Great Holiday Ads

soozievt
Mon, 19 Nov 2018 05:36:42 +0000

I’ve watched the ad [Elton John / John Lewis] in the OP multiple times before there was a thread here, and I cry every single time. It is so good, in my opinion.

@maya54, you wrote:

I really like the ads and I do like the song but Ellie Goulding’s version is my favorite.

I had never heard of Ellie Goulding and so watched her version which is delightful for sure. Still, I can’t really think of comparing these two videos. Hers is simply a nice cover. The Elton John video/ad has various meanings that a cover just doesn’t have. The video shows a little boy (presumably Elton as a lad) being given a piano as a holiday gift by his mother and grandmother. Not only was he given the gift of the chance to make music, but he has given his gift of song to millions for so many years (huge longevity in what can be a fleeting field for artists). AND the song is called “Your Song” and speaks to that meaning as well (“my gift is my song”). The video shows him over the years sharing his gift of music, which was originally given to him as a gift as a child by parents who believed in him. To me, that is the true essence of the video, which I just can’t compare to the Goulding video because that is merely the cover of a beautiful song, and she didn’t write it either. The video doesn’t share the same story either. Elton John not only wrote this song, but the video shows him sharing it over years and years. The 2 videos just feel like two different things. I guess I can’t even consider them “different versions.” Also, while Ellie’s video is lovely and she has a very nice voice too, I didn’t shed a tear (not that that indicates not being great!), but that is another difference…the story depicted in the Elton John video is a story, based on real life (his life) that holds meaning and resonates (at least to me…I do have a kid in the arts, and I don’t know if that affects me, or if this video would do so no matter).

PS: Maybe this biased me (though I’m not sure that it biased me other than adding a nice twist), but my D is collaborating with Elton on a project. The two have been working together in person this year and she says he is as nice as can be. She recently got to fly with him on his private plane to one of his concerts and saw everything behind the scenes and watched the concert from right in front of the stage and said it was the best concert she has ever seen. There are not a lot of artists who have had careers like his. So, that video showing him supposedly being gifted the piano and then sharing his gift with the world, tugs at my heartstrings!