Sir Elton John is the star of the 2018 John Lewis Christmas campaign in an advert telling the tear-jerking story of his rise to fame and fortune from humble beginnings.
The mini-biopic, set to his 1970 hit Your Song, shows how one present can change a life and ends with a four-year-old Elton unwrapping his first piano on Christmas Day in 1951.
The £7million advert then cuts to the emotional 71-year-old playing the same instrument while thinking about his mother Sheila, who died last year aged 92, followed by the slogan: ‘Some gifts are more than just a gift’.
Five actors aged between four and 50 were used to play Sir Elton, using prosthetics, CGI and help from the star and his husband David Furnish to ensure they had the same mannerisms and piano playing style.
Viewers are taken back through key moments in his life with scenes of the star on stadium tours, travelling on a private jet, recording Your Song, playing the piano in a local pub and performing in a school recital.
It ends with Sir Elton – then little Reg Dwight – running down the stairs on Christmas morning to see his grandmother Ivy and his mother, who brought him up together because his father, Stanley, was largely absent.
John Lewis has said the advert is ‘inspired by real events’ but admits the finale involves ‘some creativity’ because the singer was never gifted a piano at Christmas, but he had learned to play at his grandmother’s house.
Despite the moving story fans could be disappointed that cuddly stars such as Montie the penguin and Moz the monster have been jettisoned for a celebrity-endorsed campaign.
An emotional Sir Elton John is the star of the 2018 John Lewis Christmas advert, which tells the uplifting and poignant story of his rise to superstardom sparked with the gift of music
Sir Elton appears as himself in the commercial but is also played by five actors including four-year-old Freddie Henderson, who runs down the stairs on Christmas Day for its moving finale
Elton, then Reg Dwight from Pinner, tears the paper away to reveal a beautiful piano that would inspire him to play
The finale ends with Sir Elton playing the same piano and ends with the message: ‘Some gifts are more than just a gift’
It is also the second of the retailer’s Christmas ads to feature Your Song after singer Ellie Goulding recorded a cover for the 2010 campaign.
In September rumours emerged that Sir Elton had agreed to take part – but John Lewis has denied he was paid the £5million fee being mooted. They also said some of his fee was donated to charity.
The musician said today: ‘The John Lewis Christmas campaign has so many warm memories for me and my family.
‘It’s been a lovely opportunity for me to reflect on my life in music and the incredible journey I have been on, and how first playing my grandmother’s piano marks the moment when music came into my life.
‘The ad is absolutely fantastic and I’ve truly loved every minute of being a part of it.’
His husband David Furnish, who was involved in producing the advert, said: ‘I think Elton has enjoyed the process of making this tremendously. I think, you know, emotionally he is thinking about the journey he’s been on as an artist, and that moment, you know, when music came into his life at a very young age when he was encouraged by his mother and his grandmother with his piano’.
Shoppers might be disappointed to learn that there will be no plush toys available in Sir Elton’s likeness this year, with the retailer instead selling four pianos – two uprights for around £800 and two keyboards starting at £150 – and a range of vintage tour t-shirts.
The Boy & The Piano will be released online at 8am this morning before being shown on ITV at 9.15pm tonight.
The advert coincides with the start of ticket sales Sir Elton worldwide farewell tour and next year Taron Egerton will play him in Rocketman, the biopic film being made about the star, with his blessing, due for release next year.
John Lewis says the movie and tour is unrelated to their choice of star and advert, which was filmed over the summer.
Sir Elton sings his first big hit Your Song in a present day gig but the advert goes all the way back to his 1950s childhood
Actor Oliver Marshall wearing prosthetics and original clothes is shown performing on his stadium tour on the West Coast with the crowds recreated using CGI
Viewers are also transported into his tour plane in the 1970s when he became a global superstar and multi-millionaire
It begins with Sir Elton, 71, gently tapping out the opening notes to Your Song before viewers are taken back through his life with scenes of him on stadium tours, travelling on a private jet, performing on Top of the Pops and recording the track – his first major hit – in 1970.
Two adult actors, Oliver Marshall and Simon Burbage were chosen because they are the same height and build as Sir Elton.
They were then transformed using prosthetics, his flamboyant outfits, glasses and even a mohican haircut.
The advert, which was produced with the help of his husband David Furnish, then moves to a young Elton playing the piano in a local pub and performing in a school recital.
