John Lewis launches Christmas ad starring Kristin Scott Thomas and a toy dog
John Lewis released its 2026 Christmas advert with Dame Kristin Scott Thomas as a glamorous grandmother, setting up the festive ad battle with M&S.
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John Lewis, the British department store, launched its 2026 Christmas advert in early November. Titled "Gloria and Pickles" and made by the agency Saatchi & Saatchi, it starred Dame Kristin Scott Thomas as Gloria, a glamorous grandmother, with Paul Whitehouse voicing Pickles, a talking toy dog.
The film followed the pair around London as Pickles nudged Gloria away from giving a cash card and towards a more thoughtful present. It also showed her creating a festive "gran cave", a cosy space for family fun. The soundtrack was a Sam Fender cover of the Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want".
The release mattered because the John Lewis ad is a fixture of the British retail calendar, and rival retailers such as Marks & Spencer (M&S) time their own campaigns to compete with it. Some viewers criticised the ad for its portrayal of wealth, while the retailer said it had deliberately kept product placement restrained.
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M&S and John Lewis Christmas ad rivalry · 3 updates
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