Argos
Argos was first to launch its advert, featuring pointy-eared elves, this year's must-have children's toys, and futuristic rocket-powered sleighs.
The advert shows an Argos distribution centre where a troupe of elves are helping Santa deliver hundreds of thousands of toys, including this season's most popular gadgets, such as the Hatchimals Egg Surprise and Star Wars Robot BB-8.
The action shifts gear as one child’s long-awaited Christmas present, a Teksta voice-recognition robotic puppy, is found wandering the aisles by an elf. The quick-thinking elf scans the toy to reveal its intended recipient on-screen, whose family’s gifts are departing from gate nine.
A speedy chase across the distribution centre ensues, in which the elf pulls out all the stops to ensure the robotic puppy makes it onto the sleigh to be delivered to the child in time for Christmas.
The ad is intended to illustrate Argos’s commitment to super speedy delivery, with online orders delivered in as little as four hours, it said. On Christmas Eve, Fast Track orders placed by 1pm will be delivered by 6pm (subject to availability).
John Lewis
John Lewis' advert is a two-minute tale of the friendship between a young boy, Joe, and his imaginary monster under the bed, Moz.
Set to a cover of The Beatles song Golden Slumbers by Manchester band Elbow, the advert sees Moz and Joe strike up a friendship based on a mutual love of late-night Scalextric and a piggyback game.
After noticing that the late nights are starting to take their toll on Joe, Moz gives his friend a night light for Christmas to help him fall asleep - but it also makes Moz disappear (until Joe turns the light off).
While last year's John Lewis offering - the trampoline-loving Buster the Boxer - was light-hearted, this year sees a return to the tear-jerking tone shoppers have come to expect from the department store's festive ad.
The director Michel Gondry, who won an Oscar as a writer of the film Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind said: "When I told my ex-girlfriend I was doing the next John Lewis Christmas film she said, 'You have big shoes to fill, this John Lewis commercial must make people cry, don't forget'. Last week I showed it to her and she cried. Phew."
Asda
Asda's advert introduces us to the supermarket's Christmas Willy Wonka-style workshop – the Imaginarium – that a young girl and her grandfather have sneaked into.
Walking through the workshop the pair discover the secrets behind Asda’s festive ranges. There's a giant pop-up Christmas cookbook revealing two Asda chefs preparing a Christmas dinner of roast turkey and Wagyu beef dripping roast potatoes, and an adult-only, futuristic gin room where truffles are being infused with gin by a giant "gin laser".
Eilidh Macaskill of Asda, said: “By Combining CGI animation and some spectacular real life venues, the Imaginarium is depicted as a maze of rooms containing magical machines and enchanting experiments. The ad is a love letter to our customers and products.”
M&S
Paddington Bear is the star of this year's Marks & Spencer advert, to tie in with the release of the new film Paddington 2 which hits cinemas on Friday.
The 90-second commercial called Paddington and the Christmas Visitor, sees the animated movie version of the duffle-coat-wearing bear inadvertently save Christmas for his neighbours.
Mistaking a bearded burglar wearing a red coat and red stocking on his head for Santa, Paddington assists him in returning all of the pinched presents back to where they belong.
The ad features Ben Whishaw as the voice of Paddington, and also sees a cameo-appearance by veteran newsreader Angela Rippon.
Aldi
Kevin the Carrot makes a comeback in this year's Aldi Christmas ad, and this time he's fallen in love.
The action takes place on a train with Kevin spotting Katie the Carrot across a table covered in festive grub. As Kevin makes his way across the table towards her, he dodges a dead gingerbread man and trips and stumbles on the food before landing in her arms.
The 60-second advert, narrated by Jim Broadbent, includes subtle nods to blockbuster films, such as The BodyGuard, Titanic andMurder on the Orient Express which launched in cinemas this week.
Aldi hopes the ad will be as successful as the last, with the retailer boosting its Christmas sales by 15pc last year, in part due to the popularity of its Christmas advertising campaign it said.
Adam Zavalis, marketing director at Aldi UK, said: “We just had to bring [Kevin] back again this year to help showcase our latest show-stopping festive range. Let’s hope Katie the Carrot loves Kevin as much as we all do.”
Tesco
Tesco has launched its 2017 Christmas campaign with the first of five television adverts which "celebrate the different ways millions of UK shoppers enjoy Christmas, and how great food sits at the heart of it all".
The first ad is all about the turkey and how different families cook theirs; from barbecuing to basting.
Alessandra Bellini, Tesco's Chief Customer Officer said: “As part of our campaign this year, we're delighted to work with our long-term charity partners FareShare and The Trussell Trust to donate £1 for every fresh turkey purchased to help feed people in need this Christmas – it’s another little help for our local communities at an important time of year.”
House of Fraser
House of Fraser has launched its 2017 Christmas campaign with the theme of "Bring Merry Back".
The campaign centres on two sisters, shown as children in the 1980s, and in the modern day. Viewers are taken on a journey showing the sisters celebrating Christmas together as children, and how their family traditions with their own kids are echoed in 2017.
Paddy Earnshaw, House of Fraser's chief marketing officer, said: We’re aiming to rekindle that childhood nostalgia and help our customers end the year on a high, with a good old-fashioned Christmas.”
Toys R Us
Toys R Us' 30-second commercial centres around a giraffe called Geoffrey who runs his own Toys 'R' Us store.
On Christmas Eve, Geoffrey awaits a special guest; Santa, who's shopping for Christmas presents. After locking up his sleigh, Santa walks inside the store to pick up the children's gifts, but when he leaves he notices that his reindeer have disappeared. Luckily, Geoffrey's there to save the day.
Mike Coogan of Toys R Us, said “Animated graphics are highly advanced, and we felt Geoffrey deserved to reach the hearts and minds of a brand new generation in a new, modern format."
Currys PC World
Currys PC World's Christmas campaign aims to showcase how the electrical retailer helps customers "get it right" at Christmas, with first-hand advice and recommendations from store colleagues.
Humorous family scenarios are used bring to life the difficulties in choosing the right Christmas gifts, with three separate edits dramatising a real-life initiative by the retailer which allows store colleagues to try out Currys PC World products for themselves at home, so that they’re able to give truly first-hand advice to shoppers in store.
Very
Online department store Very.co.uk last week launched its 90-second animated edit which shows Anna, aided by her cuddly wolf toy, attempt to give a pink cubed present to everyone on her Christmas gift list, including the person who deserves it the most (as he never receives presents of his own); Santa.
Kenyatte Nelson of Very, said: “As a pureplay online retailer, we have no high street presence so resonating emotionally with our audience during the Christmas period is vitally important. This year, Very’s Christmas campaign focuses on the joy of giving. It’s this emotion and unique feeling that we shine a spotlight on through our campaign.”
