M&S says don’t do Christmas traditions you hate in star-studded festive spot
Ad is first from Mother after being appointed Marks & Spencer’s creative agency.
M&S has taken a star-studded approach for its 2023 Christmas campaign, tapping Queer Eye’s Tan France, actors Hannah Waddingham and Zawe Ashton, plus singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
The ‘Love Thismas (Not Thatmas)’ campaign was conceived on the insight that people feel torn between partaking in Christmas traditions they are obliged to do and ones they want to do.
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The TV spot shows each celebrity getting in the Christmas mood but empowered by the decision to skip certain traditions and embrace their own. Waddingham puts cracker crowns in the wood chipper and Ellis-Bextor puts a blow torch to Christmas cards.
In researching its Christmas advert, Anna Braithwaite, M&S Clothing & Home marketing director, said her team spoke to hundreds of customers who said they feel the pressure of planning for Christmas. “We know it can often feel like the list is never-ending, so this year we decided to celebrate and empower our customers to just do the things they love,” she said.
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Ally Pankiw, the director of Channel 4 sitcom Feel Good and Netflix’s Black Mirror, is behind the advert, which is set to Ray BlK’s version of I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That).
The campaign drops today (November 1) during Payback on ITV. The media plan includes VOD, digital out-of-home, print cover wraps and podcasts.