How M&S turned "love that" into a brand asset
In a week where Guinness embraced the word “lovely”, M&S has revisited the quiet joy of someone uttering “love that” to compliment your latest garment purchase.
The crop of adverts we’ve reviewed this week has one thing in common: the art of the ‘soft sell’.
Stella placed its pints in a popular TV series with subtlety and taste, Converse appealed gently to Britain’s national character, and Snickers won us over with the power of cultural observation.
M&S’ ‘soft sell’ success comes in the form of capturing a genuine customer insight: in this case, the organically adopted phrase “love that” (which it first used in 2025).
It brings the phrase to life this time in a library, with Gillian Anderson.
‘Love that’, also the title of the ad, here becomes shorthand for how customers experience the brand.
It’s a small but powerful bit of brand showboating. Created by Mother, the ad effectively turns a consumer behaviour into a platform, helmed by Anderson, who you might recall was recently appointed ‘chief compliments officer’ at John Lewis, which makes perfect sense in light of this outing.
The film, set within the National Art Library at the V&A, unfolds as a chain reaction. One compliment becomes another, until the mutual admiration cascade spreads from person to person.
The soundtrack (the banging 'Oh Yeah' by Yello) works as an effective juxtaposition to the setting, and we assume it was chosen to depict the inner celebration that comes with being bigged up, publicly.
You’ve got to love that.
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