John Lewis Christmas advert 2024: what is the 2024 advert about? The Gifting Hour explained

• John Lewis has unwrapped its Christmas advert after much anticipation. 
• The Gifting Hour tells the story of a woman’s last gasp attempt to buy a gift for her sister. 
• Highly anticipated advert is set to debut for UK audiences. 

John Lewis has finally unveiled its high-anticipated Christmas advert. The Gifting Hour focuses on a woman’s last gasp mission to buy the perfect gift for her sister. 

The retail giant has shared a first look at the campaign - with the ad itself set to debut in mere hours. Find out what time to expect it and where to watch it here. 

I have ranked all of the company’s Christmas adverts since 2007 - including favourites like The Man on the Moon and Monty the Penguin - see if you agree with my rankings. John Lewis’ sister company Waitrose has recently debuted its own whodunnit style two-part festive ad. 

Stay up-to-date with the latest UK news and culture with our free UK Today newsletter.

What is the 2024 John Lewis Christmas ad about? 

Every year, John Lewis gives its festive commercial a name - last year’s was Snapper and before that came The Beginner. For 2024, it is called The Gifting Hour and comes after the phrase was teased earlier in the week. 

The retail giant’s website had also featured the two word clue ‘gift knowingly’ in the run up to the debut of its 2024 advert. In The Gifting Hour, a woman is in a rush to get a Christmas gift for her sister and it starts with her running into the John Lewis store on Oxford Street, London just a few minutes before closing time. 

After falling through a rack of dresses, while trying to find the perfect gift, she journeys through her childhood with her sister. The advert concludes with the woman returning to reality and meeting her sister outside the store, giving her the gift. 

Watch the advert in the embedded clip below. Please give it a moment or two to load in!

I’ve done a review of the advert and listed the three reasons why I absolutely love it. I found it to be extremely magical and think its one of the best in years.

The song for this year’s advert is the acoustic version of The Verve’s Sonnet from the acoustic album released by former frontman Richard Ashcroft in 2021. It is one of the few times the soundtrack has not been in the form of a cover song. 

What does The Gifting Hour mean? 

The phrase has been used by John Lewis in the run up to the debut of the advert - and is actually the name of the advert. It refers to finding a perfect gift for someone this Christmas - gift knowingly. 

What is your favourite John Lewis Christmas advert? Share your thoughts by emailing me: [email protected].