How to reinvent a 160-year-old tagline for social with John Lewis
If you’ve sat down to watch TV, put on a YouTube video or browsed The Drum recently, you’ll have seen John Lewis’s latest ad campaign. Hitting our screens last month, the TV spot brings the 160-year-old brand’s tagline “Never Knowingly Undersold” out of retirement since it was axed two years ago.
It’s a tagline that’s no doubt familiar to older customers, but what about a younger cohort of shoppers that make purchases via TikToks, not TV spots?
To answer this question, John Lewis’s head of social Imogen Beri joined SocialMinds LIVE for a podcast with an audience. In it, she reveals how the brand is reviving “Never Knowingly Undersold” on social to win favour with modern consumers.
Perhaps the most intriguing question: why bring “Never Knowingly Undersold” back? “It’s essentially our price promise,” explains Imogen. “In 2024 that means we’re price matching with 25 major UK retailers. Today’s shoppers want great service and a great product, but they don’t want it to cost the earth.”
Although it’s only been out of action for two years, John Lewis assumed “Never Knowingly Undersold”’s messaging would be falling on green ears where social was concerned. Its suite of social-first launch content included partnerships with influencers to build awareness. “Content creators solve the challenge of getting content out quickly while being both platform native and cost-effective,” advises Imogen.
“Rather than focusing on your follow count, make it your goal to get your content in front of the highest number of relevant people.”
One of the underlying themes concerning John Lewis’s approach to social is flexibility. Imogen embraces testing and learning, pushing the boundaries, and for internal teams to get comfortable being uncomfortable. As testament to that, the social strategy changes quarterly. “We’ve had conversations about where we can play in that ‘unserious’ space as a brand. It’s important to have those early on so you’re not debating the parameters in the moment…healthy tension is a good thing.”
“And of course, we welcome feedback on our social output from our partners – they’re very passionate and vocal. But that’s what social is about. It’s a two-way conversation.”
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