John Lewis Advert 2026: Online Reaction After Tuesday’s Release

The reaction to this year’s John Lewis Christmas advert has been overwhelmingly negative online, with exactly half of all posts carrying negative sentiment, according to new research by William Hill Vegas.

• Exactly half (50.0%) of online posts about this year’s John Lewis Christmas advert carried negative sentiment
• Fewer than one in five posts (19.7%) were positive, while 30.3% were classified as neutral
• More than 34,000 online posts were analysed following the advert’s release on Tuesday morning

The research, conducted using media intelligence platform Meltwater, analysed more than 34,000 online posts since the advert’s release on Tuesday morning.

The analysis found that 50.0% of online posts carried negative sentiment, equivalent to approximately 17,100 posts. Meanwhile, just 19.7% (6,730) expressed positive sentiment, with a further 30.3% (10,300) classified as neutral.

The findings show that negative posts currently outnumber positive ones by more than two to one, offering an early indication of the online response to one of the UK’s most anticipated festive advertising campaigns.

Spokesperson for William Hill Vegas, Lee Phelps, said: “John Lewis has built a real event around its Christmas advert every year, so there’s always going to be plenty of scrutiny when a new one drops. This year’s has certainly got people talking, but the early reaction is more critical than complimentary.

“There’s still plenty of time for opinion to shift as more people see the advert, but these early figures suggest John Lewis has some work to do to win over the online audience.”