The supermarket chain's 90-second masterpiece features a tiny Scandi robin that battle eagles and flies across mountains and seas to the UK where a young girl has left out a festive treat on a bird table.
Viewers will watch with baited breath as the UK’s favourite bird faces deadly conditions as he travels through the night to arrive in time for Christmas morning.
Despite the ad not being aired until during Sunday night’s The X Factor Results, eager viewers on Twitter have already hailed the piece “hands down the best Christmas advert”.
The team behind the fully computer-generated bird said every element of the story had been fact-checked by experts to ensure it was "as close to reality as possible".
Waitrose marketing director Rupert Thomas said: "Sharing the best possible food and drink with family and friends is one of the great joys of the festive period and we hope that the determination of our robin resonates with viewers as they follow his journey back to where he belongs."
Richard Brim, executive creative director at adam&eveDDB, said: "We're really proud of this plucky little fella and his plight to get home for Christmas.
"It's a warming story that speaks to the spirit of togetherness in the festive season and the joy of just coming home."
A book telling the story of the ad will arrive in branches and independent book shops from Monday, while a game will give social media followers an interactive experience of the robin's journey home.
The ad faces stiff competition from John Lewis’ long-awaited commercial – dubbed the “perfect tonic to 2016” featuring adorable Buster the Boxer, who delighted viewers as he bounces on his owner’s trampoline.
The two-minute clip features Buster the Boxer as he looks longingly at foxes, badgers, squirrels and hedgehogs bouncing on a trampoline before finally bounding over on Christmas morning and getting his turn.
Marks & Spencer’s tear-jerker of an offer presents Mrs Claus as the nation’s hero when she works through the night to help out a little boy desperate to surprise his “angry” big sister on Christmas Day.
The glitzy, Hollywood-style advert, shows Mrs Claus wave goodbye to Santa on his old-fashion sledge before she boards her high-tech red helicopter, named R-Dolf, to deliver Jake his Christmas wish.
