'Let Life Happen', says John Lewis in face of domestic mayhem

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Or hey, is mayhem too strong and stern a word to describe what many perceive as refreshing exuberance? It's up to you to decide! The one-minute action promotes the home insurance offered by British department store John Lewis, which is apparently expanding its financial services range. Both popular and classy, the John Lewis Partnership was founded as a radical idea nearly a century ago and is today the largest employee-owned business in the UK, with approximately 80,000 employees who are all Partners in the company. This ad sees a young boy running amok in (presumably) his parents' house, with the reassurance that we can comfortably 'Let Life Happen' when our homes are well insured. The campaign has provoked reactions ranging from horror at the careless vandalism of a spoilt child to annoyance that all ads have an 'agenda' to the questioning of how amenable insurance companies would be to paying up for what looks like wilful rather than accidental destruction of property. Another interpretation we've heard is that the footage expresses what many people might be feeling like doing after prolonged rules and restrictions around the COVID-19 coronavirus situation. What's your reaction to the ad?

Keywords: John Lewis Let Life Happen, John Lewis home insurance, controversial ads, adam&eveDDB