And in a moving finale four-year-old Elton, played by young actor Freddie Henderson, is shown running downstairs to see his mother and grandmother where he unwraps a piano as a Christmas gift.
It then cuts back to Sir Elton, who lost his mother Sheila at the age of 92 last December, looking tearful as he plays the same instrument.
Sir Elton, again using an actor, is shown performing Your Song on TV and then recording it for an album in 1970
In the 1960s the star first started performing in the Northwood Hills pub in Pinner, around the corner from where he grew up
Elton, played by Hudson Trindall, is shown performing in a school recital watched by his family in an advert inspired by events in his life (pictured, right, Elton as a child)
The heart of the advert is revealed at the end as Elton as a young boy tears the paper from the piano in front of his grandmother and mother, played by Deborah Baxter and Katie Bonna (left to right)
The child actor looks in wonder at the musical instrument with the message that gifts can inspire and change lives
The final scene shows Elton playing the same piano himself, although John Lewis admit while he learned to play with his grandmother he never received one as a Christmas gift
John Lewis addressed speculation about the cost of this year’s ad, describing reports that it had paid Sir Elton £5million as ‘wildly inaccurate’ and said the ad cost £7million with most of the money going on advertising spending.
It added that Sir Elton had requested that a portion of his fee be donated to the Elton John Charitable Trust when he was first approached to be involved.
John Lewis customer director Craig Inglis said: ‘The ad tells the story of why Elton’s piano was more than just a gift and we hope to remind customers of that special moment when they’ve given a gift at Christmas time that they know will be treasured forever.’
The retailer, which reported a 98.8 per cent profits crash for the first half of the year in September, said the ad was a ‘crucial part’ of its overall marketing campaign and ‘one of the most effective marketing campaigns in the industry, delivering an excellent return on investment’.
John Lewis and Waitrose employees have been given the first opportunity to share the two minute and 20 second ad at 6am on Thursday before its launch on the store’s social media channels, its website and in shops at 8am.
The ad first airs on television on Thursday at 9.15pm during ITV’s Dark Heart, although ITV viewers may have noticed that the theme tunes to some of the channel’s shows including Coronation Street and This Morning were played solely in piano notes on Wednesday to tease the advert’s premiere.
Customers at the retailer’s flagship Oxford Street branch can also step into a 2,000 square foot recreation of the ad production set to try on some of the costumes, listen to recordings from Elton John’s 17-11-70 album and have photos taken at the piano.
John Lewis has moved away from cuddly toys this year and fans of the advert can enter a reproduction of Sir Elton’s lounge now built in its Oxford Street store
The music studio where Your Song was recorded has also been lovingly rebuilt in the Oxford Street where shoppers can touch the mixing desk and play the grand piano
As part of the experience Elton’s 1970s dressing room is open to the public where they can try wigs, glasses and his clothes
Remember these? Moz the monster, Bouncing Buster, the Man on the Moon, Montie the penguin and a lovestruck snowman – EVERY John Lewis ad from the past ten years
2017
John Lewis’ 2017 Christmas advert has left viewers in tears over a mischievous and flatulent monster called Moz and his relationship with a seven-year-old soulmate – with fans comparing it to Disney’s much-loved Monsters Inc.
The giant furry monster with a bulbous nose, wonky teeth and a love of snoring, jumps out from under the bed every night to play with companion Joe in a festive tale making many laugh and cry.
The little boy, aged 7, who is played by young twin brothers from London named Ethan and Tobias, is initially frightened after seeing a pair of enormous eyes peering from the dark under his bed.
But the two unlikely friends are shown sharing games, playing piggyback and Scalextric in his bedroom – all without mum, dad, or older sister finding out.
Moz then leaves his friend as he realises the little boy needs to grow up without him and wraps a farewell gift for him under the Christmas tree – a nightlight to help him sleep.
Elbow performed The Beatles’ Abbey Road masterpiece Golden Slumbers as the soundtrack.
2016
Last year’s star was Buster the Boxer and his trampoline antics.
John Lewis said the advert where the dog, played by five-year-old Biff, beats a young girl to her new toy is their attempt to cheer up Britain after a ‘tough year’.
The advert told the story of a little girl called Bridget who loves to jump.
Set to a cover version of ‘One Day I’ll Fly Away’, her mother and father buy her a trampoline, toiling while she sleeps to build it before hiding it in the garden to surprise her with on Christmas Day. As the snow falls an array of animals start using it as the Boxer watches forlornly through the window.
