John Lewis introduces Monty the Penguin for Christmas campaign

High Street retailer John Lewis, renowned in recent years for its blockbuster Christmas campaigns, has unleashed its latest assault on the festive market armed with a penguin named Monty.

Starring a young boy and his Arctic pet the piece follows their adventures together in the run up to the big day – but the lovelorn waddler strikes a melancholy air as he yearns for the affection of a female.

Luckily for Monty his dreams soon come true when the snow falls and a delicately wrapped female penguin emerges from beneath the family tree – cue emotional beak peck.

Rest assured no penguins were harmed in the making of this commercial however, as the final scene divulges.

This week Ben Priest, founder and executive creative director at Adam&EveDDB - the creative agency behind the retailer's most memorable ads - spoke of the thought process behind its previous Christmas campaigns.