John Lewis Christmas advert 2016 live: Funniest reactions to Buster the Boxer

The store's feel good advert has lifted everyone's spirit but some Twitter users have noticed an obvious problem

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2016

Welcome to the Independent’s live blog of the start of Christmas, also known as the launch of the John Lewis advert.

• John Lewis advert 2016: Buster the Boxer bounces away from usual tearjerker formula
• John Lewis may have just accidently ruined Christmas with its new festive advert
• The emotionally manipulative techniques behind Buster the Boxer
• John Lewis Christmas advert 2016: The 5 funniest reactions
• John Lewis Christmas advert 2016 review: A pleasing non-heartstring-tugging effort
• John Lewis teased 10 seconds of its news Christmas ad
• How much are John Lewis and Burberry spending on your favourite ads?
• Meet Vaults, the band performing the John Lewis Advert song
• People really want this to be the real John Lewis Christmas advert... But it's fake

Please allow for the live blog to load

John Lewis has reverted back to basics as it reveals a more festive advert after admitting last year’s Man on the Moon was “too sad”.

The new two-minute clip Buster The Boxer, estimated to have cost about £7m, tells the story of a little girl called Bridget and five-year-old Biff as Buster her dog.

The advert is a return to a more traditional heart-warming tone for John Lewis after last year's Man on the Moon was perceived to be too melancholic by some viewers.

Craig Inglis, Customer Director at John Lewis, said: “2016 has certainly been quite a year, so we hope our advert will make people smile. It really embraces a sense of fun and magic, reminding everyone what it feels to give the perfect gift at Christmas.”

“Each year we work with a charity which fits our ad, and we hope this year’s campaign will encourage more children to discover a love of British wildlife and encourage support of The Wildlife Trusts.”

A cover of Randy Crawford’s “One Day I’ll Fly Away”, which was famously covered by Nicole Kidman for the film Moulin Rouge, soundtracks the advert .

This year John Lewis has chosen up and coming band Vaults to perform the slowed-down version of the song following in the footsteps of Aurora, Gabrielle Aplin, and Tom Odell.

They will be hoping that advertising agency Adam&Eve/DDB can work their magic and catapult them Christmas number one as it has done with two of the seven songs picked for the John Lewis Christmas spot since 2009.

[10 November 2016 02:05 · Stuart Henderson]

  ↵Some Twitter users have claimed the latest campaign has "ruined Christmas"

John Lewis sent us their reply: 

"We're sure Father Christmas has also visited Bridget and Buster the night before, this is just an extra special gift from her parents because she loves to bounce"

More on this here:

[10 November 2016 02:30 · Stuart Henderson]

Here is the latest data on John Lewis ad since its launch from 7.39 am to 1pm, according to Brandwatch.

61,000 of John Lewis 

Mentions of #BusterTheBoxer 48,234

John Lewis Twitter handle had 28,467 RTs

Mentions per minute peaked at 8:31 at 390 mentions per minute 

[10 November 2016 07:48 · Stuart Henderson]

Good morning, as the nation is applying its waterproof mascara ready for 8am our thoughts go out to the man who has the @JohnLewis Twitter handle – good luck today!

[10 November 2016 07:53 · Stuart Henderson]

And it's live, watch it above or here

 

[10 November 2016 08:03 · Stuart Henderson]

Last year you could only get the telescope that Lily used to spot the old man on the moon.

But this year John Lewis is selling a lot of merchandise inspired by their Christmas ad campaign, It’s all likely to sell out fast (just look at what happened with Monty the penguin), so we’d recommend shopping quickly if you have your heart set on a cuddly Buster.

[10 November 2016 08:09 · Stuart Henderson]

Reactions from Twitter so far seem broadly positive but it's only 8am :

and people seem to appreciate the advert is less emotional than usual: 

Some are not convinced:

[10 November 2016 08:22 · Stuart Henderson]

We already know that the advert cost about the same amount as it did last year - around £7 million and that the process has taken months and months.

That's including filming costs, plus the surrounding campaign: from the soft toys of the characters which feature in the advert, to the bespoke Snapchat lense, which is available until midnight tonight and will transform users into Buster the dog.

The Wildlife Trusts are this year's charity partners for the campaign, and they will receive a donation from every £15 soft Buster or £12 soft wild animal toy sold in connection with the ad.

All the details below: 

[10 November 2016 08:35 · Stuart Henderson]

Vince Kerrigan, strategic solutions manager at brand communications agency, Vital communications, told us the release of this ad has been a "communication masterclass for brand owners".

He said: “While it is not clear to what extent the timetable was pre-planned, the decision to officially release the ad just 24 hours after the US election result served to accentuate its uplifting message and put thoughts of surprise-filled, family Christmases top of mind. A definite break from the more melancholic reaction to last year’s campaign.

[10 November 2016 08:57 · Stuart Henderson]

Our culture editor Christopher Hooton welcomes the fact that John Lewis bounced away from its usual tearjerker formula.

Read his review:

[10 November 2016 09:09 · Stuart Henderson]

One user just said John Lewis has ruined Christmas !