M&S brings Single Ladies director on board for a jumping Christmas advert

Marks & Spencer has thrown its hat into the ring in this year’s flurry of Christmas advert releases with Go Jumpers for Christmas! Building on the retailer’s sought-after title of the “nation’s biggest knitwear retailer,” its premise is simple: Marks & Spencer’s jumpers are dually great for the winter and the Christmas season: they’ll keep you cosy and act as a failsafe gift too – they’ll even get you moving.

Created by ODD, which became the lead creative agency for the brand’s clothing and home divisions earlier this year, the advert demonstrates how the retailer’s collection of festive knitwear sparks “‘jumping around’ across the UK – from friends in the local pub, to school kids at the bus stop, to a family chilling on the sofa,” a statement about the advert points out. The jumping around is aptly soundtracked to House of Pain’s Jump Around, showcasing 50 different jumpers in just 60 seconds.

How do you show so many jumpers in just a minute, you ask? Through the medium of dance! Bringing on board Jake Nava – the cinematographic genius behind Beyoncé’s Single Ladies music video – the advert’s stars get grooving as soon as they put on a M&S jumper, casting a mix of dancers as well as M&S colleagues too.

The Go Jumpers advert is also just the beginning of M&S’s festive activities, soon to be activated across multiple platforms, “with more content created for an M&S campaign than ever before”. On its Christmas campaign Nathan Ansell, M&S’s clothing and home marketing director adds: “This year our Christmas campaign really brings the changes we’re making at M&S in clothing and 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.”

The advert can be watched below.