With less than a month until the big day, John Lewis and Marks & Spencer seem to be in a tie for best Christmas ad of the year.

Unfortunately, one brand that may have misjudged the mood is Littlewoods, whose new TV ad has seen 456 complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority.

The substance of the complaint is that the ad seems to suggest it is mums who put presents under trees – not Santa. As a result, angry parents asked for the ad to be limited to the late evening, once young children are in bed.
The ASA came down on the side of Littlewoods, saying: “After careful consideration, the ASA council has decided that, as the ad did not make reference to Father Christmas or suggest Father Christmas did not exist, it was unlikely to cause distress to children.”