M&S’s Christmas ad (directed by Tom Hooper) focuses on the female half of the Claus marriage as it tells the story of Jake, who’s spent the last year squabbling with his sister Anna. As Christmas approaches, Jake decides he wants to do something special for her. So he writes to Mrs Claus (played by Janet McTeer) who helps him give the perfect present to his sister.

“Mrs Claus is the result of thousands of conversations that we had with our customers to understand what they want from M&S – which is warmth, empathy and a touch of humour presented in a modern and contemporary way,” says Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, Executive Director of Customer, Marketing & M&S.com. “She epitomises the huge efforts our customers put in to making the festive season special and represents the love and togetherness that customers want to feel and see in abundance at Christmas.”

As well as the launch ad, MRS Claus will feature in social media takeovers featuring her own emoji and hashtag #LoveMrsClaus to offering outfit and gift inspiration on in-store décor. M&S staff will carry out 15,000 ‘acts of Mrs Claus kindness’ for customers, ‘from free coffee for a Café regular to a party makeover for a customer in need of a pick-me-up’.

Credits
Agency: RKCR/Y&R
Agency Producer: Danielle Sandler
Assistant Producer: Carmela Vitale
Creative: Psembi Kinstan
Creative: Alice Burton
Account Manager: Lucy Bugler

Production Company: Smuggler
Director: Tom Hooper
Producer: Molly Pope
DOP: Justin Brown
Costume Designer: Paco Delgado
Production Designer: Robin Brown

Editing: The Quarry
Editor: Paul Watts
Producer: Charlie Morris

Sound design: Wave
Sound designer: Parv Thind
Executive Producer: Rebecca Boswell

Music supervision: Native
Dan Neale – MD
Fred Ashworth – Head of production

Composer: Rachel Portman

Post production: The Mill
Clare Melia – Producer
Andrew ‘Barnsley’ Wood – 2D Lead
Rob Holmes – 3D Lead (Head of 3D)
Colourist – Seamus O’Kane