christmas ad stars a dog on a trampoline

Level 2 l Upper intermediate

1 Warmer
On which dates in December are these holidays and festivals celebrated?
What religions and/or countries are they associated with?

Hanukkah

Christmas Day

New Years Eve

Saint Nicholas Day

Kwanzaa

Omisoka

Boxing Day

Saint Lucias Day

Bodhi Day

2 Key words
Match the key words with the definitions below. Then, find them in the article to read them in context. The
paragraph numbers are given to help you.
bouncing

bumper

cover

cuddly

festive

virtual reality

sentimental

set

shot

tearjerking

teasers

tie-up

1. making people cry in a way that is deliberately intended ________________________ (para 1)

2. jumping up and down energetically ________________________ (para 1)
3. bigger or more successful than usual ________________________ (para 1)
4. connected with a celebration, especially Christmas ________________________ (para 2)
5. a song that is recorded by someone who is not the original performer ________________________ (para 4)
6. making people experience feelings of sadness, sympathy, love etc ________________________ (para 6)
7. soft and attractive so that you want to hug it ________________________ (para 9)
8. filmed ________________________ (para 11)
9. a stage or the place where a film is made ________________________ (para 11)
10. very short pieces of film advertising a film, TV programme, etc, made to create interest before the completed
version is released ________________________ (para 13)
11. an agreement between two or more companies or organizations to become business partners
________________________ (para 15)

NEWS LESSONS / Christmas ad stars a dog on a trampoline / Upper intermediate

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2016

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12. images and sounds produced by a computer that make you feel as if you are in a real three-dimensional space
________________________ (para 16)

Christmas ad stars a dog on a trampoline

Level 2 l Upper intermediate

John Lewis unveils Christmas ad
starring a dog on a trampoline
Sarah Butler
10 November, 2016
1 Weve had the tearjerking tales of Monty the
penguin, a bear and a hare, and a man on the
moon but, this time, John Lewis is hoping that
Buster the boxer, a comedy bouncing dog, will
bring them a bumper Christmas.
2 Buster is the star of the department stores festive
ad campaign, which, in recent years, has become
something that many people look forward to. It is
seen as the start of the festive season by many
British shoppers.
3 The dogs friends in the advert, which cost 1m to
make in a west London studio, include two foxes,
a badger and a hedgehog. The department store
will spend a total of 6m on the campaign.
4 The music for the ad is a cover version of Randy
Crawfords One Day Ill Fly Away and the
two-minute film tells the story of a six-year-old girl
called Bridget who loves to bounce.
5 Bridgets dad struggles to set up a trampoline in
the garden ready to surprise her on Christmas
morning. But, only Buster witnesses the garden
wildlife trying it out the night before. When the girl
runs into the garden to try out her present, Buster
gets there first, showing off his best moves on
the trampoline.
6 The ad, with the line Gifts that everyone will
love, is a return to gentle comedy after 2015s
sentimental story of a lonely old man stuck on
the moon.
7 Craig Inglis, customer director at John Lewis,
said: 2016 has certainly been quite a year so we
hope our advert will make people smile. It really
embraces a sense of fun and magic, reminding
everyone what it feels like to give the perfect gift
at Christmas.
8 In recent years, department store John Lewis
has competed with supermarket chain
Sainsburys for the most viewed Christmas advert
both got more than 23m views on YouTube
in 2015.

10 Inglis said: Each year, we work with a charity

which fits our ad and we hope this years
campaign will encourage more children to
discover a love of British wildlife and encourage
support of the Wildlife Trusts.
11 The ad was shot on a set built at Londons Black
Island Studios and was directed by Dougal
Wilson, who was responsible for three previous
John Lewis Christmas adverts including 2011s
The Long Wait, 2012s The Journey, and 2014s
Montys Christmas.
12 Buster is played by a dog called Biff, although
some of his best moves have been created
on computer. The computer imagery has been
produced by the same team that created Monty
the penguin for the 2014 ad campaign. The wild
animals are entirely animated.
13 As in previous years, the ad was previewed with
a series of teasers shared on Twitter
and Facebook.
14 John Lewis has employed a host of innovative
social media tools to help encourage sharing and
interaction as the battle for hearts and minds in
the run-up to the biggest shopping period of the
year becomes increasingly digital.
15 These include a tie-up with Snapchat, which will
allow UK users of the messaging app to take
photos with comedy dog ears and nose when
Snapchat is used in a John Lewis store.
16 Visitors to John Lewiss Oxford Street store in
central London will be able to try a virtual reality
version of the trampoline, where they can bounce
with the animals.
17 John Lewis says its Christmas ad campaigns
over the past four years, which have included
two snowmen, have resulted in an average 16%
increase in festive sales. The number of festive
shoppers in John Lewis stores has increased
more than 50% from 926,000 in 2013 to 1.4
million in 2015.
Guardian News and Media 2016
First published in The Guardian, 10/11/16

NEWS LESSONS / Christmas ad stars a dog on a trampoline / Upper intermediate

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2016

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9 Once again, the adverts have a charitable link.

