See an example of the advertisement's use of hard imagery

The series of TV, cinema, radio and press adverts sets out to debunk the traditional happy image of Christmas and show "the reality behind the stuffing and turkey".

The Samaritans report a 24% rise in the number calls they receive over Christmas and the new year.

The organisation, which offers "confidential emotional support to any person who is suicidal or despairing", expects to handle 15,000 calls a day over the festive period.

They say there has been a steady increase in the demand on their services around Christmas over the years.

Hard-hitting

The Samaritans' television advertisement portrays:

• A violent father smashing up a Christmas lunch table and hitting his wife in front of their children;
• A bereaved old woman eating her turkey alone;
• A rapist propositioning his traumatised victim at a Christmas party;
• A teenage single mother alone with her baby in a bedsit.

The national radio commercial features a spoof rendition of the seasonal song the Twelve Days of Christmas ("A Partridge in a Pear Tree"), re-titled A Homeless Casualty.

A young single mother alone features

The press advertisements contain slogans such as "visiting family, making merry, buying presents; no wonder so many people kill themselves at Christmas".

The campaign is called "Tis The Season To Be Jolly - Or Is It?" is likely to receive criticism for its explicitness and will run for two weeks from Monday 21 December.

The overall slogan of the campaign, which encourages people to call the Samaritans' hotline is: "Whatever you're going through this Christmas, we'll go through it with you."

Advertising company Ogilvy and Mather devised the campaign said they had not gone too far with their images.

Alternative

Creative director Marcus Vinton, said: "We wanted to highlight the alternative traditions of Christmas, the reality behind the stuffing and turkey.

The campaign looks at different people who may feel down over Christmas

"Loneliness, violence, unhappiness and abuse - that's the normal Christmas for a lot of people."

Speaking at the launch of the campaign on Tuesday, Samaritans chief executive Simon Armson said that the pressure to have fun over Christmas is now greater than ever before.

He said: "We don't want to forget that Christmas brings a lot of unhappiness for some people.

"These adverts will get a message across to those who have no where else to turn."