Unlike last year's #followthefairies campaign, which relied largely on social and was managed by Unity, M&S has decided not to have a separate PR and social element to this year's campaign.
Instead, the retailer has worked with all of its retained creative agencies including Unity, AKQA, Mindshare and RKCR/Y&R, to produce 'The Art of Christmas' – seven short clips documenting different milestones on the festive calendar, from the party season through to Christmas morning.
M&S previewed the campaign to the two million members of its new membership club Sparks earlier this afternoon, ahead of it going live on M&S.com and social channels later today at 5pm. The ad will air on TV on Sunday.
Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, executive director of marketing and international at M&S, said: "Customers tell us they experience Christmas as a series of mini-moments and emotions, and each moment matters in building that bigger sense of occasion.
"As a result, our approach is more box-set than blockbuster epic; as we wanted to capture that feeling of anticipation and create an upbeat campaign that moves with the pace of the season and shows how M&S can help make each moment special."
Sparks is a reward scheme, launched last month, that offers members a range of benefits across food, fashion, home and beauty.
* Last year's #followthefaries Christmas campaign for M&S was a double winner at the 2015 PRWeek Awards. Unity will give the lowdown on the campaign at PRWeek's Best Campaigns of 2015 seminar in central London on Thursday 26 November. The event will feature individual presentations on seven award-winning campaigns, along with panel sessions offering advice and insights. To book your ticket, click here.
