IT’S December. That means Christmas festivities are in full swing: carol concerts, decorating trees and another tradition – Christmas adverts.

Every year the likes of John Lewis and Marks and Spencer spend millions of pounds in devising an advert with the aim to reduce us to tears.

Year after year we are treated to heart-warming stories, beautiful soundtracks and mesmerizing animation – notably ‘Monty the Penguin’, who features in this year’s John Lewis commercial, has got us all sniffling in the ad-breaks of our favourite programmes.

However, there is one advert in particular that has caught the headlines, yet for all the wrong reasons.

Hundreds of complaints have flooded in following the airing of Sainsbury’s Christmas advert that features an infamous First World War scene. The 1914 Christmas Truce is known throughout the world – where soldiers on the frontline from both Germany and Britain rose from their trenches into no-man’s land to exchange gifts, seasonal greetings and play football.

This image runs throughout history as one of the most prominent displays of the human spirit – showing the ability to come together even in the most dismal of environments.

The Sainsbury’s advert recreates this scene in unarguably beautiful detail – in four minutes we are taken on a journey of emotional depth.

Without saying anything the characters convey the poignancy of the situation through the television scene so much so that it would bring a tear even to the most cynical eye.

Yet, the issue with the advert, sparking hundreds of complaints, is the use and exploitation of such a terrible point in our history as a way of promoting a brand and products.

Some would argue it is capitalism at its worst – by incorporating this particular scene into an advert you are effectively using the thousands of wasted lives as a platform for promotion.

The First World War remains an iconic scar in our history, and it is and will remain indefinitely tasteless to ever use it as a form of promotional material.

It is a fair argument to suggest that filmmakers have made millions by glamorizing war, so why shouldn’t advertisements do the same?

But there is a difference in this. In Sainsbury’s instance, it is promoting products – tinsel, crackers, and turkey – on the back of a human catastrophe.

The most unsettling thing about this advert is the way in which it is filmed: the robin perched on the barbed wire, the solider looking hopefully up across no-man’s land and the look of sheer gratitude when he opens his gift from the German soldier.

The filmmakers have made war look beautiful, peaceful, and even happy – which is the worst form of ignorance that can be imposed on such an atrocity. So, watch this advert with a pinch of salt.

Be affected by the mesmerizing cinematography and become engrossed by the beautiful story that the 1914 Christmas Truce was and still is, yet try to disconnect it from the capitalist, consumerist world it comes from.

WANT to have some Christmas fun but you’re on a student budget? Here are some events taking place this festive season:

• Christmas comes to Weymouth today with fun events in the town. If you drive you can bus in for free by parking at the park and ride. Buses run every half an hour until 6pm.

• Singing doesn’t cost a thing! So if you’re in the Swanage area why not join in with an Evening of Christmas Cheer tonight at Emmanuel Baptist Church from 7.30pm.

• Dreaming of a Wyke Christmas? The villages annual event is on tomorrow from noon to 4pm.

• Look out for locally-crafted gifts as Portland gets in the festive spirit with Easton Promise next Friday.