By james art 
Marks & Spencer’s six-part campaign launched on Monday, featuring the return of comedian Dawn French’s fairy from last year, promoting festive offerings such as the retailer’s best slow-cooked turkey and Cornish Cruncher cauliflower collection, as well as a frozen collection Raspberry & Pistachio Roulade.
M&S, which has been in a lengthy legal battle with Aldi over its festive glow gin in recent years, is this year selling a musical Santa light box and a crafted Nocciolato Panettone collection.
The campaign ad, airing on December 17, will feature a performance by classical singer Katherine Jenkins.
French said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be back as a Fairy this Christmas, and oh my wings, do we have a plot twist for you!
“Let’s just say, the Fairy herself meeting Dawn was the real moment! Who knew we would ever share the same screen? Magic really does happen!”
The comedian added: “I’ve spent some time sampling this year’s amazingly delicious Christmas food from M&S … and I can honestly tell you that those hours might be my FAVORITE moments of the whole year!
“As far as making the ads … wait until you see them. We laughed so hard and they are so gorgeous! I won’t lie… The fairy was wild. Who knew fairies could bite?!”
M&S Food Marketing Director Shari Cramond said: “Last year our Fairy added something truly magical to Christmas and this year we’re excited to take it to the next level with Dawn French herself joining in the fun with her Fairy character!
“We’re always looking to push the creative boundaries and we believe this year’s campaign will leave our customers smiling and feeling super inspired.
“On top of that, we’re honored to introduce the amazing Katherine Jenkins, adding even more holiday magic to our screens!”
Amazon’s Christmas ad tells the story of a theater worker whose hidden vocal talent is discovered by his co-workers during his shift.
Encouraged to sing on stage, the talented security guard performed Baharak-David’s 1965 classic What The World Needs Now Is Love, with the online giant suggesting the advert “shines the spotlight on the profound impact that can come from heartfelt gestures and gifts”.
Meanwhile, the Shelter ad presents a fictional world about a young girl stuck in temporary accommodation during Christmas, while Aldi tasks long-running characters Kevin the Carrot and his wife Katie with saving the Spirit of Christmas before it’s too late.
The Asda clip, which will air from Wednesday, features dozens of gnomes scrambling to get a store ready for the festive season when “every road from here to Sheffield” is closed.
Asda said the ad was built from more than 3,000 hours of animated footage and was themed around 80s TV show The A Team.
David Hills, chief customer officer at Asda, said: “Asda’s gnomes are a long-standing favorite with our customers and they were staring us in the face as obvious characters for our Christmas campaign – a very Asda way for us to show our breadth of offer.”
The Morrisons Christmas advert celebrates the family chefs who cook up the nation’s festive feasts and opens on a snowy evening with a Morrisons delivery van arriving at a home.
Inside, a lone oven mitt grabs the spotlight and comes to life singing the opening line of Give A Little Love.
The ad, by creative agency Leo Burnett, is set to the soundtrack of the Bugsy Malone song, recorded by a choir of 26 fellow Morrisons at Abbey Road Studios.