On Tuesday morning (10 March), M&S’s CEO Stuart Machin named Gillian Anderson as its first chief compliments officer, as part of the next phase of its ‘Love That’ concept.
The announcement was posted onto Linkedin in the form of a recorded Teams video call.
In her new role, Anderson encourages people to make compliments part of their everyday.
She said: “A simple compliment can genuinely boost confidence and change how someone feels all day, so as chief compliments officer, I’m here to help make those moments more commonplace.
“Having spent my career playing women in positions of power, complexity and contradiction, I’ve become very deliberate about how I dress, so when someone pays me a compliment, it means a lot. Not necessarily because it’s about how I look but because I dress in a way that feels honest to who I am, and when someone recognises that, it is affirming.
Anderson added: “Hearing something genuinely nice, especially about what you’re wearing, can change the way you carry yourself.”
The retailer has also unveiled a hero spot, which coincides with the launch of the firm’s ‘Spring Style’ collection. In the film, Anderson is shown embarking on her first day in her new position.
It was devised by creative agency Mother and directed by Rubberband. Mindshare handled media insight, buying and strategy.
We sat down with Sharry Cramond, marketing director for fashion, home & beauty at M&S, to find out more about the marketing drive.
Cramond explains that the initial campaign was launched last year as a weekly content series hosted by stylist Melissa Holdbrook-Akposoe (Melissa’s Wardrobe) and Capital Breakfast stars Jordan North, Siân Welby and Chris Stark.
Each week Holdbrook-Akposoe would style the team from Capital Breakfast, while highlighting the items she loved best from M&S.
The series has garnered over 20 million views.
Cramond explains that the series was titled ‘Love That’ as ‘Love That’ is a compliment that the team hears again and again when people are browsing in-store.
She adds that it is mainly a compliment that is used by women to other women.
She says: “It’s like, oh, I love that, and mostly followed by where’s it from? I love that. Where’s it from? And because M&S are the leading fashion retailer in the UK, more often than not, the where’s it from was M&S. So we decided to call the series Love That, this weekly social media series.”
“It’s been hugely successful, so we knew we were onto something. So when we were planning the big brand campaigns for this year, we decided to build on what people were saying anyway.”
Cramond explains that the team at M&S partnered with The 10 Group to conduct some research into compliments. They found that a compliment can really change someone’s day. And these findings weren’t just coming from those receiving the compliments but those giving them as well.
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She adds that she was also inspired by an Instagram influencer who spoke about compliments.
She says: “And she’s talking about even on days where she is sad, if she compliments someone that she sees in the street, that act of kindness makes that person feel better, but also makes her feel better. So we just started to realise there was something in this, the power of a compliment-I love that, love that on you.”
“And of course, the best way to get a compliment is to wear M&S.So for this campaign, we decided that we were going to appoint our first ever chief compliments officer. And this chief compliments officer would help us to spread positivity and joy, but also help us to highlight the key seasonal pieces.”
Cramond explains that M&S selected Gillian Anderson because not only is she a global icon, but she “embodies confidence, style and kindness”.
Anderson also transcends generations- Gen Z love her as Jean Milburn in Sex Education, and older generations know her from The X-Files.
“So from Gen Z to Gen X and everybody in between, everyone knows her, and everyone loves her,” says Cramond.
Cramond explains that the retailer chose to launch the campaign on LinkedIn initially because the first phase was a job announcement, making it natural to post it there first.
To celebrate her new role. Anderson created a LinkedIn profile that consumers could connect with.
Cramond says: “Lots of people posting today, saying that Gillian Anderson accepting their connection request on LinkedIn is a compliment in itself and has made their day.”
She highlights that the hero spot is the heart of the campaign.
She comments, “When Gillian saw the Love That script, she said she absolutely loved it because it showed that the impact of giving compliments is actually quite powerful.
“And we’ve done a lot of research that shows there’s a real neurological impact of giving compliments. And there’s a dopamine hit when you give a compliment and when you receive a compliment.”
She adds that the film will spotlight the key hero items consumers can purchase to earn more compliments.
She says: “Everything we do is centred and focused around these key hero, must-have items across fashion, home and beauty.”
According to Cramond, ‘Love That’ is featured in everything M&S does, whether it’s the price, quality or style.
She comments: “This campaign is really focusing on these key hero items. So you’re going to be seeing much more of ‘Love That’ throughout this year and beyond.”
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