M&S revives ‘Magic & Sparkle’ strapline for Christmas campaign
Marks & Spencer is reviving its ‘Magic & Sparkle’ theme and making a return to using celebrities in its Christmas ad campaign.
By Sarah Vizard
The retailer says this year’s ad is aimed at capturing the “magical essence” of Christmas by combining fashion with fantasy.
Using settings from fairy tales including Alice in Wonderland and Red Riding Hood, the ad moves from a fantastical feast featuring M&S’s food to a magic carpet ride that highlights lingerie and finally to a yellow brick road that shows off the retailer’s clothing and footwear.
The ad marks a return to featuring celebrities after last year’s decision to focus on the “products as the stars”. Models Rosie Huntington-Whitely and David Gandy and actress Helena Bonham-Carter feature this year.
It also revives the “Magic & Sparkle” strapline that was first used in 2001.
Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, executive director of marketing and business development at M&S, says: “With this year’s ad we wanted to recapture the magical essence of Christmas that our customers tell us is synonymous with M&S. Magic & Sparkle is an extraordinary franchise, which has always been a firm favourite with customers.”
The “Believe in Magic & Sparkle” campaign, created by Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R launches online on Monday 4 November, ahead of its TV debut on 6 November. John Lewis, Debenhams and Sainsbury’s are all set to reveal their Christmas campaigns over the next week.
The stakes are high for Marks & Spencer this Christmas, particularly in its clothing business where analysts at both Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse have cut theirs forecasts and its market share is on the slide, according to figures from Kantar. The retailer posts its half-year results next Tuesday (5 November).
