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John Lewis's Christmas Ad Has Been Accused Of Plagiarism

Natalie Gil
Last Updated 17 November 2017, 13:20
Courtesy of John Lewis.
Update (17 November): An author had accused John Lewis of plagiarising his work, pointing out the similarities between Moz, the monster in the advert, and a character from his work. Chris Riddell tweeted his own version of the ad with the caption: "John Lewis helps themselves to my picture book". John Lewis responded to the accusation by saying: "The story of a big hairy monster under the bed which keeps a child from sleeping is a universal tale which has been told many times over many years," reported the Guardian.
Original story: Yep, you've probably heard. The John Lewis Christmas advert landed on YouTube this morning and will garner a whole day's worth of media coverage, as is tradition. And that's before it has even premiered on TV, which it won't do until this evening during Gogglebox on Channel 4.
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For many, the eagerly anticipated film signals the start of the festive season, while others (me included, sorry!) find the whole furore overblown and merely a shining example of capitalist propaganda. Feel free to call me Scrooge.
The star of this year's effort (aside from the real-life Twitter hero, John Lewis) is Moz the monster, a giant snoring monster who lives under the bed of his friend, an admittedly adorable little boy. The two-minute film cost a reported £7m, took nearly a year to make, is directed by Oscar-winning director Michel Gondry (the genius behind Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and features a pretty sweet Elbow cover of The Beatles' "Golden Slumber". All of which should point to it being one of the most poignant and amazing things you've ever seen.
Alas, John Lewis largely hasn't received the universally positive response it must've hoped for. So far, the reaction on social media seems notably more disenchanted and less enamoured than previous years, with some calling it "trash", "shite" and evidence that the brand has lost its way.
A sizeable chunk of people prefer M&S', Debenhams' – and even Aldi's – Christmas ads this year. If that doesn't make John Lewis rethink its strategy for next year, we don't know what will.
Of course, some people have claimed to be charmed and moved by the film – but are there enough of them to bring John Lewis back from its sales slump? We'll soon find out.
What do you think of this year's ad? Rubbish, super cute or too boring to bother talking about?

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