Christmas Festivities with Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney at M&S Food

For yet another year, M&S Food is reintroducing its well-loved Christmas fairy, with the enchanting voice of Dawn French. Unveiled today, their Christmas TV ad showcases the fairy character imparting the importance of food and family during the festive season to a pair of animated mittens.

Ryan Reynolds, along with Rob McElhenney, the owners of Wrexham FC, lend their voices to the mittens. This collaboration marks McElhenney's first involvement with the M&S brand, while Reynolds has been a part of M&S advertisements for more than ten years. As the narrative unfolds, the mittens make their way back to their owner, a young girl named Lilly. Alongside this heartwarming story, the ads showcase impressive shots of the M&S food range.

Sharry Cramond, director of marketing for M&S Food, reveals that a series of six advertisements showcasing the variety of products in the M&S Food range will be released periodically leading up to the New Year. The final ad will feature the reunion of the mittens with Lilly.

Cramond attributes the decision to maintain continuity in their advertising strategy to the success of last year's Christmas ad. Praised by Kantar as one of the most impactful and unique Christmas TV ads in the market, the team at M&S Food saw no reason to alter a winning formula for this year.

M&S has recently partnered with Reynolds and McElhenney, while also announcing its sponsorship of Wrexham FC and the opening of a new store in December. The brand is showcasing its range of desserts and puddings through a social-led campaign featuring footballer-turned-podcaster Peter Crouch. This campaign includes a headline TV commercial and several versions for social media, OOH, and other platforms.

M&S debuted its latest clothing and home advertisement yesterday, which showcases a lineup of well-known celebrities, including Hannah Waddingham. The ad encourages viewers to celebrate and cherish the aspects of the festive season that they truly love.