Marks & Spencer put local communities at the heart of Christmas

Marks & Spencer put local communities  at the heart of Christmas

Creative collective House 337 has launched a Christmas campaign for Marks & Spencer Clothing & Home that celebrates the generosity behind an M&S gift,. 

It will see the retail giant donate £1 million to the Neighbourly Foundation, a charity that supports local community causes across the UK.

Positioning Marks & Spencer as the most thoughtful destination for stylish gifting this Christmas, the campaign called “Gifts that Give”, shows how the gifts consumers choose from M&S help support local good causes.

The partnership with charity Neighbourly will see Marks & Spencer donate £1,000 to 1,000 different community groups across the UK.

The campaign features real local causes, with over 70 cast members taking part in the brand’s most diverse ad to date, including individuals from The Kaotic Angels Club, Bengali Sanskriti Club Peterborough, Paddington Arts Dance Group, Valley Invicta Primary School at Eastborough’s Majorettes, the Kearsly Brass Band, Caenhill Countryside Centre and the Y Centre Skaters.

Zara Ineson, executive creative director at House 337 said: “Gifting is less about the present itself, than the thought and kindness that sits behind the gift. So what better way to celebrate that than a generous charitable act at the centre of the campaign? Over the last few years, we’ve all been striving to connect with and support our communities more, and as charities are struggling through the cost of living crisis, it felt like a timely moment for M&S to partner with Neighbourly and help make a difference.”

The campaign was produced by Partizan and directed by Michael Gracey (the Greatest Showman). It features music by Harry Styles, with the ad’s soundtrack “Treat People with Kindness” marking only the second time he has allowed one of his tracks to be used on an advert. In keeping with the campaign’s theme, Harry Styles is kindly donating his fee to homeless charity, Centrepoint.

The campaign will run for six weeks across TV, VOD, cinema, digital, social and print.

Credits

M&S
Anna Braithwaite - Marketing Director (Clothing & Home)
Vanessa Logan - Head Of Brand Marketing & PR (Clothing & Home)
Megan Hunt - Head of Campaigns & Events (Clothingg & Home)
Georgia Lambert - Senior Marketing Manager (Clothing & Home)
Cerys Roberts - Marketing Graduate (Clothing & Home)

House 337
Executive Creative Directors: Gus Mackinnon and Zara Ineson
Group Creative Directors: Eilidh Ratcliffe and Hannah Vere
Art Director: Callum Walker (stills)
Account Management: TV/Stills – Kathryn Bryan (Group BD),Natasha Rich (BD), Marin Daley-Hawkins (SAD), Laura Smeaton (AM), Sophie Richaume (Project Director)
Social – Harriet Rodger (Social AD) and Freya Pace (Social SAM)
Agency Head of Film: Melody Sylvester
Agency Producer: Sue Lee-Stern (TV) and Angelica Polonczyk (stills)
Agency Production Assistant: Trent Webster
Photographer: Ewan Spencer
Director / production company: Michael Gracey / Partizan
Executive Producer/MD: Jenny Beckett
Head of Production: Ella More O’Ferrall
Producer: Daniel Wheldon
Offline: TenThree
Editor: Billy Mead
Assistant Editor: Jules Bayer-Crier
Post production: Framestore
Sound Design: Wave Studios
DoP: Otter Gudnason
Media - MindShare

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