UK retailers seek to woo shoppers with Christmas TV adverts

Trump's trade policy is not 'the apocalypse'

Retail sales were 7.4% higher last month than the same time last year

UK retail is booming

From a dog bouncing on a trampoline on Christmas morning to Mrs Claus helping a young boy with a gift for his sister, the festive television adverts are rolling out from British retailers keen to woo consumers in the crucial year-end shopping season.

Quotes in the article

45CR

LEW

Marks & Spencer Group PLC

MKS

Some 5.6 billion pounds is expected to be spent on Christmas advertising this year, according to Advertising Association and WarcData figures, up from 5.3 billion pounds last year.

Shoppers browse the aisles in the Canary Wharf store of Waitrose in London

High-street retailers are particularly keen to win over consumers wary after the country's June vote to leave the European Union.

"There's lots of different types of ads out this year but...the ultimate aim of these is to increase sales for brands," said Jane Bloomfield, head of UK marketing at research and consultancy firm Kantar Millward Brown.

Pedestrians walk past an M&S shop in northwest London

A worker stocks shelves at a Sainsbury's store in London

Department store John Lewis has chosen Buster the boxer as the star of its campaign, with the dog surprising a young girl on Christmas morning by jumping on her trampoline present after seeing various wildlife enjoy the gift during the night.

Upmarket grocer Waitrose, which is part of the John Lewis group, chose a red-breasted robin battling snow, winds and storms to get to a British garden and taste a mince pie.

Marks & Spencer has Mrs Claus working on Christmas Eve after a young boy asks for her help with a gift for his sister.

Focusing on its fast delivery options, Argos, part of the Sainsbury's group, has opted for colourful yetis speedily ice-skating down streets, picking up all sorts of goods on their way.

"I think this year sees a return to perhaps a more light-hearted tone in some of the advertising, particularly people like John Lewis who have gone for less of a tear jerker but more of a nice make-you-smile type story," Bloomfield said.