LONDON -- Somewhere in Blacksburg, Virginia, there's an unfortunately named American man dealing with a Twitter feed full of strangers talking to him about the moon.
Confused? You're not as confused as John Lewis was a few years back, when he suddenly started getting bombarded by enthusiastic British people giving him their opinion on the UK's most famous Christmas advert.
Basically, John Lewis is a massive department store in the UK that's grown increasingly famous for the emotionally charged Christmas adverts it produces. Its twitter handle is @johnlewisretail. The other John Lewis from Virginia -- the hero of our story -- is a father and computer science educator. His Twitter handle is @johnlewis.
As you can imagine, this sometimes leads to confusion.
.@csutts Thank you, thank you. You're too kind. I couldn't have done it without @johnlewisretail, who actually did it.— John Lewis (@johnlewis) November 6, 2014
.@razrazin I feel like crying, too. For different reasons. You're right, though -- great ad. @johnlewisretail— John Lewis (@johnlewis) November 6, 2014
In the last couple of years, John Lewis the person has patiently referred as many mis-directed tweets as he can to John Lewis the retail store, earning himself more than 11,000 followers and an unrivaled reputation for patience.
This time around, on the day before the 2015 advert was due to be released, Lewis was feeling confident.
Stand by @johnlewis your Twitter is about to go into meltdown.. #wrongjohnlewis @johnlewisretail #JohnLewisXmasAd pic.twitter.com/SvZlXLsF2m— LoraLoo (@LoraFitz) November 4, 2015
.@LoraFitz @johnlewisretail Bears, hares, penguins ... what else you got? Bring it.— John Lewis (@johnlewis) November 4, 2015
The feeling didn't last long.
99+ notifications. Sigh.— John Lewis (@johnlewis) November 6, 2015
Despite the publicity he received in previous years, the minute the Man on the Moon advert came out on Friday, Lewis' Twitter feed once again lit up like a Christmas tree.
.@jhirshler Agreed. Well done as usual. Wish I could take credit. @johnlewisretail— John Lewis (@johnlewis) November 6, 2015
.@MrWokingham As do I. @johnlewisretail— John Lewis (@johnlewis) November 6, 2015
. @standsays It really is. Now I have two reasons to cry. @johnlewisretail— John Lewis (@johnlewis) November 6, 2015
.@coIIectors I'm a bit busy today, but maybe my assistant @johnlewisretail could help you.— John Lewis (@johnlewis) November 6, 2015
At least he has a sense of humour about it all.
.@adrian_johnson I'm not sure the moon would be far enough.— John Lewis (@johnlewis) November 6, 2015
Keep up the good work, John Lewises.