This being the modern era, John Lewis unveiled its new Christmas advert on the internet before unveiling it on our television screens.
And this being the modern era, it didn't take long for people to start spoofing it.
One of the first people on the case was comedy writer Tom Jamieson - whose spoof John Lewis Shining advert was the result of a Twitter collaboration.
"I watched the advert on Friday, when Twitter was going nuts for it," Tom tells Huffington Post UK Comedy. "And it instantly reminded me of The Shining. I had a feeling the music from the film would fit perfectly.
"Being a 40-year-old Luddite satire writer, I just put it out there in a tweet, asking if any of my clever followers could make it," he continues.
"The lovely @somerandombint (a 20-ish Scottish girl whose name I don't know yet, even though we've been constantly tweeting each other about this ever since) replied, saying she was on the case.
"A few hours later she sent to me - all very Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams. And it was brilliant.
"I love Twitter."
And so do we. After going live on YouTube and Twitter on Friday, the John Lewis Shining Christmas video went viral, getting thousands of views over the weekend and a mention in The Guardian.
Watch the fruit of Tom and @somerandombint's collaboration above.