Get Unwrapped with Oxfam

4:08pm Thursday 8th November 2007

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What do Dame Helen Mirren, Will Young and Helena Bonham Carter have in common - they are rebelling against the horror that is Christmas tat.

You know, the smellys, the jumper that's four sizes too big and the bottle of alcohol when you're a tee-totaller.

Well that could be a thing of the past and celebrities are joining forces to make sure you don't end up with a room full of junk you neither need nor want.

So what's it all about I hear you ask - they have come together to launch Oxfam Unwrapped, a campaign to rid Christmas of the misery of disappointing presents and to improve the lives of people around the world.

The campaign includes a high profile advert, featuring Dame Helen, Will Young, actress Helena Bonham Carter and comedian Rob Brydon. It will premiere during Channel 4's The Secret Millionaire tonight at 9.10pm.

On top of the TV ad, images taken by iconic photographer Rankin of the stars, along with TV presenter Zoe Ball and actor Martin Freeman, will be on billboards across the UK.

So what is Oxfam unwrapped? Well here is the shopping bit. It's an alternative gift range which provides more than 60 fun and innovative Christmas presents including fertiliser, a loo, condoms, essential medicines and school books that really make a difference to people's lives.

The spoof TV advert pokes fun at the traditional charity appeal advert, stating how millions of people suffer every year from receiving rubbish presents. Dame Helen, who is an Oxfam ambassador, tells viewers "it's terribly sad" while Helena Bonham Carter holds a flapping singing fish and Rob Brydon looks quizzically at a walking pink toy pig.

Will Young invites viewers to look at the tears in his sorrowful eyes after receiving his disappointing Christmas presents.

Since Oxfam launched the campaign in October 2004, more than 1.2 million gifts have been purchased to help people in 49 countries around the world. The gifts - such as Teach a Teacher, mosquito nets, protect women packs and rainwater harvesting - support Oxfam's ongoing work. They are carefully monitored to ensure the communities get the long-term benefits.

Following on from this success, the Campaign for Decent Christmas Presents - made possible by all the celebrities giving their time for free - aims to encourage people to buy a record number of Oxfam Unwrapped gifts. It hopes to raise £14.5 million to support Oxfam's work to overcome poverty and suffering - a drop in the ocean compared to the £33.4 billion spent last December, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Now that's what I call guilt-free shopping.