John Lewis' lovelorn snowman has beaten its nearest rival by a country mile in a poll to find consumers' favourite Christmas 2012 ad.
In Conlumino's survey of over 2,000 consumers, the snowman, who treks over hill and dale to find a Christmas present for his snowwoman, was the festive favourite of 28.3% of respondents.

It gives John Lewis a significant lead over the advertising from rival retailers. Marks & Spencer's 'Greatest Hits this Christmas' ad came in second with 17.1% of the vote, while Argos' 'Aliens at Christmas' was third, with 11.2%.

The fact that the John Lewis ad is subtle rather than a blatant push of products and brand has clearly struck a chord with many consumers, says Conlumino. In the survey, 78.5% agreed that Christmas has become too commercial and 55.6% agreed that it was a shame the real meaning of Christmas was being lost.

Commenting on the results Joseph Robinson, senior consultant at Conlumino, said: "In addition to its strong emotional pull, the John Lewis advert has real resonance: at a time of austerity a lot of people are focusing on the real meaning of Christmas, which means things like love, family, and finding meaningful gifts are all messages consumers buy into."

The other favourite Christmas ads were: Iceland, 8.2%; Asda, 5.7%; Tesco, 5.4%; Waitrose, 4.4%; Boots, 3.1%; Sainsbury's, 3.0%; and Morrisons, 2.7%.