We've already seen some great holiday adverts as the festive season begins, from the handcrafted stop-motion Levi's Christmas advert , to Prada's cartoon wonderland directed by former Disney animator John Pomeroy. Alas, the historic master of the genre has come up lacking.

In the UK, the arrival of the John Lewis Christmas advert was long seen as the unofficial start of the season. The department store chain features twice in our pick of the best Christmas adverts of all time. But its 2026 offering has sparked a fierce backlash over what people see as confused messaging, with some people even calling for a boycott of the store.

Titled Gloria and Pickles, the 2026 John Lewis Christmas advert is an opulent affair.…