• by Sean Hargrave , Staff Writer, November 19, 2019

According to Unruly, the ad -- which is co-branded with Waitrose -- is not the most emotionally engaging spot in the run-up to Christmas. That honour goes to Very and its "Get More Out Of Givingl" animation.

Still, the second spot would usually be good for any brand. It's often assumed that John Lewis would top this chart, but actually research is showing the ad that pulled most on our heartstrings last year was the Heathrow bears. 

So, Excitable Edgar cannot be berated for failing to be the most emotionally engaging ad of the season because it is wrong to think this spot is reserved for the John Lewis. Its ad this year is good fun and emotional. Excitable Edgar is a dragon who accidentally melts a skating pond and snowman as well as burning a medieval town's decorations by accidentally breathing fire. 

As ever, there's a happy ending when his friend realises he has a special gift -- being able to light a Christmas pudding, presumably in a time before safety matches. 

However, it's emerging that the trend the ad is falling into is being less emotionally engaging than John Lewis ads of the past.

Unruly has produced an emotional engagement league table for John Lewis ad and Excitable Edgar is 7th out of 9 -- only just ahead of last year's Elton John spot that was widely perceived as an expensive flop. As you can see from the table, there has been a noticeable decline in emotion scores each year. The last three Christmas spots are in the bottom three positions.

Part of adland will be wondering whether or not it matters because emotional engagement is only one part of an ad's success.

However, with Christmas ads, the rules have changed. Spots are clearly defined by those which just want to show us a bunch of gifts, food and booze with bargain prices and those which feature hardly any product but just want us to be feel all warm inside about their brand at Christmas. 

As John Lewis is firmly in the latter camp, it's pretty much the personification of emotional Christmas advertising. I wonder, then, if part of the problem is it created this genre and now we're all very used to someone feeling left outside for Christmas before they are brought in and welcomed by friends on the big day.

Could that be why we're all reacting less positively to the heartwarming plot lines?

If so, it doesn't seem to have affected Very this year nor the Heathrow Bears last year, which scored higher for emotional engagement than John Lewis. 

It's hard to escape the conclusion that John Lewis has lost its sparkle. Further figures from Unruly this year show that not only is it in second place behind Very, but it has four other brands almost on the same score breathing down its neck.

Other advertisers have upped their game in response to John Lewis at the same time that its appeal seems to be on the wane.