M&S takes on John Lewis in Christmas ad battle with topless ‘shredded Santa’
Summary
Marks & Spencer is using a humorous Christmas campaign starring James Norton and Lucy Punch to compete for attention with John Lewis’s festive advert. The campaigns promote different themes, as both retailers seek to attract shoppers amid business challenges.Key Facts
- James Norton and Lucy Punch play Mr and Mrs Claus in the M&S advert.
- Norton appears shirtless in a scene wearing only an M&S towel.
- M&S combined its fashion, food, beauty and homeware products in one campaign, a strategy it last used in 2017.
- The M&S advert follows Santa shaving his beard so he can experience the run-up to Christmas incognito.
- The John Lewis advert stars Kristin Scott Thomas as a grandmother who wants to turn a room in her home into a “gran cave.”
- M&S’s campaign emphasizes shared moments, while the John Lewis advert promotes giving physical gifts rather than cash.
- M&S is recovering from a 2025 cyberattack that shut its website for more than six weeks and cost it over £100 million.
- John Lewis is contending with higher costs and falling consumer confidence.
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