Sainsbury’s has unveiled its Christmas advertising, dating back to its roots in 1869, as it rounds off their anniversary celebrations.

And in the retailer’s 150th year, the ad tells how Santa Claus might have come about.

The ad tells the story of a young chimney sweep, Nicolas, who admires the brand new J Sainsbury’s store on Drury Lane in Victorian London.

While Nicholas admires the clementines on offer, his boss sneaks the fruit into his hat.

Victorian London: The scene takes place on Christmas Eve 1869 in Drury Lane, where the new J Sainsbury store opens

Young chimney sweep Nicholas is impressed with the abundance of clementines on offer in the store

In the act, the orphan is caught picking up one of the clementines that accidentally fell on the cobblestone

He is being taken away to a sleigh prison where people line the streets to hiss and boo while branding him “rotten to the core”.

Mary Ann Sainsbury, who, after seeing the whole event, sets off for the snow-capped mountains to fetch him back and take him with the ‘Zero Emissions’ horse and cart

But the poor boy is caught in the act as he bends over to pick up an orange that has fallen to the ground.

In a traditional Dickens scene, Nicholas is banished from town when people line the streets branding him a thief while being carted away in a sleigh prison.

The young chimney sweep is thrown into the wilderness, where he trembles in a blizzard while the words “rotten to the core” play in his head.

A Christmas present: Mrs. Sainsbury gives Nicholas his own clementines that he cannot pay for

Christmas joy: Nicholas gives each orphan his own clementine while he sleeps while he takes a trip down the chimney and disappears in a cloud of sparkles and sparkles

But the festive cheer will be restored when young Nick is rescued from Mary Ann Sainsbury, who saw the whole event, sets out for the snow-capped mountains to get him back.

After the orphan was awakened from his nightmare, the couple set off in a horse and cart with the “Zero Emissions” sign on the front.

She gives the boy a bag of clementines, but the boy says he cannot pay them.

The real Santa Claus? The scene ends with Nicholas in a red cloak and hat surrounded by reindeer who tell the story of how he became Santa Claus

He disappears in the snow, where the ad ends on the line: “Help to make Christmas, Christmas since 1869”

But Mrs. Sainsbury replied, “If you can’t do anything special for someone for Christmas, when can you?”

Nick then leaps down the chimney of the Manor House children’s home and fills the teenagers’ stockings with clementines before Nicolas disappears down the chimney.

Sainsbury’s first store on Drury Lane in London in 1869

While the streets are festively cheered and each child holds their own Clementine in their hand, Mrs. Sainsbury looks on happily.

The scene ends with Nicolas admiring the Victoria skyline with a modern shard and London Eye before walking into the sunset with a red clock and iconic Santa hat surrounded by reindeer.

It ends with the supermarket’s campaign: “Help to make Christmas, Christmas since 1869”.

However, the team behind the ad admitted they took liberties with the story.

For example, according to Sainsbury’s website, the first store in Sainsbury only sold milk, eggs, and butter with no clementines in sight.

‘Some of it is based on real events; In 1869 there was a shop that was open for Christmas, ”said Laura Boothby, director of radio marketing at the supermarket.

The short piece was filmed in Romania, where the team found a finished Dickensian London film set. It’s supposed to cheer people up.

The first J Sainsbury store

The first store opened in May 1869.

It opened its doors at 173 Drury Lane, Holborn, London.

Started by John James Sainsbury and his wife Mary Ann with the slogan “Quality perfect, prices lower”

The store only sold eggs, butter, and milk, but quickly started selling fresh groceries.

“The goal of our Christmas advertising is to bring festive joy every year. People don’t want to see lousy ads. Hopefully people just want to cheer up a bit and that will help,” added Ms. Boothby.

Sainsbury’s did not disclose how much it had spent on the ad, but businesses across the UK are expected to fetch a record £ 6.8 billion on seasonal advertising, according to the Advertising Association.

Show star Chris Dunkley was cast as Nick the Sweep after a nationwide search.

Sainsbury’s follows Argos and rivals Asda and Island in launching their Christmas television commercials.

The advertisement was directed by Ninian Doff, an award-winning director whose previous work has included music videos, comedy shorts, and commercials.

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