John Lewis’s Christmas campaign seduced everyone with a penguin, but what about the rest? Helen Raine takes a look at the biggest contenders to ask - will they have you running to the shops?

Fake glitter snow, dancing on a bar seat at Annabel’s and lashings of smokey eye make-up teamed with goofy faces; it could only be eternal teen Cara Delevingne and Topshop. If you’re over 30, watching Cara dance with a snow globe on her head might not have you rushing out to Sliema, but then Topshop aren’t really targeting you; they’re aiming for your daughter or niece and her gaggle of friends, for whom shopping in the coolest store on the high street is a team sport. The whole production turns up the hip with a soundtrack from The Cars.

The collection itself is all tassels, gold and fake fur; there’s something for every Chrimbo occasion, from the office party (the angelic ‘feather hem slip dress’ for me please) to a grungy bar in Paceville (feather strap sandals and velvet sequin shorts perhaps?).

You can almost smell fake pine trees when you look at them

The T-Bar silver sandals also caught my eye; not only are they cute but you could wear them all night and still be in possession of all your toes the next day. The collection is not cheap; poverty stricken students might have to settle for the sequin cross body bag rather than the more expensive dresses but kind parents could also buy them the ‘moon and stone multi-row necklace’ for their stocking.

A surprise contender, the genius behind the Glade Christmas advertising campaign has somehow managed, against all the odds, to make air freshener cool. Never mind that breathing in a waft of chemical probably isn’t particularly good for us, their inspired photos of Cirque du Soleil performers are so cool and Christmassy, you can almost smell fake pine trees and maple-with-melted-butter when you look at them.

If you need something for Auntie Whatshername, you could perhaps do worse than a Glade Christmas candle. See the campaign on Twitter @Glade.

How hard hearted would you have to be to resist the Christmas Fairies, Magic and Sparkle, as they fly around London correcting hideous present gaffes and making wishes come true? (On second thoughts, don’t answer that). A husband’s ill-considered alarm clock present turns into a lacy bra; a washing line of drab clothes turns into the party range; they even manage to get the kids away from the screens and into the snow. As well as starring in the TV ads, the fairies have their own Twitter account where they publicise their random acts of kindness, leaving gifts for charity workers and photogenic children left, right and centre.

The advertising campaign has somehow managed, against all the odds, to make air freshener cool

As to what M&S are offering for sale? Well, unless you happen to dig the elderly lady look, you’d be wise to avoid the M&S party outfits, which are truly awful. They also have a whole section of Christmas jumpers…. I need say no more. Their gifts are more fun; desktop ping-pong, balance bikes and a, er, cashmere leopardskin adult onesie are all on the website. Find the fairies and more on Find them on Twitter: @thetwofairies.

Poor Debenhams has been eclipsed by most of the other retail giants, picking a song that made our ears bleed the first time round (The Frog Chorus) and a relatively uninspired storyline where someone else’s annoying children run amok in the store (it’s bad enough when it’s our own). They did a little better with their Twitter account, giving out gift cards for some of those posting a selfie at #foundit. Despite the underwhelming ad, Debenhams has a good selection of Christmas clothes and gifts; Debut’s ‘gold glitter star clutch bag’ is particularly fun and The Collection’s ‘green lace art deco shift dress’ will be a winner all year round (only available online with international delivery). The Boom Boom Balloon Game puts a new twist on Kerplunk – stick in the pins until it bursts.

Romeo Beckham puts the boring in the Burberry campaign.

And then there’s Burberry, with Baby Beckham. Dozens of extras in identikit beige trench coats do a bit of lookalike grooving while Romeo, the star of the show, tries his best to look adorable rather than a bit over-privileged (allegedly, the kid didn’t even do his own dancing – they had to wheel in the talent for that). It’s sleek, it’s posh… but it’s just a teensy bit boring. The whole ad suggests that if you desperately want to look like an average banker in an average city, Burberry is the place to go. Anyone with an iota of originality might want to look elsewhere.