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John Lewis and PA Wire
UK News

Retailers urged to do 'homework' as John Lewis unveils Christmas advert

A rebuke by founder of the Christian website whyChristmas.com, James Cooper, came as John Lewis unveiled its eagerly anticipated 2017 Christmas campaign on Friday.

Mr Cooper told Premier: "All adverts are designed to sell things - big businesses have got their target markets - but I also think they could reference more of the real meaning of Christmas [and] actually do some homework."

The latest festive John Lewis commercial is a two-minute tale of friendship which develops between a seven-year-old boy and his imaginary monster under the bed.

John Lewis/PA Wire

The clip, which is part of a £7 million campaign, came two days after the right-wing news website Breitbart criticised Tesco for its "politically correct" Christmas advert which offered "no visible Christianity".

Mr Cooper, who created his website to promote the true meaning of Christmas, went on to say: "Christmas primarily does seem to be a commercial holiday here now; it's lost a lot of its religion connotations.

John Lewis/PA Wire

"I think that's a shame and that it's time we reclaimed Christmas."

Earlier in the year, Lidl released its "Cavalier Carver" advert, which centred on a man carving up a Christmas turkey, while Argos' festive commercial features elves working in a futuristic workshop.

John Lewis/PA Wire

Mr Cooper added: "One word which really sums it up is cute; most of them tend to be very cutsy [with] lots of cuddly animals, big jolly Santas, romance and all that sort of thing."

Click here to listen to Premier's Alex Williams speaking with James Cooper:

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