John Lewis unveils Monty the penguin

Yes it’s that time of year again when John Lewis introduces their new Christmas advert! This year however they have taken it a step further. To go alongside their advert, John Lewis have also introduced two new tech innovations.

The first of which is in partnership with Microsoft and is called “Monty’s Magical Toy Machine “, for this John Lewis invites customers children to bring their favourite cuddly toy to their flagship store in Oxford Street. Children will then see their cuddly toy come to life on the big screen, this is done using a mix of high quality DSLR cameras and Microsoft Kinect sensors.

The second partnership comes in the form of Google’s “Cardboard” invention, put simply it’s a cardboard box in the shape of a pair of goggles with a phone placed in the centre. This creates a virtual reality headset which then shows the wearer 360º panoramic world featuring Sam and Monty from the advert. Alongside the tech, they will also be placing an interactive “den” in each of their shops for children to explore. On sale will also be a book and cuddly toy versions of Monty and Mabel.