Tesco is ditching the traditional lengthy Christmas TV ad in favour of a series of ads around the theme of ‘Little helps’.

The ads, which hit TV screens tonight, star Ruth Jones, star of TV hits Stella and Gavin & Stacey, who became the new face of Tesco’s TV advertising last month.

She plays mum Jo alongside Ben Miller as dad Roger and Will Close as son Freddie.

Tesco said the ads would stress the improvements to service in store as well as the quality of Tesco’s food, with the first featuring products from its Finest range and festive Free From range.

The campaign is in stark contrast to last year’s festive effort from Tesco, which featured a spectacular light show created by a team that worked on the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony.

At the time advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy, which has since been replaced by BBH, described the ad as a “step change” for Tesco.

“Christmas is a special time of year for many of our customers, so we’ll be making sure we do all we can to help them spend more time with friends and family over the festive season,” said Tesco brand director Michelle McEttrick.

“Whether that’s great customer service from colleagues in store, our delicious party food that’s been developed to allow customers to spend more time with their guests and less time in the kitchen, or our award-winning Free From food range, we’ll have everything covered.”