The Wildlife Trusts will get 10% from sales of
cuddly toy versions of the animals.

Christmas ad stars a dog on a trampoline

Level 2 l Upper intermediate

3 Who is that?
Who or what are the following people or companies in the article?
1. Buster

6. Randy Crawford

2. Bridget

7. Biff

3. John Lewis

8. Monty

4. the Wildlife Trusts

9. Dougal Wilson

5. Craig Inglis

10. Sainsburys

4 Comprehension check
Answer these questions about the article with as much information as possible.
1. Who are the stars of John Lewiss 2016 Christmas advertisement?
2. How much did the ad cost to make?
3. On average, by how much have John Lewiss Christmas sales increased since they started making their
popular ads?
4. How does the 2016 ad support a charity?
5. What does Craig Inglis say about 2016 and what does he mean by this?
6. What effect does he hope the ad will have on people?

5 Webquest
a. Find and watch John Lewis Christmas adverts from the years 2012 to 2016. In which years ad can
you see
1. two snowmen?
2. animated foxes?
3. a bear and a hare?
4. a man on the moon?
5. Monty the penguin?
b. What message does each advertisement try to send?
c. In your opinion, which ad is
the most tearjerking?
the most creative?
the funniest?
the cutest?

NEWS LESSONS / Christmas ad stars a dog on a trampoline / Upper intermediate

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2016

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the most effective?

Christmas ad stars a dog on a trampoline

Level 2 l Upper intermediate

Compare what you have written with other students.

Does the 2016 John Lewis advert express or show any of the things you wrote?

What holidays and festivals do you celebrate in December? Who do you celebrate them with?

When do you start planning, preparing and shopping for these holidays and festivals?

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2016

NEWS LESSONS / Christmas ad stars a dog on a trampoline / Upper intermediate

Write ten things that you associate with Christmas.

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6 Discussion

Christmas ad stars a dog on a trampoline

Level 2 l Upper intermediate

KEY
1 Warmer

3 Who is that?

Teachers note: You could have the students do this

quiz in pairs or small groups, set a time limit and then
have them call out the answers. Find out if there are
any other festivals they would like to add to this list
for December.

1.
2.
3.
4.

2 Key words
1. tearjerking
2. bouncing
3. bumper
4. festive
5. cover
6. sentimental
7. cuddly
8. shot
9. set
10. teasers
11. tie-up
12. virtual reality

4 Comprehension check
1. a boxer dog named Buster, a six-year-old girl, two
animated foxes, a hedgehog and a badger
2. 1 million
3. 16%
4. John Lewis is selling cuddly toy versions of the
animals in the ads. Ten per cent of the sales of
these will go to the Wildlife Trusts. John Lewis also
hopes that the campaign will encourage children to
discover a love of British wildlife.
5. He said that it has been quite a year. By this,
he means that many bad or difficult things have
happened in 2016.
6. He hopes it will make them smile and bring a sense
of fun and magic, reminding them what it feels like
to give the perfect gift at Christmas.

5 Webquest
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

2012
2016
2013
2015
2014

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2016

NEWS LESSONS / Christmas ad stars a dog on a trampoline / Upper intermediate

Hanukkah an eight-day Jewish festival; running,

in 2016, from 24 December to 1 January
Christmas Day 25 December; a Christian festival;
celebrated in many countries
New Years Eve 31 December; also known as
Saint Sylvesters Day; celebrated in many countries
Saint Nicholas Day 6 December; a Christian
festival; celebrated in many countries
Kwanzaa a week-long holiday honouring African
culture and traditions; 26 December to 1 January
Omisoka 31 December; Japanese New Year
Boxing Day 26 December; celebrated in Britain
Saint Lucias Day 13 December; a Christian feast
day; most commonly celebrated in Scandinavia
Bodhi Day 8 December; a Buddhist festival,
celebrating the day of Buddhas enlightenment

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the dog in the advertisement

the six-year-old girl in the advertisement
the UK department store running the ad campaign
a charity supporting British wildlife that will benefit
from the sale of cuddly toys related to the John
Lewis ad
5. customer director at John Lewis
6. the singer who originally performed the song One
Day Ill Fly Away
7. the dog who plays Buster
8. the penguin in a previous John Lewis Christmas
advertisement
9. the director of the advertisement
10. a UK supermarket chain