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 09:15 · Stuart Henderson]

Wondering how it compares?

Catch up with all the John Lewis ads so far with our roundup,

Also these were the funniest reactions to last year's Man on the Moon 

[10 November 2016 09:30 · Kathy in Spain]

One reader tells us: 

"Think John Lewis should have commissioned the fake Christmas advert by the Bournemouth student and donated the £7 million to charity."

In case you missed it the advert she is talking about is this one 

[10 November 2016 09:35 · Stuart Henderson]

Brands are celebrating Christmas early for a reason, for them it means big business.

The exact costs are kept secret but if you want an idea of how much John Lewis and Burberry are spending on your favourite ads and why have a look here:

[10 November 2016 09:54 · Stuart Henderson]

After previously opting for acoustic covers of ballads by Ellie Goulding, Gabrielle Aplin and Aurora, John Lewis followed the tradition of previous years by plumping for a female-fronted cover.

The artist soundtracking this year's advert is London-based Vaults.

You probably heard their song One Last Night featured on the Fifty Shades of Grey film soundtrack, while their debut album is expected in February 2017.

More here 

[10 November 2016 10:06 · Stuart Henderson]

This year John Lewis partnered with Snapchat, which will allow UK users of the messaging app to use a Buster lens on Thursday, so they can snap portraits with comedy dog ears and nose. 

It looks like this: 

[10 November 2016 10:09 · Stuart Henderson]

And here is an example of one of the merchandise featured in the campaign.

It’s all likely to sell out fast - remember what happened with Monty the penguin !

[10 November 2016 10:25 · Stuart Henderson]

Some other users have been complaining that John Lewis is ruining Christmas 

Another reader tells us: "This is the worst Christmas advert ever! It has blatant disregard for the true spirit of Christmas. Where is Santa Clause? Don't let any kids see this advert!

[10 November 2016 10:39 · I only joined the...]

And here is the full comment from a very unhappy reader:

"this is the worst Christmas advert ever!  Where is SANTA CLAUSE!!?? Don't let any kids see this advert it needs to be banned. who are john lewis to destroy the magic of christmas everywhere for kids all over the world. How dare they! Loved the a level snowglobe so much more! John Lewis should be very ashamed of themselves!"

[10 November 2016 11:04 · Stuart Henderson]

Some of course still think the advert was a welcome relief after, as John Lewis, said "quite a year"

[10 November 2016 11:23 · Stuart Henderson]

  ↵