M&S has unveiled its Christmas clothing and home campaign for 2023, titled “Love Thismas, Not Thatmas”.
The retailer has recruited actresses Hannah Waddingham and Zawe Ashton, singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor and presenter Tan France to star in this year’s festive campaign directed by Black Mirror director Ally Pankiw.
The ad is set across four different homes belonging to each of the cast members, all making a decision on which Christmas traditions to embrace this year and which ones to skip.
The campaign, created by creative agency Mother, features “a relatable reference to the pressures we often face in the run up to Christmas, and the little things we all do to help make the festive season special for those around us”.
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Set to the soundtrack of Ray BLK’s cover of ‘I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)’, the campaign invites viewers to “embrace only the things they love about Christmas and skip those they don’t”.
M&S Clothing and home marketing director Anna Braithwaite said: “I’m sure everyone watching our ad will be able to relate to our fabulous cast of talent who so hilariously bring-to-life those little moments and dilemmas we all have at Christmas time.
“Before we created Love Thismas (Not Thatmas), we spoke to hundreds of our customers and they all told us that, at Christmas, they feel this pressure of having to worry about and plan so many things.
“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.”
Marks & Spencer launched a recruitment drive for 10,000 new customer assistants ahead of the festive season last month, a 40% increase on last year, as it invests more in colleague hours to support customers on the shop floor.
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