Harvey Nichols’ #GiftFace Ad Captures Christmas Honestly

Hands up if those treacly John Lewis ads make your latent Christmas Realism Grinch flinch a little bit? An indie singer who Burberry have forced on us one Fashion Week crooning to a waddling CGI penguin – is this really our A Christmas Carol? While the rest of the British Isles and Eire go emoticon crazy every year the department store drops their highly anticipated production, members of the snarky contingent relish the arrival of Harvey Nichols Christmas effort.

Every year the luxury department store captures the true meaning of the season: spending money. There is no time for sappy emotive hijinks. Harvey Nichols get down to business, and they do it in a truly subversive-for-what-it-is manner. This year they’re tackling #GiftFace, the expression one must adopt in the face of truly horrendous presents. We’ve all been there, and we’ll be there again. Unless someone goes to Harvey Nichols.

Here’s a hitlist of the brand’s previous seasonal entries.

Gifts that say, “Sorry, I spent it on myself.”

We like this lesson in how honesty makes everyone happy.

And of course, their classic Walk of Shame montage showcasing the Christmas dresses that truly deliver a return on investment.