John Lewis Christmas advert receives overwhelmingly positive reaction online, data shows

Meltwater data showed that 37 per cent of all tweets had a positive sentiment, 48 per cent neutral, and only 15 per cent had a negative view

John Lewis’ hotly anticipated Christmas advert appears to have enjoyed an overwhelmingly positive reception online.

Data compiled by data analytics company Meltwater showed that by early afternoon on Friday – hours after the commercial went live on the internet – it had already been mentioned approximately 36,000 times on Twitter, with the majority expressing a neutral or positive sentiment, based on wording.

Meltwater data showed that 37 per cent of all tweets had a positive sentiment and 48 per cent a neutral, while only 15 per cent had a negative sentiment.

The company did say, however, that the analytics may not be completely accurate in each case as they are based on the broad tonality of social media posts.

A spokesperson explained that a tweet proclaiming that the advert made somebody “cry so much” could, for example, trigger negative sentiment.

The retail giant’s advert, launched around 8am in the UK, tells the tale of seven-year old Joe and his imaginary friend Moz The Monster.

The Christmas advert is by far John Lewis’ highest profile campaign of the year, attracting vast attention on social media and pitting it against fellow retailers for creativity, emotional appeal and charm.

The group reportedly spends around £7m on the whole campaign, though a spokesperson for the company declined to confirm that figure.

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