Still not in the Christmas spirit? Monty the Penguin will fix that

STILL not in the Christmas spirit? Meet the adorable Antarctic star of this year’s festive ad from UK retailer John Lewis, guaranteed to make you smile.

ARE you in the Christmas spirit yet?

If not, Monty the Penguin is here to fix that.

Our adorable Antarctic friend is the star of this season’s festive advert from UK department store John Lewis.

And while it may be a commercial, this beautiful piece of cinema will melt your heart.

The retailer’s annual Yuletide commercial has become an institution, pushing the boundaries of advertising.

This year’s offering begins with a montage of a little boy hanging out with his penguin friend.

To the strains of a Tom Odell cover of John Lennon’s Real Love, the pair are seen watching Pingu, playing hide and seeking, trampolining and playing with Lego.

Monty is seen diving in the water at the park and scaring the birds as his mate Sam looks on.

The incredibly real CGI creation curls up at the boy’s feet, chases him along the soccer field and steals his food at the table.

He even helps decorate the Christmas tree.

But then the little boy realises that the penguin is lonely, gazing longing at couples.

And he buys Monty a present: a penguin friend named Mabel.

In the final shot. we see he is playing with two toy penguins, as the words “Give someone the Christmas they’ve been dreaming of” appear.

The advert is beautiful, but it’s also big business. The campaign as a whole cost $11 million and Monty toys are on sale in store for a whopping $176. There’s even an interactive computer game.

The store’s emotive Christmas ads have been tugging on the world’s heartstrings since 2007.

Last year’s advert was the story of a cartoon hare giving his bear friend a Christmas to remember, to Lily Allen’s cover of Somewhere Only We Know by Keane.

In 2012, The Journey told the story of a snowman going to extra mile to find the perfect gift, backed by a cover of Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s Power of Love sung by Gabrielle Aplin.

Back in 2011 came perhaps the cleverest, showing a boy impatiently waiting for Christmas Day to a Slow Moving Millie cover of Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths.

As it turns out, he’s waiting to give a gift to his parents.

That’s right, advertising is selling a dream.