Mrs Claus thinks Santa should lose the beard. He refuses, then shaves it off anyway, swaps his red suit for everyday clothes and heads to London, where nobody recognises him. M&S’s three-minute Christmas film, “The Home of Christmas,” stars James Norton as the newly clean-shaven Santa and Lucy Punch as Mrs Claus.
The Beard Comes Off
The film opens at the North Pole with Mrs Claus in bed in M&S pink striped pyjamas. “I wonder, my love, have you ever thought about losing the beard? They say it takes years off?” she asks.
“No! It’s my thing!” Santa replies. He changes his mind, shaves, and reappears with his new look, posing in a white towel. Mrs Claus is delighted. “Saint Nicholas!” she exclaims.
Santa in Disguise
Without the beard and the red suit, Santa is just another shopper. He travels to London to see Christmas the way everyone else does, Christmas shopping in a leather jacket and red scarf.
He sits in on a school carol concert where Katherine Jenkins performs, joins a game of charades and tries M&S party food, from its “picky bits” to pigs in blankets. Every stop puts an M&S product in the scene, worked into the story.
The Twist at Home
Back at the North Pole, Santa tells Mrs Claus about his day. She has news of her own. “Oh darling, I’ve been going for years,” she says, and gives him a shaving set so the beard stays off.
Punch said she liked that her character drives the plot. “I loved that Mrs Claus is the one who gets this story moving,” she said.
One Ad for Every Department
The film is M&S’s first Christmas campaign since 2017 to bring Food, Fashion, Home and Beauty together in one story. Featured products include an Oakham Turkey Crown at £70, a £45 Sequin Dress, a £55 Autograph Pure Cashmere Scarf and an M&S x Kelly Hoppen Christmas Joy Candle at £25.
The retailer backed the idea with its own figures. M&S says it sells nearly 3 mince pies every second over the festive period, 1 in 3 Christmas turkeys in the UK and a pair of pyjamas every 4 seconds in the run-up to Christmas.
“Customers don’t think about Christmas as one meal, one gift or one outfit,” said Sharry Cramond, fashion, home and beauty marketing director at M&S. Andrew Hicks, food marketing director, said “we’re proud to be The Home of Christmas.”
A Song Made for the Charts
Jenkins also recorded the soundtrack, a new version of Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven Is a Place on Earth,” released on launch day. It puts M&S in the Christmas music race alongside John Lewis, whose ad uses Sam Fender’s cover of a Rolling Stones song.
“For me, Christmas has always been about coming home,” Jenkins said.
Where It Runs
The film launched at 7 am on November 6 on M&S’s Instagram and YouTube channels, before its TV premiere on ITV1 during This Morning at 10.15 am. It runs across TV, video on demand, cinema, outdoor, social, radio, digital display and print, with influencer activity and themed “Love That Lists” for Friends of M&S members.
Mother created the campaign. Shannon Murphy directed through production company Smuggler, with cinematography by Justin Brown.
“It’s not every day you get asked to play Santa, let alone a Santa who immediately shaves off his beard!” Norton said.
M&S wanted to show that the magic of Christmas is all around you. It made the point by letting Santa go out and find it for himself.
Campaign Name: The Home of Christmas
Agency Name: Mother
Brand Name: Marks & Spencer (M&S)
Location: United Kingdom
