Tesco has parked one of its delivery vans on top of a thatched house in Tatton Park, near Knutsford in Cheshire, to promote the launch of its Christmas ad this weekend.

The supermarket group, which is one of the last big retailers to reveal details of its festive campaign, is to debut its TV ad during ITV’s I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! on Sunday.

The van stunt is the latest attempt by a retailer to cause a stir on social media in the run-up to the key trading season.

Last year, Greggs bakery chain flipped its store logo in Newcastle so it would be reflected in Fenwick’s Christmas window display opposite, while Lidl plastered posters with its cut-price alternatives over the ads of more upmarket rivals.

In 2014, Marks & Spencer created real snow outside a primary school in Cornwall and beamed fairies made of lights above Tyne Bridge in Newcastle.

Tesco’s Christmas ad features a driver on a Back to the Future-style delivery round through the retailer’s 100-year history. After tangling with some magical fairy lights, the van jumps to the Victorian times before delivering festive goods to Winston Churchill’s house, the Queen’s first Christmas broadcast, parties in the 60s and 70s, a rave and an episode of Bullseye.

The van driver, who is played by an actor, is also intended to “make deliveries” to various TV shows, in paid-for slots before or after programmes, over the Christmas period.

Alessandra Bellini, Tesco’s chief customer officer, said: “Particularly this year, because of uncertainty in the country, bringing something a bit more fun and festive is particularly important.”