Welcome to the Independent's live blog of the start of Christmas, also known as the launch of the John Lewis advert.
Here's what we already know:
The two-minute clip shows a six-year-old called Lily trying to reach an old man who lives alone in a hut on the moon. She spies him through the family telescope – available to buy in stores. But nothing – bow and arrow, paper aeroplane or snail mail – can reach him.
When Christmas Day comes around, a tree is plonked in the living room, presents are promptly unwrapped, and Lily is surrounded by family. The old man gets a gift of his own: a classic telescope, delivered to him in a cloud of colourful helium balloons – not unlike the opening scene to the Pixar movie ‘Up’. There are tears when they finally lock eyes.
A cover of Oasis’s ‘Half the World Away’ by the relatively unknown Norwegian singer Aurora Aksnes soundtracks the advert. She will be hoping that advertising agency Adam&Eve/DDB can work their magic and catapult her to Christmas number one as it has done with two of the six songs picked for the John Lewis Christmas spot since 2009.
