John Lewis Reveal Their New Christmas Ad - But Will It Tug At The Heartstrings Like Last Year's?

John Lewis Reveal Their New Christmas Ad - But Will It Tug At The Heartstrings Like Last Year's?
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Last year featured a little boy who was impatiently counting down the days to Christmas to bestow his parents with their festive gift. This year it is all about a snowman buying the perfect present for the ice maiden in his life...

Yes, John Lewis have unveiled their 2012 Christmas advert - The Journey - but are lovestruck snowmen really going to tug away at our heartstrings in the same way as the cute-as-a-button seven-year-old star of last year's?

We're not so sure.

The new £6million commercial opens with a little boy and girl building the snow people, before being called inside by their mum. The next day, the girl looks out and discovers her snowman has gone.

Viewers then see the snowman climbing mountains, crossing rivers and journeying in awful weather to visit a shop, where, as is revealed in the final scene, he has purchased a hat, scarf and gloves for his frozen missus. This is then discovered by the little girl when she looks out of her window to see the snow lady resplendent in her new woolies.

The background music is a cover of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's the Power of Love, sung by 20-year-old Gabrielle Alpin who has previously released three EPs through her own record label and is a big YouTube hit.

The company filmed the commercial - which has the tagline 'Give a little more love this Christmas' - in New Zealand in the summer, where the snow was plentiful.

Last year, young actor Lewis McGowan became an internet sensation after the company's festive ad got more than 4.3million hits on YouTube. Craig Inglis, John Lewis's marketing director told the Telegraph that he hoped viewers would be just as enamoured with this year's star - the love struck snowman.

"When you watch it again and again you grow to love the snowman and start to look him as a human, and you look him in the same way you did the kid last year," he said, "The snowman becomes a metaphor for that child. The fact is we have to keep it interesting."

Hmm. Interesting it might be, but it just doesn't have the same 'aw' factor as last year's - or does it?

What do you think?And what about the giving love = giving presents idea?