M&S takes on John Lewis in Christmas ad battle with topless Santa

Marks & Spencer has challenged John Lewis's long-held dominance of the Christmas advert season, launching a campaign this week starring James Norton as a youthful, topless Santa Claus and Lucy Punch as Mrs Claus.

The advert has already drawn comparisons with John Lewis's own festive offering, which features Kristin Scott Thomas as a glamorous grandmother converting a room of her large townhouse into a "gran cave".

In the M&S film, Norton and Punch play Mr and Mrs Claus, with a lingering shot of Norton wearing nothing but a white M&S cotton towel. The image has gone viral, with Men's Health describing him as a "shredded Santa" whose Saint Nick "leaves the traditional mince-pie physique looking a little dated".

Playful, not silly

Gurjit Degun, creativity and cultural editor at Campaign, the business magazine covering advertising and marketing, called the M&S ad "playful and tongue in cheek without being silly".

M&S has combined its fashion, food, beauty and homeware strands into a single campaign rather than separate adverts, a strategy it last used in 2017. Norton plays an undercover Santa who shaves off his beard to experience the buildup to Christmas incognito, while Punch's snobbish Mrs Claus echoes her character in Amandaland.

The pair gatecrash a dinner party, drop in on a children's carol service and discover "picky bits". The retailer's message is that Christmas is about shared moments rather than big gifts — though every element shown, from Punch's pyjamas to that towel and the prawn cones Norton said he saw "hundreds" of during filming, is available to buy.

John Lewis's campaign, by contrast, centres on giving physical gifts rather than cash. When it launched this week, its portrayal of wealth was criticised, with its sprawling house and ungrateful grandchildren said to be out of touch with the wider mood of the nation.

Norton said the "playful, funny and reverent script" appealed to him, adding that he was a "huge fan" of director Shannon Murphy, who has worked on Killing Eve and Babyteeth. "I trusted that Shannon would deliver on the tone," he said. "She's such a cool cat."

Punch said she liked the deliberately humorous script. "I don't want any more Christmas tearjerkers. I want fun and joy. Life is enough of a tearjerker," she said.

What is at stake for the retailers

Much rests on the campaigns in a tough consumer market. M&S is still trying to recover from a 2025 cyber hack that forced it to close its website for more than six weeks and cost it over £100m, while John Lewis is trying to revive interest as it grapples with higher costs and a decline in consumer confidence.

Jonathan De Mello, founder of JDM Retail consulting, called the John Lewis strategy smart, saying the casting of Scott Thomas reflected the affluent customer it was targeting — people with disposable income because they have paid off their mortgages. But he cautioned the approach could "alienate the mass market", because for a younger generation it portrays a lifestyle that many find unattainable.

De Mello said the M&S advert reflected how the retailer had turned its business around, with its food and fashion arms now "very much aligned" and the brand tapping into the younger consumer.

Source: The Guardian Business.