Marks & Spencer Go Jumpers For Christmas

When we started working with Marks & Spencer on their Christmas campaign the landscape had become increasingly challenging. Homogeneity, heavy discounting, increased competition, and an advertising battle to rival the Super Bowl in the US.
So as M&S approached the battle of the brands, stand out was key. But we needed to deliver more than just eyeballs and engagement. We had to drive significant sales.

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The Challenge

Unlike their department store counterparts who stocked designer goods and shiny new tech, M&S were relied on for a few essential categories: knitwear, pyjamas, socks. Not exactly products to get excited about. But what if we could make those “boring basics” the stars of the show and give customers a single-minded reason to come in-store this season?

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The ODD Solution

Go Jumpers embodies the glorious madness of Christmas and was designed to bring energy and joy to the nation. We replaced sleigh bells with trumpets thanks to an unexpected soundtrack from House of Pain. And made the nation dance, instead of cry, thanks to a signature shoulder roll motif in our spot directed by Jake Nava of Beyoncé’s Single Ladies music video fame.

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We got shoulders rolling on the BBC Breakfast, created a partnership with Heart Radio, a flashmob, a brass band concert, and even an innovative Metro-first AV cover wrap.

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Across the country, people were performing their own shoulder rolls. Whilst countless memes introduced the brand to subcultures who would never have previously engaged with M&S.

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And whilst other brands’ comms began to die down, we launched our sequel Go Pyjamas two weeks later; replacing knitwear with nightwear as we capitalised on another of the brand’s and seasons, key products – the festive pj.

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Beautiful effectiveness

Backing killer categories with confidence saw sales across the entire M&S Clothing & Home business shoot up, whilst womenswear had its highest market share in two years.

  • 1 Jumper sold every minute
  • £1m of hero pjs in the first week
  • Top 2% of Christmas ads according to Kantar
  • 94% Positive sentiment online
  • 120m Impressions across social