John Lewis and Waitrose Christmas Advert 2019 - live: How to watch online, who is Excitable Edgar and latest reactions
When it comes to Christmas adverts, there is no denying that year upon year John Lewis delivers the most highly-anticipated festive campaign, and 2019 is no exception.
While last year’s sentimental advert told the tale of Elton John’s life and career, from receiving a piano as a gift in his childhood to performing his music to sold-out stadiums, the retailer's latest offering follows an excitable dragon called Edgar and his best friend Ava.
This year John Lewis & Partners has shaken things up by collaborating with Waitrose & Partners to launch a joint Christmas advert for the very first time.
Previous tear-jerking campaigns have included “The Journey”, which followed a snowman as he sought his long-lost love, and “The Man on the Moon”, which depicted an elderly lonely man in solitude on the moon.
Follow The Independent's live blog for all the latest updates and reactions to the joint John Lewis and Waitrose Christmas advert.
Welcome to The Independent's John Lewis Christmas advert live blog, where we will be providing all the latest updates and rumours circulating the most highly-anticipated festive campaign of the year. Stay tuned!
Several brands have already released their Christmas adverts this year, including Sainsbury's, Boots and Amazon. The Amazon ad was particularly well-received, depicting a Love Actually-style story with singing delivery boxes.
As we prepare for John Lewis to eventually unveil its latest Christmas campaign, take a look at 12 of the best Christmas adverts to have ever been released, from Marks & Spencer's "Mrs Claus" to Sainsbury's "1914".
While we wait for John Lewis to launch this year's offering, we've ranked every one of the retailer's Christmas adverts from worst to best, including "Man on the Moon" and "Monty the Penguin".
For many Brits, the John Lewis Christmas advert marks the start of the festive period and fans are already starting to wonder what this year’s offering will look like.
"Very high hopes that the John Lewis advert will feature a dog this year (pug)," one person tweeted.
"Walkers got Mariah for their Christmas advert... over to you John Lewis. Top that," another wrote.
Sainsbury's launched its Christmas 2019 advert earlier this week.
The supermarket paid homage to its roots with a short film that tells the tale of a young chimney sweep called Nicholas, who is wrongfully accused of stealing a clementine from a Sainsbury’s stall in Dickensian London.
Last year, Waitrose's Christmas advert playfully mocked John Lewis’ offering about Sir Elton John.
The clip featured a young girl who asked her parents to join her in the living room of their home so that she could show them the John Lewis ad.
Her parents smiled as Sir Elton played the first few notes of "Your Song" on the piano, seemingly impressed with John Lewis’ latest festive offering.
However, their excitement didn't last for very long as the mother fast-forwarded the advert while the father added that his favourite was “the one with the penguin”.
A number of social media users have shared their excitement about the upcoming John Lewis advert with one person calling it "the best thing about Christmas".
Another Twitter user agreed, adding: Now it’s November all I can think about is when John Lewis are releasing this years advert."
Over the last few days, Twitter users have been speculating if a 10-second video on the social media platform is a teaser for the John Lewis Christmas advert.
The clip shows a person knocking on a peculiarly-shaped doorknob before the snow-covered door begins to open.
The tweet reads: "Meet Edgar. 14.11.19 #ExcitableEdgar."
The most hotly-anticipated John Lewis advert has been released.
This year's festive campaign tells the tale of an excitable dragon called Edgar who unintentionally sparks chaos as he strives to be accepted by his village.
The release of the advert confirms rumours that "Excitable Edgar" is the star of the new Christmas campaign, after eagle-eyed Twitter users spotted a 10-second teaser video circulating social media.
This year John Lewis & Partners has shaken things up by collaborating with Waitrose & Partners to launch a joint Christmas advert for the very first time.
The short film is set in a fairy tale-esque medieval village and documents the heartwarming friendship between “Excitable Edgar” and a young girl called Ava as they and their community prepare for the festive period.
One scene in the new John Lewis advert shows Excitable Edgar setting fire to the Christmas pudding gifted to him by Ava.
Martin George, partner and customer director of Waitrose & Partners, explained that the scene is a “reminder that a thoughtful gesture – whether that’s a delicious meal or a special gift – can mean so much”.
“The magic of friendship and making our loved ones feel special, are some of the most wonderful things about this time of year,” Mr George said.
A range of merchandise has been released to accompany the advert, including a £15 cuddly toy, a Waitrose 12 months matured Christmas pudding, children’s pyjamas, children’s slippers and gingerbread biscuits.
The main charity partner for this year’s joint John Lewis and Waitrose Christmas campaign is FareShare, a UK food poverty charity.
John Lewis and Waitrose are to donate £150,000 to FareShare, in addition to hosting and providing food and drink for up to 50 Christmas meals across the UK for hundreds of people who support the charitable organisation.
