John Lewis advert Billy Joel's She's Always a Woman

The genius starts in the first three seconds. A woman picks up a baby and when she puts it down – surprise! – it's a toddler. The child climbs through the tunnel and – woah! – she's at school and looking up in awe at the teacher with the sun shining on her desk. Then suddenly it's her sixth birthday and she's blowing out the candles … on her 18th birthday cake.

But what's this? She's married? No, she's pregnant! Hang on, she's a grandmother! And so on life rolls, painfully, beautifully, unstoppably: marriage, babies, work, grandparenting, sunny retirement years. This should be the most nauseating advert in the history of television – instead John Lewis's agency Adam & Eve has created a masterclass in emotional manipulation in 91 seconds. Man or woman, if this advert does not make you weep, then please check your pulse.

It's the visual illustration of the song that does it. The understated vocal comes from Fyfe Dangerfield of The Guillemots, a re-recording of Billy Joel's She's Always a Woman. As he sings, "She hides like a child, but she's always a woman to me," we see the girl as an adult for the first time. For "She is frequently kind and she's suddenly cruel…" we see her at her laptop shouting at her family to shut up; she's trying to work. "She can't be convicted, she's earned her degree…" she cheekily steals the cherry on top of her granddaughter's cupcake. She's not perfect, this woman. She's real.

This has to be the most believable example in advertising of someone ageing 70 years over the course of a minute and half. It has every appearance of verisimilitude: you truly believe this woman exists and has been filmed at all these various stages of her life. (It is also brilliantly under-acted. The casting must have taken months.)

Of course, pick it apart and there's a weirdness. If the woman was 70 now, the sixth birthday party depicted in the opening seconds would have been taking place in the 1940s. It's clearly present day. Likewise at the wedding everyone would have been wearing flares and kaftans. Instead they are all sporting items no doubt currently available in the 2010 John Lewis collection.

No matter. This ad fools you into thinking you're watching one woman's life, whilst realising that all these women exist simultaneously right now. Well done, John Lewis, £6m well spent. I've watched it 20 times and have cried every time. Marks & Spencer must be fuming.

What they say: Never knowingly undersold on price, quality and service

What it means: Life is an emotional business and it passes in a flash. Buy reliable, quality stuff as you pass through it.

John Lewis is rolling out £6m advertising campaign ever to drive its never knowingly undersold proposition.

The ad campaign, which the retailer claims is its biggest ever, will break on Friday (23 April) the in the ad break during Coronation Street on ITV.

It has been created by Adam & Eve.

John Lewis asserts Never knowingly undersold position

John Lewis John Lewis is rolling out £6m advertising campaign ever to drive its never knowingly undersold proposition.

The ad campaign, which the retailer claims is its biggest ever, will break on Friday (23 April) the in the ad break during Coronation Street on ITV.

It has been created by Adam & Eve.

It includes a series of ads that show a woman progressing through the key stages of her life from giving birth to becoming a grandmother, and how the John Lewis brand is a part at every stage.

The 10, 60 and 90-second TV spots will air across terrestrial and satellite TV channels for six weeks.

They will feature a re-recorded version of Billy Joel's "She's Always a Woman", sung by the Guillemots.

Craig Inglis, John Lewis marketing director, says: For a long time Never Knowingly Undersold has been perceived as just a price promise, but its more than that: its about the total value we offer our customers, about the quality of the products we sell and the added value customers receive with the service our Partners offer. Now seems the perfect moment to reinforce this message.

John Lewis says it intends to use the ad concept in future campaigns.

The department store chain revived the 80-year-old never knowingly undersold strapline last September in a bid to clarify the positioning to customers through a press campaign.
mad.co.uk