The John Lewis Christmas advert has only been out for a few days and it’s already a huge hit.
Buster the bouncing boxer has proved a huge viral hit with the advert getting shared on Facebook nearly a million times.
It’s a slightly unorthodox Christmas advert – as was last year’s ‘Man on the Moon’ commercial – but there’s nothing quite like a dog happily bouncing on a trampoline to get everyone in the Christmas spirit.
Only some people seem to think they’ve seen the bouncing boxer somewhere before.
The advert bears an uncanny resemblance to a YouTube clip of an American boxer which was published nearly a decade ago, according to the Daily Mail.
John Lewis have told the Mail that it’s pure coincidence and that the Buster Christmas story was the brainchild of their creative team.
But you can see why people think there’s a similarity.
John Lewis accused of copying viral video for their Christmas advert https://t.co/ao7EkXiH1I pic.twitter.com/jvakxln03u
— Mail+ (@DailyMailUK) November 13, 2016
The YouTube video (which you can watch here) is of a boxer called Chago which was published in December 2007 by its owner Christina Glover at their home in Orlando, Florida.
While the bouncing Buster is a CGI dog, Chago is real and apparently loves to bounce on the trampoline.
When Ms Glover watched the John Lewis advert, she told the Mail: ‘I am literally in tears. That was amazing!’
‘Of course it looks like Chago’s video, but most boxers would probably do the same thing.
‘It’s a shame that they had to use computer imagery because it’s not necessary. Jumping around like that is simply what boxers do – and our video was as authentic as it gets.’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr6lr_VRsEo
Ms Glover says that some people online claimed her video had been ‘ripped off’ by the new John Lewis advert and even suggested she should be paid royalties.
‘I really don’t know the legitimacy behind it all,’ she told the paper. ‘I have no problem with people seeing my video – I just want them to enjoy it. As far as monetary gain, that’s not a big issue for me. I didn’t ever think about that.’
But she added: ‘It’s difficult for me to believe that John Lewis hasn’t seen my video.’
A John Lewis spokesman told the Mail: ”What a great video of Chago on the trampoline! Although it wasn’t the inspiration of our Christmas ad, we’re sure he and Buster would have been good friends. Our story was dreamed up by our creative team.”
Bouncing boxers might not be such a strange coincidence after all, here’s one doing just that while watching the very same TV commercial…
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