There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but being a brown queer immigrant, I find absolutely nothing in it I can relate to - until now.
For the first time, JL home insurance felt like home. It took me back to when I used to dress up in bedsheets and dance to Madonna when I was exactly the same age. Wonderful memories, even if the music choices were slightly dubious.
It broke my heart to read about all the backlash this ad received. It almost felt like a personal attack. So instead of hurting about it, I thought I shall write about it.
'Why the new John Lewis ad made me wince'
Firstly, the attack on this ad being about white male privilege. Let’s face it. It’s not that. This is an attack on gender.
This havoc is driven by self-expression, not malice. Had the boy been dressed up as a cowboy or a knight, we would be having quite a different conversation. ’Boys will be boys’ is what we would’ve heard.
Labelling discomfort around him donning a dress and (gasp!), enjoying it, made him a villain, for all the wrong reasons. This is not helped by the fact that trans people and cross-dressers have historically been portrayed as villains in popular media for decades. Unfortunately, some of us still see them that way. Disguising dated personal beliefs as an act of being ‘woke’ didn’t do much to hide the bigotry.
Secondly, the attack on him for causing ‘waste’. Does anyone remember ‘Dirt is good’, a long-standing and heavily awarded positioning by a famous detergent brand. Anyone who has ever been a child or been around one knows that creativity, chaos and learning are the cornerstones of children’s development. The product promise to safeguard that right is a spectacular win.
北京赛车pk10 podcast: John Lewis ad controversy
This attack is not about waste. This is about hate. Hate for the ‘other’. The ‘other’ that challenges perceptions and dares to go mainstream. Well done, JL for embracing us instead.
Lastly, this ad is an awesome example of the collision of difference, a mantra we have here at Grey London. Creativity thrives in a tournament of wildly diverse opinions, and something truly new wins - and truly new, whether it be an insight or an idea, is what all of us in the industry thrive for.
Thank you, John Lewis, for bringing us something truly new by making an ‘other’ like me the star – even just for 60 seconds.
Read next: 'John Lewis shouldn't be afraid to defend its new ad'
Asad Shaykh is joint head of strategy, Grey London.