The man responsible for John Lewis’s Christmas campaign had to fight scepticism of marketing at the department store group.

The man responsible for John Lewis’s Christmas campaign had to fight scepticism of marketing at the department store group.

The John Lewis ad has become as much a part of Christmas as the Queen’s speech, and the man behind the phenomenon is marketing director Craig Inglis.

Its fame has grown to such an extent that John Lewis managing director Andy Street has sought to downplay this year’s ad, which launched on social media today, because he believes it is in danger of being over-hyped.

Speaking at the World Retail Congress in Paris last month, Street said he feared some people may think the department store group has become too big for its boots.

Based on past evidence his fears appear well founded.

A parody of last year’s ad made the front cover of satirical magazine Private Eye.

But despite efforts by the retailer to play down this year’s launch, the ad is sure to create countless column inches once again, keeping the pressure on Inglis to produce the goods.

Inglis has been instrumental in modernising John Lewis’s image during his six years at the retailer.

He joined in 2008 as head of brand communications. He said that when he took the job he had to fight against an inherent scepticism of marketing at the business.

The naturally conservative nature of the John Lewis operation led to a fear of over-promoting the retailer and Inglis has worked tirelessly to demonstrate to colleagues it is possible to market the business without being boastful.

Inglis does not hold back from celebrating the fruits of his labour. He can be regularly found at industry awards collecting plaudits and his work has been recognised by multiple Marketing Society gongs and a much sought after Cannes Lions award for ‘creative effectiveness’. After he picked up the latter, Inglis celebrated long into the night at the so-called ‘Gutter Bar’ in Cannes.

His plaudits are deserved; Inglis has taken the advertising beyond just an ad about a shop. The John Lewis Christmas ad has entered the public consciousness in a way even Inglis has admitted he would never have been able to predict.

Long-term collaborator James Murphy, boss of John Lewis’s ad agency Adam&Eve/DDB, has credited Inglis’s success to the Scot’s no-nonsense approach.

Murphy has worked with Inglis since the latter’s days at Virgin Trains, where Inglis faced the challenge of creating an innovation-driven culture.

Despite Virgin Trains’ reputation as a disrupter nowadays, when Inglis joined the majority of staff had been there prior to privatisation and had a civil service style of working.

It is Inglis’s straight-talking approach that landed him in perhaps the toughest spot in his career when he was quoted in Marketing Week in 2011 describing how John Lewis wanted to get away from its “beige” reputation.

The throwaway comment was picked up by Daily Mail columnist Janet Street-Porter, who dedicated an entire piece to a rant against the beige comment and called for Inglis’s head.

He was able to ride out the storm and went on to have great success modernising the “beige” brand.

When not toiling away at the company’s London Victoria headquarters, Inglis lives in Ealing with his three children and his hobbies include snowboarding, cooking, golf and travelling. In fact, he managed to feed his appetite for travel at Thomson Holidays, where he began his career, although it led to repeat trips to Mallorca and Tenerife.

With all the hype over the John Lewis Christmas ad, which Inglis traditionally begins planning with Adam&Eve/DDB in January, a long holiday will undoubtedly be on the cards. Right now even Mallorca or Tenerife would probably be an attractive option.