Telegraph turns upside down for M&S Christmas promotion

The Daily Telegraph is to turn itself upside down for a Marks & Spencer (M&S) Christmas food range advertising promotion.

This is the first time the newspaper has adopted such an advertising strategy. It has sold five pages at the rear of the newspaper, including the back page, to M&S for its Saturday November 23 edition. The pages, featuring advertising and promotional material, are to be turned upside down, while the back page is designed to resemble the cover of an M&S magazine.

The deal was negotiated by Telegraph Group commercial development department strategic planner Caron Stewart, in conjunction with Walker Media. The newspaper will not be drawn on the value of the promotion, but a spokesman says: “The campaign takes the majority share of the press spend budget for food and drink over the [M&S] Christmas campaign.”

M&S stepped up its press advertising last year, spending more than &£11m across its ranges – which include men’s label Blue Harbour and the Perfect clothing range.

Hollinger International, parent company of The Daily Telegraph, has reported a $31.5m (&£20.1m) loss for the three months to September, compared with a $139.6m (&£89.1m) loss for the same period in 2001. Revenues at the Telegraph Group declined during the quarter from &£77.3m to &£74.1m. A drop-off in recruitment advertising was regarded as mainly responsible.