Asda unveils Christmas advert for 2018 inspired by 'coming home'

The short film will debut on Friday evening

Supermarket Christmas adverts are one of the undisputed highlights of the festive season – and this year’s proceedings are already underway, with Asda unveiling its contribution on Friday.

With under two months to go until the big day, the leading retailer is wasting no time with the release of its campaign, which is titled “Bring Christmas Home”.

Set to the song, “Christmas (baby please come home)”, the 60-second ad captures the joy of going home for Christmas, beginning with an energetic Santa Claus launching a flaming Christmas pudding into the air.

Landing in a snow-covered utopia, the blazing dessert prompts an influx of festive revellers to descend, who run down a mountain in slow motion alongside cowboys riding Christmas trees and Santas on motorbikes.

For good measure, there’s also some dancing skiers carrying smoked salmon blinis under dinner plates and some yetis wearing ski goggles.

One very brave family, all clad in Christmas jumpers, is also seen enjoying a traditional festive meal among the snow.

Some yetis drive down the mountain to deliver their baked goods in the ad. (Asda)

The avalanche of yuletide cheer captures the attention of a young girl at home, who quickly rushes to her window to see what’s causing the ruckus.

Before you know it, every last yeti and Santa arrives outside her house, making it very clear that Christmas has come home in its merriest form.

According to Asda’s chief customer officer Andy Murray, the ad was inspired by the idea that people put huge amounts of effort and energy into bringing families together at Christmas.

“We really wanted to hone in on a universal feeling about Christmas that people could relate to,” he said.

“The one thing we all kept coming back to was the sense of excitement that comes from preparing to bring your nearest and dearest together, how crazy and chaotic it can feel, but ultimately how all the effort results in something wonderful when you bring Christmas home".

The supermarket held open auditions to cast people in its ad, and a few Asda employees ended up starring in the final film.

“Our colleagues play such a vital role in bringing Christmas home for our customers, it was only right that they were part of our festive cavalcade,” Murray adds.

“Bring Christmas Home” will launch on ITV at 7.15pm and will also play out on Channel 4 during the centre breaks of both Gogglebox and Great British Bake Off: Extra Slice.