Amazon grace
From John Lewis’s annual tearjerker to the Coca Cola convoy, Christmas advertising is huge business.

This year, the online retailer Amazon has made unlikely stars of an elderly British imam and a vicar in an advert celebrating interfaith relations. The two are shown using the Amazon app to buy each other knee-pads as Christmas presents to help while praying. The advert was put together with advice from the Church of England and the Christian Muslim Forum.

The vicar is the Revd Gary Bradley, of Little Venice, near Paddington, west London, who says he was cast by accident after location scouts met him during a visit to his church, St Mary’s. Imam Zubeir Hassam is principal of the Muslim School at Oadby, Leicestershire.

Amazon has been criticised for its business practices, with a recent BBC Inside Out investigation alleging that it pays delivery drivers less than the minimum wage for working excessive hours. Some drivers were forced to break the speed limit to meet tight delivery deadlines, it was claimed.