John Lewis drops an ode to British life for its centenary promise

To mark a century since it first declared it would be “Never Knowingly Undersold,” John Lewis has released a sprawling, slow-motion love letter to British life – one cup of tea, one lava lamp, one pram at a time.

The campaign, called Tableau, was developed by Saatchi & Saatchi and centres on a hero film that plays like a moving painting.

Directed by Kim Gehrig and shot at 100 frames per second, the 100-second spot hops non-chronologically through a century of cultural moments and everyday rituals, all built around John Lewis products from its archives, its new season, and everything in between.

Set to a new sync of Sonny & Cher’s The Beat Goes On, performed by The Streets’ Mike Skinner, the film blends twenties dancers with 2020s tech heads, new parents, and beauty obsessives – bringing the retailer’s 100-year arc into a single, chaotic yet cohesive shot.

It doubles as a shoppable celebration.

Every item featured, including new exclusives like the Dyson headphones, is available online, while the film folds in real Easter eggs from the brand’s past advertising – like retro nursery advisors and stacks of era-specific TVs broadcasting previous campaigns.

As brand director Rosie Hanley puts it, the film is “a celebration of that enduring commitment” to service, quality, and price—and a show of how the brand’s promise continues to evolve.

Franki Goodwin, CCO at Saatchi & Saatchi, called the work a “wild and wonderful” tribute to the everyday objects that have made British life so unmistakably John Lewis over the past century.

It’s the kind of nostalgia that doesn’t just look back – but holds space for what’s next.

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