It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas here at Whippet HQ. With the festivities on the horizon, we’re revealing the behind-the-scenes magic in creating this year’s iconic M&S Christmas campaign.
As you’d expect, a big festive moment like this doesn’t just happen overnight. It’s been months of hard work and planning to go from the very first brief to the big launch, and a huge honour to bring the sparkle of Christmas to life for M&S.
Grab a cuppa and mince pie, sit yourself down and scroll on to get a sneak peek at the process documented over the last year.
Part One: Every day is Christmas
“Christmas never stops for us,” Ashley Hodge, Associate Creative Director, explains. “The work begins before the previous campaign has landed in stores – so we began working on Christmas 2024 in November 2023!”
From retail safaris across the US, Europe, and Australia to curating inspiration mood boards, our designers began assembling first-stage ideas late last year. This collaborative approach allowed us to explore varied moods and elements, ultimately bringing three distinct concepts to life before selecting the final direction.
“The vision for 2024 was a ‘magical Christmas’ which felt familiar yet fresh,” Hodge explains. “We pitched a snowing disco to the business as a cohesive campaign across Food, Clothing, Home and Gifting – something we had not done before.”
After presenting our final concept, it was a hit. The approach we had taken was loved instantly which meant one thing – the festive fun, along with months worth of creative development and planning could begin.
Part Two: Let it Snow
The first stop on our Christmas journey was to shoot the snow. As the backdrop for all our designs, we needed to make sure the snow itself felt realistic. From organising the shoot to the sourcing materials and working alongside internal and external teams we had to go from concept to real life in a matter of weeks.
We worked with photographer Andy Grimshaw to create a white Christmas (in March). “For the snow at the bottom, we used a moulded foam to create the illusion of rolling hills against a dark and starry night” Calum Lee Hee Shiong, Midweight Designer, explains. But it was the snowy sky which proved the most challenging.
“Capturing the ‘snow’ in a natural way involved handful after handful of it being scattered from a height to get the perfect shot. It took pretty much an entire day to create something we were all happy with, and it involved changes in lighting and the angle the snow was thrown from – but the result was well worth it.”
This shoot was the foundation of our concept from POS to digital to social formats to out-of-home ads and much more. As a staple element in our creative, we worked with the internal teams to bring it to life in key areas of the stores, such as the windows for Clothing and Home and Food. It linked the two together, acting as a familiar thread for customers to follow in store.
“We knew that we wanted to create some real ‘wow’ moments this year and the best way to do that was with theatre and propping.” Hodge adds. “We were given the opportunity to work on several larger sets of windows, so we took inspiration from some of the products that would be sold – like the Jelly Car, Santa’s Workshop and Biscuit Tins for food. Our Clothing and Home propping included snow piles and several disco snowmen too to really make it fun. To see these ideas fully formed in stores is amazing!”
Part Three: Now, Add a Splash of Disco
This year was all about adding a sense of unexpected fun to the Christmas scheme, which got our designers thinking… “We loved the idea of making a festive icon that M&S could own,” Hodge explains. “There were several ideas that we came up with, but nothing is more festive than a snowman – so what if we made him out of disco balls to create a stunning visual set piece?” And that was it, our magical disco icon was born.
Four months after the initial idea, our Disco Snowman was ready for his close-up. Sitting as three individual pieces, complete with a bright orange nose, our character was an instant hit with everyone who saw him.
Part Four: Bring the Magic to Life
With everything in place, the time had come to bring it all together. From the stunning visual merchandising elements to the cheeky yet heartwarming tone of voice, our scheme could now work for multiple occasions on different formats across the entire M&S store estate.
Part Five: The Main Event
Almost a year after our initial Christmas creative brainstorming session, the creative scheme was launched to the world. Over the course of a few short days, more than 350 M&S Food stores across the country have been transformed into a snow-filled disco party. From window displays and brand walls, to the in-store POS and gift shop, there’s magic and sparkle all around.
“I’m constantly amazed by our team and how they transform a grain of an idea into a full-blown campaign,” says Sean Dwyer, Creative Director. “Our work with M&S pushes us to new heights every year, creating campaigns that clients love and more importantly customers connect with. It’s a true testament to the power of collaboration and creativity.”
Part Six: That’s a Wrap!
We hope you enjoyed the sneak peak of the behind-the-scenes creation of the M&S Christmas 2024 creative campaign – make sure you visit your local M&S store to see it in real life. If you’d like to know more about what we do at Whippet, or are interested in what we can do for your brand, drop us a line.
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