Marks & Spencer (M&S) has launched its 2026 Christmas campaign, The Home of Christmas, created by Mother and directed by Shannon Murphy.
The campaign stars James Norton as Father Christmas and Lucy Punch as Mrs Claus, with Katherine Jenkins OBE making a special appearance and recording the campaign soundtrack.
Released on 6 November 2026, the campaign brings M&S Food, Fashion, Home and Beauty together under one Christmas identity for the first time since 2017.
The soundtrack features Katherine Jenkins’ specially recorded version of Heaven Is a Place on Earth, originally performed by Belinda Carlisle. The song was reworked with producers Fraser T Smith and Tom Howe, giving the campaign a recognisable pop soundtrack with a new interpretation.
The official M&S campaign announcement positions the retailer as a destination for the entire Christmas season, from festive food and partywear to gifts, beauty and home decorations.
Santa Experiences Christmas For Himself
The advert begins at the North Pole, where Mrs Claus encourages Santa to leave his familiar surroundings and experience Christmas in the real world.
Played by James Norton, Santa shaves off his beard, changes his traditional red suit for a Christmas jumper and goes incognito. Without his recognisable appearance, he can discover how people celebrate Christmas without being treated as Father Christmas.
During his journey, Santa experiences Christmas through food, fashion, gifts and home preparations. He attends a festive gathering, discovers M&S food, encounters a children’s choir and sees how people dress up and prepare their homes for the season.
The creative idea gives M&S an opportunity to showcase products across its four divisions without relying on four separate advertising stories. Santa’s journey provides the narrative connection, while each festive setting introduces another part of the retailer’s offer.
The 2026 campaign takes a broader approach from the 2025 campaign, by bringing Food into the same Christmas identity, while extending the activity through category-specific content and shopping tools.
Why M&S Is Bringing Food, Fashion, Home And Beauty Together
For M&S, The Home of Christmas is about connecting the different reasons customers visit the retailer during the festive season.
Christmas shopping is rarely limited to one category. Customers may buy food for entertaining, clothing for parties, beauty products as gifts and decorations for their homes. M&S is using one campaign to connect those occasions and encourage customers to see the retailer as part of the whole celebration.
The strategy is supported by M&S Customer Pulse research, which the company says informed the campaign. Its findings highlight the importance of family, shared experiences and food during Christmas.
M&S Customer Pulse: Christmas 2026
The company’s published research reported:
The campaign also extends beyond the main film. M&S is using several marketing and retail touchpoints to connect inspiration with product discovery:
- Television and video on demand: Build awareness through the main Christmas film.
- Cinema and outdoor: Extend the campaign beyond M&S’s owned digital channels.
- Social media and influencers: Friends of M&S share their festive selections through the Love That Lists content.
- Radio, digital display and print: Reinforce the campaign across different media environments.
- Oxford Street experience: M&S’s Pantheon store is being transformed into a physical version of The Home of Christmas.
- Digital shopping tools: The M&S Recipe Hub and Digital Catalogue help customers discover recipes, check product availability and prepare shopping lists.
This creates a connection between the advert and the shopping experience. A customer inspired by the festive food in the film can explore recipes, check ingredients and plan a meal. Someone interested in the fashion or home styling can discover products through the campaign’s digital content.
For marketers, three decisions stand out:
- Connect business divisions through one brand idea: M&S uses Christmas as the shared occasion that brings its different categories together.
- Move beyond awareness into product discovery: The campaign connects emotional storytelling with practical shopping resources.
- Keep the campaign visible across the customer journey: Television, social media, physical retail and digital tools each play a different role.
The commercial ambition is clear, but actual conversion results, sales uplift and campaign ROI have not been published. The strategy should not be confused with proof of commercial performance.
POV: M&S Has Made Christmas Bigger Than The Christmas Advert
What makes The Home of Christmas interesting is the decision to make the campaign represent the whole M&S business rather than one product category.
I particularly like the connection between the main film and the wider campaign. M&S is not relying on people simply watching the advert and remembering the brand. It gives them different ways to explore the products, discover festive ideas and prepare for Christmas.
There is also a clear distinction from the retailer’s 2025 approach. Last year’s phased content strategy reflected different shopping occasions, while this year’s Christmas campaigns all the brands are bringing those occasions together under one wider identity.
In my point of view, this is a smart way for M&S to communicate the scale of its Christmas offer. The challenge will be making sure that all four divisions receive enough attention without weakening the central idea.
The advert gives the brand a strong starting point, but the wider execution across stores, digital platforms and shopping experiences is what will determine how successfully The Home of Christmas works as a retail campaign.
Campaign Credits
- Brand: Marks & Spencer
- Creative agency: Mother
- Production company: Smuggler
- Director: Shannon Murphy
- Media agency: Mindshare
- