John Lewis Christmas advert 2016: Student Nick Jablonka offered a job after YouTube video mistaken for real thing

Saphora Smith8 November 2016

An A-level student whose Christmas advert fooled internet users into believing it was the John Lewis festive commercial has been offered a job off the back of his efforts.

Nick Jablonka made the video as part of his media coursework and uploaded it to YouTube in June, where it has now been watched by almost half a million people.

The 85-second-long video told the story of a snowman who fell in love after being trapped in a snow globe.

Some people had called for the student to be given a job for the John Lewis ad-makers after his work was mistaken for the retailer's festive marketing campaign.

But on Monday, PR agency W Communications tweeted at the 18-year-old and offered him a job.

A spokesman for the company said that Mr Jablonka seemed “very excited” at the prospect of the role which would be a “bespoke” job in the digital content creative team.

He said that the Mr Jablonka had agreed to visit the firm's office later in the week to talk about the details of the job offer.

Sophie Raine, Director of W Communications said: "Advertising agencies are paid billions by brands to try and replicate exactly what Nick, aged 17, has managed to do with his fake John Lewis ad.

Christmas advert: The sad snowman trapped in his snow globe
Nick Jablonka

"Nick’s work captured our attention - we were all inspired by his ingenuity and creativity, especially given his age. It was a no brainer to create a bespoke role for him within our digital content team, offering him the chance to create content and emotive stories for huge household brands."

John Lewis also praised his efforts, though there are no current reports of a job offer on the table.

A spokesman for the retailer said of the film: "Wow, what a great effort. Nick is clearly very talented, and we'd love to invite him in to spend some time with us behind the scenes to see how we create our TV ads."

Mr Jablonka said he had no idea that the animation would prove so popular.

Christmas advert: The pair are finally reunited 
Nick Jablonka

"You hear about things going viral, but you never think it will be you," he told ITV's Good Morning Britain.

He added: "I'm a fan of John Lewis adverts. When we think 'Christmas', we think 'John Lewis', so it gave me a lot of freedom as to what I could do."

In a post on his YouTube page, Mr Jablonka said the video had taken him just two weeks to create from start to finish and he believed it "could do with a lot of work".

But viewers praised his effort as "amazing" and "beautiful".

One user wrote: "Now this is real talent. Discovering and watching real talent like this warms my heart. There's hope yet for the future generation."

Another wrote: "This is great. You'll have a bright future in animation ahead of you if you so choose."

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