Strange In The World: John Lewis Christmas advert 2016 - when is it released, what's it about and who'll be singing?

Turn away now if any remote hint at the upcoming festive season has you punching a wall, because we're going shamelessly Christmassy.

Forget the Coca-Cola truck and all those selection boxes sneaking on to supermarket shelves as early as September, the countdown to Christmas arguably ONLY begins once the John Lewis advert airs for the first time.

More hotly anticipated than a visit from Father Christmas himself, while it has its detractors and spawns countless parodies, the John Lewis Christmas advert has become a British instituion.

Like anything which captures the imagination, it also generates a lot of buzz - and that most wonderful time of the year is approaching fast.

So, with questions flying and speculation in Twitter mounting when and what can we expect from this year's offering?

It's not even been Halloween yet but I'm already very excited for the John Lewis Christmas advert to be released☃️❄️
— Danni (@daniellejcarty) October 16, 2016

When will the John Lewis Christmas advert be on?

Every year since 2009, John Lewis and the brains behind its agency Adam & EveDDB have come up with increasingly rousing and polished adverts.

Last year's Man on the Moon had viewers either weeping dramatically, or coming up with less, kinder theories about the elderly gentleman.

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2015 - #ManOnTheMoon

It debuted on our screens on November 6 - a Friday - meaning the corresponding Friday this year is November 4. It followed the same pattern as The Bear and the Hare, which was unveiled on Friday November 8.

In fact, last year the store teased us with a 10-second clip accompanied by a mystery hashtag during a Sunday night episode of The X Factor.

So even if the show is not your thing, you might want to keep a beady eye out for a teaser of 2016's advert.

John Lewis Christmas advert — 2014's advert, featuring Monty the Penguin

What?

Since Adam & EveDDB began collaborating with John Lewis, whether you find it a little saccharine or absolutely love it, it's clear to see the adverts' narratives have grown in terms of emotiveness.

At the heart of their ads tends to be a message or theme. Last year's Man in the Moon put the spotlight on the loneliness and isolation felt by many elderly people in this country, as John Lewis teamed up with Age UK.

Other themes have been friendship - who can forget the Bear and the Hare's inter-special bond - as well as the joy gift-giving can bring.

From excited young boys to lovesick snowpeople and lonesome penguins, a fair amount of whimsy also goes into the adverts.

The love story of our time for 2012's campaign

So it's unlikely they'll be deviating from formulas which tug at the heartstrings. Once again, they may choose to lend their powerful star-power to a cause such as Age UK.

Who?

Each campaign has been beautifully accompanied by an often paired-down version of a well-known song.

John Lewis Christmas advert game: name the animal, narrative of isolation, 90's song, breathy singer.
— Herbert Williams (@bigherbwilliams) September 28, 2016

The Long Wait, featured a cover of The Smiths' 'Please Please Let Me Get What I Want'; 2012's snowpeople love story had a cover of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's 'The Power of Love'; Lily Allen covered Keane's 'Somewhere Only We Know' for The Bear and the Hare and Tom Odell sang John Lennon's 'Real Love' for Monty the Penguin.

This young lad who could not WAIT to give his parents their present

The simple acoustic covers have become a hallmark - can we expect the same again?

Needless to say, speculation is rife as to whether the music of one of the musician's we've lost in 2016 will play a part.

Odds on John Lewis using David Bowie for their Christmas advert
— Nat (@nathalie_saleh) September 29, 2016

What's the betting the John Lewis Christmas ad this year features a plinky plonky piano version of a Bowie song, with hushed lyrics.
— Simon Pegg (@Simon_Pegg) October 12, 2016

By the way, that's not 'the' Simon Pegg.

Filming tends to take place in July, so this year's campaign should be done and dusted - and with a huge budget (last year's its Man On The Moon advert cost £1 million to make, and a further £6 million was spent buying slots on television, the internet and press).

You may roll your eyes and scoff if you like - but we genuinely can't wait.

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