Is the Sainsbury’s Christmas 2015 advert the best of all?

If the John Lewis Christmas advert left you an emotional wreck, prepare to be completely cheered up with this festive offering from Sainsbury’s.

The supermarket has well and truly broken the mould of reducing us all to tears, instead opting for something that will bring a smile to our faces: Mog’s Christmas Calamity.

Narrated by Emma Thompson, the new advert has revived popular children’s book character Mog, who accidentally causes a chain of calamities in the kitchen, resulting in her family’s home dramatically going up in smoke.

Fortunately, during the commotion, Mog inadvertently manages to call the fire brigade, saving the family. The home, however, is ruined, but friends, family and neighbours all come together to ensure the Thomases still celebrate Christmas with all the trimmings – conveying the tagline “Christmas is for sharing”.

The advert launch coincides with the release of a brand new Mog book of the same title, which is available to buy in stores and online for £3. All proceeds will go towards Save the Children and the Read On. Get On. campaign to improve children’s literacy.

“I have enjoyed illustrating Mog again after so many years and am thrilled that this special Christmas story will help raise funds for Save the Children and the important work they do for children’s literacy,” says author Judith Kerr.

Children can even create their own narrated versions of Mog’s Christmas Calamity, and upload them to Sainsbury’s Facebook and Twitter pages, for the chance to star in its online video.

Last year’s Christmas advert from Sainsbury’s, which recreated scenes from the Great War’s Christmas Day truce in 1914, beat John Lewis’ Monty the Penguin to be the most viewed advert in the UK – no doubt the supermarket is quietly confident in achieving similar results this year.

Rebekah Absalom