Children’s author threatened with lawsuit for claiming John Lewis stole her dragon for its Christmas ad
A CHILDREN’S author has been threatened with legal action after claiming John Lewis stole her dragon for its Christmas advert.
Fay Evans tweeted that Excitable Edgar bears a “striking resemblance” to her character Fred the Fire-Sneezing Dragon, published in 2017 - and challenged her followers to “spot the difference” between them.
Now one of the companies behind the TV ad - named the UK’s 2019 Christmas favourite on YouTube - has threatened Fay with legal action if she doesn’t delete her tweet.
But self-published Fay, 46, of Macclesfield, Cheshire, has vowed to “stand up to the bullies” - and is keeping her tweet pinned.
She said: “As soon as the John Lewis advert came out, I was inundated with messages from fellow authors, followers and fans of fiery Fred.
“Even a two-year-old girl thought the dragon in the TV advert was Fred when she watched it with her mum.
“My social media posts about the striking similarities have already reached half a million people.
“It has also been shared over 4,000 times on Facebook and Twitter, with hundreds of people taking the time to comment.
“The overriding public opinion is that there are striking similarities to my book, which was published in 2017.
“I find it extraordinary that one of the big companies involved in the ad, and the accompanying merchandise, is now threatening me with legal action.”
Fay has received emails from the commercial director at Nosy Crow, a publishing firm involved in producing the John Lewis ad.
He has told her to delete her tweets about the similarities between Edgar and Fred - or face the full wrath of their lawyers.
Edgar and Fred are both cute dragons unable to control their fire-breathing abilities, causing mayhem.
Some of the scenes in Fay’s book are also similar to moments in the John Lewis ad, such as when Edgar accidentally melts a snowman and later redeems himself by sitting fire to a Christmas pudding.
Mum-of-one Fay’s debut picture book, Fred The Fire-Sneezing Dragon, has sold more than 3,000 copies.
It tells the heartwarming tale of a little green dragon that causes chaos with his uncontrollable fiery sneezing – much like the plot in John Lewis' festive tale.
Fay has visited more than 100 primary schools across the UK to read her books.
One primary school teacher took to Twitter to share her class' reaction to the John Lewis advert.
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Mrs Evans also received the support from fellow author Frank Cottrell-Boyce — winner of two major British awards for children's books — who likened John Lewis to “grinches that nick something from under the spreading tree of other people's creativity”.
John Lewis also came under fire in 2017 after they were accused by award-winning author and illustrator Chris Riddell of “stealing ideas” from his picture book.
A spokesman for John Lewis said: “There are lots and lots of stories about dragons, but Edgar is an original character developed by our creative agency, as is our story.”
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