"I hope this Christmas [people] love the ad like previous years," he said, adding he remained focused on the supermarket's campaign rather than competitors' efforts.
"The Christmas ad phenomenon seems to grow every year and it's about demonstrating you really understand the meaning of Christmas for customers. In this ad, we want to give a real heartwarming feel about a community coming together."
He said that as expectations grew year on year, some brands were "using companies and techniques that are similar to the world of film - you can see that merging".
Given revealed this Christmas would be the supermarket's most digital in terms of "percentage of budget, spend and the effort we put into the integration".
"So the reality is, it's about creating that big social media moment as well as on TV. It's growing in signficance every year as part of our spend."
As the sector enters its most crucial trading period, Given added that the campaign was "hugely important" and had a "single-minded message" running through it.
"Christmas is a really important time for a retailer and the Christmas ad is hugely important. It gives us a lot of colleague pride internally and it's really important for our customers that we cut through and resonate.
(This article first appeared on MarketingMagazine.co.uk)