Gondry got his start in commercials and music videos and was behind Levi’s "Drugstore" spot in 1994, one of the most awarded ads of all time.
Earlier this year he directed a whimsical 11-minute film for Apple called "Détour", about a girl who loses her tricycle before a family holiday, which was shot completely on an iPhone 7.
This year's John Lewis Christmas ad will debut in early November.
The choice of Gondry is a departure for John Lewis. Four of its recent Christmas ads were directed by Dougal Wilson through Blink Productions: "The long wait" (2011), "The journey" (2012), "Monty’s Christmas" (2014) and "Buster the Boxer" (2016). Kim Gehrig directed 2015’s "Man on the moon" through Somesuch.
In a 2015 Campaign article Wilson said Gondry was one of the directors who inspired him to get into filmmaking.
This year’s campaign is again created by the retailer’s long-time agency Adam & Eve/DDB.
This article first appeared in PRWeek sister title Campaign