The next morning Bridget sprints out to use it for the first time but her joy turns to shock as cheeky Buster has the last laugh and uses her new toy before her.
2015
A lonely Man on the Moon is shown to viewers sitting by himself on a bench, completely unaware that he is being observed by the youngster back down on Earth
The elderly man, played by a 77-year-old French actor called Jean, gazes up wistfully towards the Earth, as the Oasis song Half The World Away, performed by 19-year-old Norwegian singer Aurora plays mournfully in the background.
She tries desperately to send him a message but all her efforts fail, while he remains unaware that anyone cares about him and sits alone on a bench, wistfully staring up at the Earth.
Eventually, on Christmas morning, a present arrives from the sky, carried by party balloons, and the old man unwraps it to reveal a vintage telescope.
He uses it to spot Lily and, realising that someone cares about him, his eyes fill with tears.
2014
John Lewis hoped the bond between a boy and a penguin would capture the public’s imagination.
The two-minute festive commercial told the story of seven-year-old Sam, played by actor Rhys Edwards from Hertfordshire, and his friend Monty.
The boy gradually realises Monty is longing for a penguin companion. And so on Christmas morning Sam surprises Monty with the gift of a new penguin friend named Mabel.
The soundtrack was John Lennon’s song Real Love, performed by Tom Odell.
2013
The £7million Disney-inspired advert told the story of a selfless hare who is determined to make sure his best friend, a bear, doesn’t miss Christmas for once.
The commercial features the tale of two good friends, a bear and a hare, who are sad at the thought of being separated for Christmas.
The tale opens as winter is starting to draw in and the fun and excitement of preparing for Christmas begins.
As the first snowflake falls and lands on the bear’s nose, the hare starts to feel sad because he realises his friend will soon go off to hibernate, so – as usual – missing Christmas.
While the bear is keen to join in, eventually he finds he cannot hold off his winter sleep any longer and disappears into his cave.
Viewers see the bear fast asleep while all the other woodland creatures become excited about the big day to come.
However, the hare is missing his friend and finds it increasingly difficult to join in the preparations until the moment he has a great idea for a very special present.
He disappears off in to the wilderness to return with the gift – an alarm clock – which wakes the bear just in time to gather around a beautifully decorated tree to celebrate with all his friends.
2012
The Christmas ad, called The Journey, shows the extraordinary lengths to which some will go in their search for a gift for someone they love.
The 90-second commercial opens in a family’s snow-covered garden, with children happily making a snowman and snowwoman.
When the snowman mysteriously disappears the next morning, the viewer is transported to a magical world, following him on an epic journey across river, mountain, road and city.
The motive for the snowman’s secret journey isn’t revealed until the last scene, when he returns on Christmas morning with gifts for his wife.
Newcomer Gabrielle Aplin sings The Power Of Love, the 1984 hit from Frankie Goes To Hollywood, as the soundtrack.
2011
In 2011, the John Lewis advert showed a young boy so desperately excited about Christmas that he couldn’t wait to give presents to his parents.
It was accompanied by a cover of The Smiths’ Please Please Let Me Get What I Want’.
2010
And the 2010 offering saw individuals choosing and wrapping their presents in the lead up to the big day, as Ellie Goulding sings a cover of Elton John’s Your Song.
Various people furtively hide the presents they’ve carefully chosen: parents sneak a rocking horse upstairs while their children’s backs are turned; a mechanic struggles to wrap a spotted teapot; and a small boy braves the snow in his dressing gown to hang a stocking outside his dog’s kennel.
2009
This was the first of the store’s Christmas campaigns created by advertising agency Adam & Eve, now adam&eveDDB, and the first to feature a musical cover by a current artist, on this occasion a Taken By Trees version of Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses.
The ad shows children opening gifts for adults including a laptop, coffee machine and handbag, followed by the tagline: ‘Remember how Christmas used to feel? Give someone that feeling.’
2008
Culminating in the tagline: ‘If you know the person, you’ll find the present,’ it shows a succession of characters followed by a matching gift.
The soundtrack is a cover of The Beatles’ From Me To You recorded for the campaign, with vocals by Matt Spinner, a member of the John Lewis IT department and its music society.
2007
The ad shows a group of people stacking a pile of potential gifts including a desktop lamp, a computer and a leather satchel in an empty room. The finished product ends up creating a shadow that looks like a woman walking her dog through the snow, accompanied by the tagline: ‘Whoever you’re looking for this Christmas.’