Its Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

You'd hardly believe it (its still November!) but it's that time of year again. Yep, itssss Chriiiistmaaaaas (as Noddy would say). Since moving away for uni Christmas has become about going home seeing my family, central heating and proper food as opposed to gifts gifts gifts, for the likes of John Lewis and Marks and Spencers Christmas means money money money.

Maybe its just me, but every year it seems to start earlier its always the question who's going to have the biggest ad? Who's going to show them first? Christmas ads seem to of become a huge part of the festive season and take up the majority of the , extremely frequent, X Factor adverts every saturday on the lead up to Christmas. 

This years offerings are all quite strong but the hype surrounding John Lewis' christmas ads often overshadows everyone else and this year they've pulled out all the stops.
You've probably seen it but if you haven't heres the video. The advert features a hare and his best friend a bear, the bear misses Christmas much to the dismay of the hare so he buys his good friend an alarm clock for Christmas so he doesn't miss it. Its beautifully animated, the characters look fresh out of a Disney film (before they went all crappy and CGI) and it definitely tugs at the heart strings, mostly because of the delicate theme tune; a cover of Keanes Somewhere Only We Know by Lily Allen which will no doubt be a hit in the UK charts. It does beg the question though of what it is to do with John Lewis? Who knows but its certainly got the publicity it wanted.
Marks and Spencers haven't been doing too well recently so they must of been anxious about drawing in customers with their Christmas ad. The ad features a host of stars from David Gandy (we all love a bit of the Gandy) to Helena Bonham Carter. It has a fairytale feel starting with Rosie Huntington Whitely (swoon) as Alice falling in to wonderland and losing her clothes as she does it. It references movies such as Wizard of Oz and Aladdin. Its sweet and dainty and gives Marks and Spencer a young feel. Unfortunately it didn't compel me to visit M&S, it did however make me feel the need to starve myself till I look like Rosie in my underwear, nice one M&S no trimmings for me.
These ads are big deals to the high street, gaining publicity and consumers around this time of year is fundamental as currently the high street has the smallest customer share, do you think these ads will do the job? What do you think of them or have you seen any better ones? Let me know, I'd love to check them out as I am a such a Christmas whore its insane! 

Marks and Spencer Leading Ladies

Its been known that in recent years Marks and Spencer’s haven’t been doing particularly well in the style stakes.  What could M&S do to bring it all back? How about a £100,000 campaign shot by legendary fashion photographer Annie Leibovitz featuring some of the most influential women in Britain? 
The “Leading Ladies” campaign stars Helen Mirren, Grace Coddington, Ellie Goulding, Tracey Emin, Katie Piper, Helen Allen, Nicola Adams, Monica Ali, Darcey Bussell, Laura Mvula, Karen Elson and Jasmine Whitbread. The campaign has already received criticism based on a couple of the chosen stars. Most press have been questioning the use of controversial artist Tracey Emin, whose not generally thought of as a style icon. She describes herself as ‘single’ and ‘unloved’, has talked in horrifying detail about her promiscuity and is best known for presenting a condom-strewn bed as art. Customers took to Twitter to share their disbelief at Emin’s inclusion. ‘Is this a joke?’ wrote one. ‘I don’t know if I want to buy into an M&S brand of luxury fronted by Tracey Emin,’ wrote another. ‘I definitely don’t need extra help to be dressed like an unmade bed with scattered pigeon poop. 
Some of the chosen stars don’t seem to fit the Marks and Spencer’s brand particularly well, pop star Ellie Goulding isn’t really the type to be spotted in Per Una and even stated herself he favorite brand was Topshop. Then there are high fashion flyers such as Grace Coddington and Karen Elson who are probably rarely seen out of expensive designer clothes. 
It’s a beautifully shot campaign from Leibovitz and looks fresh out the pages of Vanity Fair and Vogue but I find the subjects slightly questionable. The campaign has been styled by new style director Belinda Earl, who seems to of made the brand more upmarket with cashmere, silk and sharp tailoring. Some consumers have commented on the campaign stating that the models don’t bother them and it’s all about the clothes. Could this new direction be what M&S needs? Only time will tell.