THE Navy has steamed into the Christmas ads battle with a £1 million missile launch and a tear-jerking tale of families torn apart by war.
The ad tells the story of HMS Diamond, a Type 45 destroyer, being attacked by Iran-backed rebels on Christmas Eve, 2023.
The two and a half minute film includes never before seen combat footage of Sea Viper missile launches.
Yet staggeringly the ad cost just £250 to produce – because everyone involved was a serving sailor or a civilian volunteer.
Just like this year’s John Lewis Old School Raver commercial, the Royal Navy story focused on emotional bonds between a father and a son.
It opens with carollers singing Silent Night outside a family home while the dad is away on operations.
His son is alone by the Christmas tree drawing a picture of his father’s warship as his mother opens the door.
But unlike this year’s Waitrose ad which stars Keira Knightley and comedian Joe Wilkinson in a Love Actually-style romance, the Navy relied entirely on serving sailors and in-house combat camera teams.
Big retailers spend around £12bn on their seasonal ad campaigns.
But a Navy source said their budget was a mere £250.
The money was a donation from the Royal Marines and Royal Navy charity – which they used to decorate a photographer’s home to make it look Christmassy in October, when they filmed.
In a teaser for the ad, the Navy said: “Sometimes you sacrifice the moments that matter most – so others can hold on to theirs.”
The ad shows the destroyer’s crew going to action stations as an attack drone hurtles towards their vessel in the Gulf of Aden.
Commander Peter Evans, who was captain of HMS Diamond during the 2023 mission, said: “This is based around our real-life Christmas eve at sea.”
The ship was deployed to defend merchant vessels from Iran-backed Houthi rebels who launched missiles and drones from their territory in Yemen.
The lights in the ship turn red as the incoming drone is tracked by the warship’s formidable Samson radar.
The iconic radar towers 40m over the water – it gives the Type 45s their distinctive shape – and it can track up to a thousand objects the size of a tennis ball travelling at three times the speed of sound.
In the ad we see sailors don fire-retardant uniforms to protect themselves in the event of a blast as fire crews prepared to extinguish any blazes.
Cdr Evans said “being away from our families over Christmas is always hard”.
But he added: “The reality was that we were so committed to our mission that Christmas was distant in our minds.
“We knew that without HMS Diamond lives were at risk on other ships in the region.”
HMS Diamond was attacked at least three times and shot down multiple drones and a ballistic missile during its deployment.
It was the first time a Royal Navy warship had shot down missiles in anger since HMS Gloucester used Sea Darts to down a Silkworm missile during the 1991 Gulf War.
Cdr Evans added: “For me, this advert powerfully highlights two themes. The first is how important every sailor is onboard, regardless of their rank or role.
“The second is how important our families are, and how much strength we draw from them. We felt so proud to be able to be protecting them.”
It was filmed onboard HMS Duncan, a sister ship to HMS Diamond, while it was undergoing maintenance in Portsmouth.
Thousands of members of the armed forces will be away from their loved ones over Christmas, including the crew of a nuclear-armed submarine as one is always on patrol to provide the UK’s nuclear deterrent.
Lieutenant Commander Martyn Harris, the Executive Officer of HMS Diamond, said: “What struck me most is how accurately it reflects the reality of combat.
“No drama, just discipline. The advert shows what we lived, a team that moved as one when seconds mattered.”
Recalling the moment the missiles were fired, he said: “I remember being called to the bridge as the team reported seeing missile contrails, what struck me was how utterly dark it was outside.
“The footage is totally accurate. Getting the ship to Action Stations is not like a Hollywood movie – in reality, it is calm and orderly, and the film shows that really well.”
