The battle for the best Christmas adverts dominates the early build-up to the festive season. 

Coca Cola has been a stalwart since 1995, who could forget Monty the penguin’s cameo in the 2014 John Lewis advert, or the commemoration of Christmas Day in 1914 one hundred years later by Sainsbury’s. 

Read more: Puss in Boots: Multiple launches ‘purr-fectly festive’ Christmas ad

The Xmas ad is still a high-profile moment in the business calendar, its importance evidenced by Waitrose bringing in actress Keira Knightley this year to reprise her iconic scene from 2004’s Love Actually, with the love interest played by comedian and recent Celebrity Traitors contestant Joe Wilkinson. 

But for the supermarkets and retailers who offer pharmacy services in their stores, is this even featured in their Christmas advertising?  

Boots 

Jesse Boot appointed the company’s first qualified pharmacist, Edwin Waring, in 1884. With this legacy closely linked to the pharmacist profession, does the multiple recognise this in one of its most important advertising campaigns of the year? 

The ‘Gift Happily Ever After’ campaign sees its star Puss in Boots – a character from the Shrek films – skip past the pharmacy counter to greet a Boots Beauty Specialist who helps him grab some last-minute gifts ahead of the Snow Queen’s ball. 

He kindly gives the jester stuck in a pillory some beard oil, but could he not have not grabbed some antiseptic cream from the pharmacist for the cuts on his nose instead? 

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There are more clues here to what Boots thinks may be its best sellers for the season, so it may be worth independent pharmacies looking at grabbing some last-minute stock of hair dryers, hand warmers, lipsticks and mirrors. 

One word of advice – don’t be fooled into bringing in any perfumes with a catnip scent, no matter how pleased Puss in Boots looks in the advert. 

Boots round off the advert with Duran Duran’s energetic ‘Girls on Film’, rather than an overplayed Christmas song. 

Asda 

Asda is keeping it traditional with a musical performance of ‘Let It Snow! Let It Snow!’ by Christmas antagonist The Grinch. 

His modified lyrics bemoans the prices of Christmas trees and presents, but spare a thought for the medicines pharmacists are buying with tight margins on drug tariff reimbursement prices. 

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And Asda may have missed a trick - the Grinch cheers up when he sees bright green lights glowing in the distance. But sadly it’s not a pharmacy ‘plus’ sign, but the glow of the Asda sign instead. 

Rather than suggesting some vitamin D or St John’s Wort supplements to swing the Grinch from his bad temper, Asda offers value for money on its food and drink instead – and even though there’s no mention of pharmacy in the ad, the value for money strategy extended into its flu services earlier this year when it offered 60p jabs. 

Morrisons 

C+D broke the news that Morrisons is undertaking a review of its pharmacies that could include selling some, so we surprised there’s not one seen in its advert? 

It celebrates its own colleagues and suppliers in its food operations and their hard graft over the year leading up to Christmas.

The community spirit is threaded throughout from the contributions by fishermen, bakers and farmers that help to make Christmas such a special time. 

Read more: PDA to ‘support’ Morrisons staff amid pharmacy sale review

Morrisons show the same values as community pharmacy, so it’s a shame to leave out what its pharmacists can offer to their customers at Christmas.  

But take a leaf out the ending, where a simple Santa hat can add a little sparkle to your delivery driver’s service. 

Tesco 

Tesco’s campaign is set in customer’s homes highlighting some of the more imperfect moments over the festivities. 

The ‘That’s What Makes It Christmas’ ad shows odd traditions, from Christmas cards to sibling rivalries bubbling over during a game of Charades. The latter is most likely what happens when a pharmacist sees an SSP come through yet again. 

Tesco subtly reminds you that it’s the place to get everything, from turkey to nuts and wrapping paper. 

Read more: Mapped: Locations of eight Tesco pharmacies closing for good

This feels like the most realistic advert despite it capturing the less picture-perfect moments of Christmas. 

But perhaps this realism could have extended further to what its pharmacies can offer to treat those common winter colds and illnesses that hit patients over the festive period.