By Ali Miraj

For the first time in my life, an advert has made me cry.

Yes, John Lewis has done it with its Christmas offering. That a promotional video from a department store could be as central to the festive season as Carols from the chapel at King’s College, Cambridge, is bemusing, but there we are.

It centres on a family celebrating the big day. The mum calls on everyone to clear away the presents after the meal, and the father finds himself by the Christmas tree gathering discarded wrapping paper and discovers an unopened gift entitled “Dad”. He tears the wrapping paper to reveal a 12” vinyl of the 1990s club classic “Where Love Lives” by Alison Limerick.

He duly puts the needle on the record and the pulsating beat kicks in. It takes him back to memories of being in a club dancing to the track, and he ends up........

© LBC