M&S ditches celebs in Christmas ad
Marks & Spencer has eschewed celebrities in its Christmas advertising campaign and says that it is making the “products the stars” instead.
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The retailer says the ad “has the feel of a music video” and features five tracks to accompany five product scenes in the style of a Christmas compilation album.
The ad moves from a traditional winter scene featuring M&S’s knitwear range through to a party scene to highlight evening wear, then sleepwear and finally a kids scene.
Tracks include a Rod Stewart cover of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Lady Marmalade, Jean Knight’s Mr Big Stuff, Kool & the Gang’s Celebration and INXS’s I Need You Tonight.
It has opted to star models that it says “represent all shapes and sizes” to inspire customers with how they can wear the latest looks.
Last year’s Christmas ad featured the X-Factor finalists as part of a sponsorship deal with the ITV show. In previous years celebrities including Twiggy, Danni Minogue and Myleene Klass, have starred in the retailer’s advertising.
M&S moved away from celebrity led advertising for the first time since 2005 in its recent autumn winter campaign.
Steve Sharp, M&S executive director of marketing, says: “Customers have been the driving force behind this campaign and we’ve been in constant dialogue to give them more of what they want to see from M&S: more products, more diversity and an injection of style and fun. Music is a really emotive part of Christmas and our compilation track format means there’s something for everyone – from song choices to wearable styles.”
The ‘Greatest Hits This Christmas’ campaign, created by Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R launches on Wednesday (7 November).
