There is no snowy street in London’s Primrose Hill, no mansion, no gorgeous Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, but I’m happy to say Marks & Spencer’s new Christmas advert is a brilliant piece of marketing magic.
Amid a bored and Christmas-weary family, a small child (played by former Britain’s Got Talent contestant Skylar Blue) creates her own fun with a simple snow globe and her imagination.
As she shakes the globe, the inhabitants of the house suddenly appear inside and – subject to her whim – start to dance on ceilings and tumble downstairs.
The choreography is by Corey Baker of the new Beetlejuice movie and it’s Strictly Come Dancing drunk neat. Glorious. The message is clear: let M&S come to the rescue and zhuhz up your cold, boring life.
The soundtrack is I Believe In Miracles, a disco hit from 1973 which takes me back to the three-day week; a winter of candles, no TV, no heating, the only entertainment a game of cribbage with my mum.
It’s the one Christmas I remember vividly, and despite it all, I loved every moment. This new ad has exactly that same spirit – we might be cash-strapped, but we can still be together, have fun and dress up.
And yet its message is very modern. There is nothing nuclear about this family. Are the people in the house (and snow globe) friends, aunties, mums or even related at all? Don’t just make your own fun, M&S is saying, but also your own family.
No one is shackled to a stove, either: the advert is full of women in faux fur, killer outfits (fun Twenties flapper dress, anyone?) and glittery ballet pumps. Cleverly, you can instantly shop the ad online.
I imagine every ten-year-old girl will beg to be bought the silver top and skirt (£22 each).
The women’s red ‘midaxi’ smock dress, £49.50, is festive and sexy and even the men are dressed up: no sweats or trainers, but instead tuxedo trousers (£40), a velvet blazer – for just £13! – and patent shoes (£80).
What isn’t very 1973 at all is that shoppers can upload a photo online and see it appear in a personalised, animated snow globe – what’s more, if they share on social media they will automatically enter a competition for their snow globe to come to life with a 3D printed version.
To quote the late Strictly judge Len Goodman: Pickle my walnuts!
