M&S Is Selling Food, Fashion, Home and Beauty in One Christmas Ad

What happened

According to Ad Ranking’s 2026 Christmas ads tracker, the film was made with Mother and directed by Shannon Murphy. James Norton plays Santa and Lucy Punch plays Mrs Claus, and the soundtrack is “Heaven Is a Place on Earth”. The tracker cites Creative Review for the claim that this is the first M&S Christmas campaign since 2017 to bring all four categories into one film, and says the comic opening between Punch and Norton is what lifts it above a catalogue.

One agency voice is already calling it the winner. Creative director Victoria Taylor, writing for Beast Films, argues M&S came out ahead of John Lewis this year and credits Mother and the casting.

Why it matters

A joint campaign forces a brand to answer a hard question: what single idea holds food, fashion, home and beauty together? Here it is a place, “the home of Christmas”, rather than a product. That is a brand strategy choice, not a media plan.

What it means for your brand

• Find the idea that covers everything you sell. If your range is broad, the campaign needs a place or a feeling, not a list. Our brand message house template helps you find it.
• Casting is positioning. Who stars in your work says who you are for. See how brand positioning examples make that choice.
• Let one moment carry the film. The standout scene is the opening, not the product shots. Build the campaign around one moment people repeat.

Cover photo by Noah Samuel Franz on Unsplash.