Buddy the Elf stars in new Asda Christmas advert as Will Ferrel’s character joins the sales team at the supermarket

Under licence from Warner Bros: Discovery Global Consumer Products, Asda unveils its 2022 Christmas TV advert with the help of Buddy the Elf, from 2003 Christmas film Elf and portrayed by Will Ferrell.

Asda has introduced a very special festive colleague; after scattering a trail of festive clues, surprising fans of the 2003 movie classic, Christmas-obsessed character Buddy the Elf is confirmed as Asda’s newest seasonal recruit in its jubilant Christmas advert.

Set to the Christmas song Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town, the advert is created by merging real scenes from the movie with newly filmed scenes. It captures Buddy’s wide-eyed wonder and passion for all things Christmas as we join him on his first day as a member of the Asda in-store Christmas team.

Acting chief customer officer at Asda, Sam Dickson, said: “Like Buddy, we absolutely love Christmas - so we’re thrilled to welcome him to our team.

“We know this has been a tough year for so many people, which is why we want to create some little moments of joy for families this year with our Christmas campaign, and more importantly, our amazing products.

“We hope that with a little bit of help from Buddy, our joy-filled Christmas offering will create some festive magic and help give families a Christmas to remember together.”

When will Asda’s Christmas advert starring Buddy the Elf air?

Asda is set to reveal the advert for the first time on Friday, November 4 at 8.45pm.

It will appear on ITV1 in the Coronation Street ad break. The 90-second Christmas advert will use original footage and iconic lines from the film.

What can we expect from Asda’s Christmas advert starring Buddy the Elf?

The film opens with a heart-warming homage to Elf’s ‘street crossing’ scene, except this time, instead of a New York City taxi, it’s a train of Asda shopping trolleys that leads to Budding exclaiming ‘sorry!’ as it crashes into him.

This will be the start of Buddy’s trial shift which sees him marvel at Asda’s selection of Christmas treats including some icing sugar sprinkled on mince pies, he will eat all the free samples of pigs in blankets, distract his colleagues with his Christmas plans and take the opportunity to sing loudly over the store’s Tannoy system.

When the supermarket closes, Buddy adds his own magic touch, decking out the entire shop floor with fairy lights and festive decorations, while dressing up the ‘elf checkouts’.

The staff are so impressed with his enthusiasm for Christmas and customer service that they offer him the job. As he happily dashes out of the store, he runs straight into the same shopping trolleys he encountered on his way in, causing a bemused colleague to smile, as the campaign line ‘Have your Elf a Merry Christmas’ flashes across the screen.

As part of its commitment to celebrating Christmas, Asda will be giving a special festive surprise to five different community groups, to give them the chance to celebrate Christmas - that they wouldn’t otherwise have been able to do without the retailer’s help.

Asda will also be collecting toys for children’s charities as part of its gift appeal and stores will bring festive cheer to customers with local choirs and bands playing throughout December.

As well as this, Asda will also be introducing several initiatives to help those in need this Christmas, including Asda cafes providing a £1 meal deal for OAPs, continuing its kids eat for £1 deal and cost-of-living grants to support community groups with increased rent and bills.