It’s become a British Christmas tradition — the unveiling of the John Lewis festive advert.

This year’s offering finally here and it’s designed to tug at the heart strings with a starring role for Buster the Dog.

The advertisement premieres tonight at 9.15pm on ITV1, but has already been released online.

Titled Buster the Boxer, the two-minute clip opens with a dad getting his daughter’s present ready - a trampoline - on Christmas Eve.

Braving the cold in the back garden, he painstakingly begins putting the huge gift together ready for her to see on Christmas morning.

As the night sky begins to settle, two foxes, a badger, a squirrel and a hedgehog venture out of hibernation to jump up and down on the trampoline whilst Buster the dog looks on from inside the house.

John Lewis has partnered with The Wildlife Trusts for its Christmas ad
John Lewis has partnered with The Wildlife Trusts for its Christmas ad

The pet pooch is pretty miffed that the furry creatures get to have all the fun as he watches on feeling left out.

The ad is set to a cover of Randy Crawford’s 1980 jazz hit One Day I’ll Fly Away by London electronic group Vaults, who recorded it at Abbey Road studios with a 70-strong choir and 66-piece orchestra.

To find out what happens next watch the video above.

John Lewis said it aimed for a sense of fun in this year’s campaign, after 2016 had proved to be “quite a year”, and comes after it acknowledged “a few murmurings” that last year’s offering was “a bit sad”.

Buster fans will also be able to buy pyjamas, Buster’s Christmas - a children’s story book for £9.99 and download Buster images on Snapchat to transform faces into a dog face.

Craig Inglis, customer director at John Lewis, said: “2016 has certainly been quite a year, so we hope our advert will make people smile.

The Christmas ad stars Buster the dog
The Christmas ad stars Buster the dog

“It really embraces a sense of fun and magic, reminding everyone what it feels like to give the perfect gift at Christmas.”

But how does the advert compare to last years Man on the Moon?

Who can forget Lily looking through her telescope only to discover an old man living on the moon all alone.

Last year John Lewis partnered with Age UK to drive awareness and support for some of the million older people who can go for a month without speaking to anyone.

If you’ve forgotten the 2015 advert, watch it below:

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John Lewis opened a brand new store in Leeds last month.

The five-storey outlet is the flagship John Lewis store for the north, covering 24,200 square metres.

The department store includes an indoor beauty spa, in-store stylists and is also stocking 11 Yorkshire suppliers, including The Harrogate Candle Company, Masons Yorkshire Gin and Martha and Hepsie.

The store is part of the new Victoria Gate development.