To think this year's M&S 'festive' advert is utter garbage?

[EweHaveGoatToBeKiddin]

Disclaimer: remember i said festive and not the C-word.

I cringed the whole way through. The only performance from Helena Bonham Carter that I've disliked. Roll on the John Lewis one.

[tobiasfunke]

Just seen the J Lewis and Tesco ones. John Lewis one is v boring and reminds me of the book 'Grumpy Badger's Christmas' except without the action. How did it cost 7 million pounds?
I liked the Tesco one because it looked really like the Christmases of the 70's and 80's not just an airbrushed improved version.

[GertBySea]

I thought JL was dull and did nothing to advertise the store. I quite like this one and have also just popped online to order the red shoes. So as a tool to increase sales, it has worked nicely.

[hyenafunk]

I loved it. All magical and mystical, reminded me of Alice in wonderland.

The John Lewis advert otoh is absolute rubbish. I don't get why everyone felt so emotional about it. Maybe I'm just dumb but I've watched it a couple of times now and it's nothing to write home about. A bear who always missed Christmas because he's in hibernation. His BF is a hare who misses him at Christmas, buys him a gift- the bear somehow wakes up, opens the gift and goes to see the Christmas tree with everyone dancing around it. That's it and everyone cried . JL let me down this year, I much preferred the snowmen.

[Ohwhatfuckeryisthis]

is a mess. Think instead of spending fucking obscene amounts of money on this they should sort the boring clothes out.

[Mimishimi]

I liked the ad. I generally don't like their clothing though, they were very dowdy in the Hong Kong stores. I did buy a lovely duffle coat from them but those finds (ie something i'd consider wearing) were few and far between.

Rosie HW looks very different and more ordinary on film than in her still photographs.

[Echocave]

I think I missed loads of the references others have pointed out so it seemed a bit of a mess to me.
Sadly, the David Gandy/Dean Gaffney comment has now ruined it for me forever!

[tobiasfunke]

I must re read Alice in Wonderland as I don't remember the bits where her clothes fell off and she stood around clad only in poorly made bra and pants.

But it maybe my memory as I'm old enough to get Whatisaweekend's most excellent reference to Kenny Everett.

[tobiasfunke]

I hated it. I hated the way her clothes fell off. Everytime I saw her in her bra I wondered whether the underwire would snap after a couple of wears like my last M & S bra.
Do you think Helena Bonham Carter wears M & S frump on her days off from being kooky?

[dorothyparka]

'The bit where she falls down the manhole makes me think Kenny Everett 'and then all my clothes fell off!' (old).'
Haha I had exactly the same thought!

[Whatisaweekend]

It's ok I suppose but it did remind me of Kenny Everett in his Cupid Stunt persona...."....and then all my clothes fall off!!" as Rosie HW is intermittently suddenly in her pants.

[Shallistopnow]

Debenhams advert is annoying me especially the raunchy lingerie.

[Ellle]

I really like the advert! I also thought it was amazing.
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who likes it.

When I saw it, I wanted to know who did it. So, even though it might not be in your face, it was successful in making want to know more about it and realising it was from M&S.

I love how all their range of products were nicely displayed as part of the story. All the food products at the Mad Hatter tea party, the clothes and dresses, and even the lingerie products in the Arabian Nights scene.

I liked trying to spot all the references to classic children's stories.
Did anyone else see the Red Ridding Hood and Hansel and Gretel reference as well? Apart from the Alice in Wonderland, Arabian Nights and the Wizard of Oz?

I didn't think it was strange that she lost her clothes as she fell through the hole. That part was a reference to Alice in Wonderland, and lots of strange things happen in that story. I thought her clothes kept vanishing so she could try all the different clothes, coats and dresses that are part of the M&S range.

I liked Helena Bonham Carter, and the cute "Toto" dog, and the red shoes at the end!

[Lilacroses]

What an amazing advert, absolutely beautiful!

[Darkesteyes]

YY Shade That would have been hilarious.

[ShadeofViolet]

They should have got Jim Royle to advertise his baggy Y-fronts and white vest look.

[daddyorchipsdaddyorchips]

Dave Gandy gives me the creeps. He looks more like Dean Gaffney with every day that passes...

DaveorDean

[aquashiv]

So I buy a cute doggie at M&S. They should have stuck with their policy of never advertising is this the old bollocks they can come up with.

[Pachacuti]

There's nothing wrong with showing underwear. It's "I've fallen down a hole and, whoops, wouldn't you know it, all my clothes have fallen off... wouldn't you know it, now they've just blown off again..." that's a bit reminiscent of the less successful Carry On movies.

The first time they fall off the character appears to be trying to cover her breasts with her crossed arms, and the second time she's clearly supposed to be cold (undercrackers not being practical garb for flying at umpteen thousand feet) and pulling her wrap around her -- so it's not "strong confident woman who just happens to be wearing underwear because, after all, we all wear it", it's "woman whose clothes have been removed involuntarily and who's now feeling cold and vulnerable as a result". It's just a bit... well... .

[Grennie]

I think it is the way her clothes just fall off. It just seemed so tacky.

[LadyBeagleEyes]

What's wrong with showing underwear, we all wear it and M&S are famous for it. So advertising it is perfectly normal for them.

[BOF]

Hmm, maybe, but men's undercrackers are all a bit dull, and not really more exciting than socks to receive for Christmas, so I can see why they focus on the pretty women's stuff.

[Pachacuti]

I'm tolerably certain that M&S sell men's underwear too, which would be why David Gandy's clothes kept disappearing. Oh, except that they didn't.

Also, every time Rosie's clothes fell off she looked a bit cold and uncomfortable -- and she's a professional lingerie model. If she can't make it look like something she wants to wear then what hope do the rest of us have? So the ad probably actively reduced my enthusiasm for M&S underwear from "reasonably neutral" to "mildly hostile" even though intellectually I know she probably only looked uncomfortable because they'd hooked her up to a wire for "flying" effects.

And is "our A/W collection could pass for fancy dress" really a great marketing message?

[Darkesteyes]

YY Grennie I can just ignore mags like Grazia if i want to but this is like a mag like that opening on the tv screen. A bit harder to avoid as it will prob be on almost every ad break for the next six/seven weeks.

[frogspoon]

I quite like it but if I hadn't just been told it was M&S I would not have guessed. So it wouldn't actually encourage me to shop there more.

[mortuusUrsus]

She is in her undies because she has a range of undies in m and ss

Yes but why did her clothes just seemingly randomly drop off a few times? She didn't actually model any undies, her dress just vanished occasionally.