John Lewis Christmas Advert 2014: Monty The Penguin Stars, Tom Odell Covers John Lennon's 'Real Love' For Soundtrack To 'Monty's Christmas' (VIDEO, PICS)

Drop Everything! The New John Lewis Xmas Ad Is Here!
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The John Lewis Christmas advert is now as much a part of the Yuletide season as woolly jumpers and 'Its A Wonderful Life' on the telly, and this year's ad looks set to become another huge hit.

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Set to a soundtrack of Tom Odell covering John Lennon's 'Real Love', the clip follows the unlikely pair's friendship over a year before Sam realises his penguin friend is sad and longing for a companion.

By the time Christmas morning comes around, Sam surprises Monty with a new penguin friend, Mabel.

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Altogether now… awwwwwwww.

The £1million ad, which features the strapline 'Give someone the Christmas they've been dreaming of', follows the huge success of last year's offering, which featured an animated bear and hare.

The accompanying song, Lily Allen's cover of Keane's 'Somewhere Only We Know', reached No.1 in the charts and ended up being one of the year's biggest sellers.

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'Monty's Christmas' is the seventh John Lewis advert directed by Dougal Wilson and features CGI technology to ensure Monty and Mabel look and behave exactly like real Adelie penguins.

The ad will get its TV premiere during the first advert break in Friday's 'Gogglebox' on Channel 4.

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It follows a teaser campaign using #MontyThePenguin and is accompanied by an extensive range of merchandise ordered in larger quantities after last year's The Bear And The Hare toys sold out.

John Lewis marketing director Craig Inglis says: "At John Lewis, this time of year is all about helping our customers create their dream Christmas.

"We hope this uplifting tale of Sam's love for his friend Monty will remind people of the magic of Christmas through a child's eyes and inspire them to think how they can make the festive season extra special for their friends and loved ones."

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The latest ad follows hugely popular ads from Christmas past including 2011's 'The Long Wait' about a boy counting down the days to Christmas, and 2012's 90-second tale of a snowman making a perilous journey to buy a hat and gloves for his snow-woman companion.

Get all misty-eyed by watching all seven John Lewis ads from Christmases past below...