Ad of the day: M&S goes back to its roots with ad broadcasting farming commitment
Going back to its roots, Marks and Spencer's (M&S) has put the British farmers, growers, and producers that source its food at the front of its latest push.
M&S Fresh market
The supermarket darling knows the quality of its food products is a big selling point, with foodies traveling great distances to get their hands on a fresh punnet of raspberries or for a packet of its wild salmon. As the saying goes, 'this isn't just any food, this is M&S Food'.
Restarting its Fresh Market Update, for four months M&S will broadcast its commitment to its 'Select Farms'. To announce the news, today (9 April) M&S has launched an ad that reaffirms what makes its food range so superior, and it should probably contain a 'slobber warning' as the film will leave you salivating for more.
Created in partnership with ITV Creative, the introductory film gives a behind-the-scenes look at how M&S cultivates the products that end up on the shop floor. It is fronted by ITV weather presenter Lucy Verasamy and foodie Chris Barber.
Set to Fleetwood Mac's 'Albatross', which has become synonymous with the brand, and interspersed with jaw-dropping footage of British landscapes, Verasamy tells the camera: “Over the next few months I'll be travelling the length and breadth of the British Isles from the north of Scotland, right down to Jersey, meeting the farmers and the growers of M&S fresh food, with one question on my mind... why do M&S believe that their food is not just any food?”
Beyond footage of fresh produce that looks ripe for the picking, she underscores how M&S have more RSPCA-assured products than any other national retailer, detailing some of M&S's pioneering work in sustainability, product quality, and animal welfare.
Launching today, for four months Fresh Market Update will include 19 ads, with M&S introducing a new farmer each week. As part of the campaign, M&S has started a five-year 'Farming with Nature' collaboration program. It will help support Select Farmers to become more resilient to the biggest environmental challenges they face from climate change to biodiversity, soil health to water usage.
It’s no secret that the high street darling has struggled in recent years, then the pandemic caused “seismic upheaval” according to boss Steve Rowe. To stem this, as of April, M&S Foods will in-house creative, ending a long-term contract with Grey, in lieu of a project-based relationship. This is the first work to arrive since it made the decision.
You can watch 'Fresh Market Update is Back' in full above, or click on the Creative Works gallery below to vote for it. To get in touch about Ad of the Day, please email: imogen.watson@thedrum.com.
