John Lewis Christmas advert 2023: Meet Snapper the flytrap

The advert encourages us to embrace new traditions, even if they're a little strange to us, because Christmas will still be Christmas after all.

The campaign, which is the first from Saatchi & Saatchi, comes with a full range of accompanying products, including an adorable plush toy version of Snapper himself.

What's more, Snapper isn't the only star of the advert, with Andrea Bocelli providing the soundtrack on what's sure to be a very popular campaign this Christmas.

Without further ado, read on for all you need to know about Snapper: The Perfect Tree.

When was the John Lewis Christmas advert 2023 released?

As we predicted, the John Lewis Christmas advert 2023 was released on Thursday 9th November 2023.

You can watch it here:

Last year, John Lewis released its advert on Thursday 10th November.

Since 2014, the retail giant has put out its offering in the first or second week of November, and almost always on a Thursday.

What is the John Lewis Christmas advert 2023 about?

While speculation was rife about what the advert would contain, no one could expect it to be about a Venus flytrap.

A young boy, called Alfie, stumbles upon the kit to grow the perfect Christmas tree, so he puts it to the test.

But when it sprouts, he discovers it's not a Christmas tree at all - it's a Venus flytrap.

Nonetheless, Alfie falls in love with his carnivorous plant and the pair go out of their way to convince his family to ditch the usual tree in favour of Snapper.

His family don't quite have the same fondness they have, especially when the family pooch nearly finds itself in Snapper's mouth and the plant's sadly cast outside.

Enter the gut-wrenching scene where Snapper paws at the window, longing to be with his friend.

The family realise he's quite special indeed and decide to bring presents outside to him for him to guard.

But he ends up eating them in a comical moment - only to reveal he can munch up the packaging and deliver the right gifts to the right people! How handy.

Charlotte Lock, Customer Director for John Lewis, said of the advert: “We are a nation that loves the traditions of Christmas - from classic traditions like pantos and putting up the tree to evolving new ones like crafting our own presents and Zoom get-togethers. Many of us have our own unique festive traditions and that makes them even more special.

“The film celebrates themes of family and evolving traditions and shows that a ‘perfect’ Christmas is finding joy together with loved ones, whatever your traditions.”

Who sings on the John Lewis Christmas advert 2023?

Remarkably, John Lewis managed to enlist Andrea Bocelli to sing on the John Lewis Christmas advert.

The song is an original composition, made just for the campaign, and is called "Festa", which translates as "party" or "celebration" in Italian.

Unlike other years, the song is fast and rousing (with a touching moment in the middle), and truly captures the joy and excitement of Christmas.

Bocelli said of his involvement in the advert: “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!"

Furthermore, the soundtrack will be released in a fuller form single, with a proportion of the proceeds from the sale of the single going to the John Lewis Partnership’s Building Happier Futures charities, which help care-experienced young people and families in need.

READ MORE:

• Best Christmas adverts 2022: from John Lewis and Sainsbury's to Asda
• John Lewis Christmas adverts ranked: from Monty to Moz

What was last year's John Lewis Christmas advert about?

There was much speculation about the contents of the John Lewis Christmas advert 2022, but no one managed to guess it in the end. The campaign last year centred around children in care, and is about how small acts of kindness can go a long way for a vulnerable child.

In the advert, titled The Beginning, a middle-aged man is on a mission to learn how to skateboard. He spends weeks trying to get to learn the difficult skill - and suffers some bumps and scrapes along the way! It’s revealed at the end of the advert what his hard work was all about. Along with his partner, he was expecting the arrival of a foster child, Ellie, who loves to skateboard.

The retailer brought out some merchandise with a portion of the sales going to charities relating to children in care.

The advert's song was a reimagined version of Blink-182's hit All the Small Things, performed by Mike Geier.

Visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on tonight.

Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10 – subscribe now and celebrate the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who with a special issue of Radio Times. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.