Marks & Spencer urges shoppers to Go Jumpers in Christmas campaign

Marks & Spencer has placed the emphasis on winter knitwear – its most commercial fashion category of the season – in its upbeat Christmas campaign, which has been unveiled today.

The retailer has avoided sinking in seasonal sentimentality with an entertaining 60-second spot set to the iconic House of Pain track “Jump Around”.

Some 50 jumpers, from £19.50 value options to high end cashmere, feature in the ad and M&S says it expects to sell over five million jumpers this festive season across womenswear, menswear and kidswear.

In the ad, wearers appear to be possessed by the need to dance once they don one of the jumpers from friends in the local pub, to schoolkids at the bus stop, to a family chilling on the sofa.

Again, in a break from traditional blockbuster Christmas ads, M&S has avoided drafting in big names to star with one of its own staff members taking centre stage; Monique, the Café Manager at M&S’s Marble Arch store has been dancing since the age of three attended an M&S colleague casting and was selected to appear.

The upbeat ad, created by ODD, was directed by Jake Nava who famously directed Beyoncé’s Single Ladies music video.

Digital channels are at the heart of the campaign as M&S says it drives one third of its Clothing & Home sales online.

On social media M&S will make over 150 million impressions and says that its revenue from social is already up 200% versus last year, alongside this M&S’s following has grown to 1.3million customers on Instagram.

Emails will be used to reach some of the retailer's most loyal customers – with 6 million receiving campaign emails each week. Alongside this “Go Jumpers” imagery will dominate billboards across the UK to attract shoppers on the go – 70% of searches for M&S products on Google are already via mobile.

Nathan Ansell, M&S Clothing & Home Marketing Director said: “This year our Christmas campaign really brings the changes we’re making at M&S in Clothing & Home to life – it’s all about great style and great value for the whole family. We’re backing with confidence our biggest commercial category for Christmas and importantly having some fun with our customers and colleagues. We can’t wait to see the nation Go Jumpers for Christmas.”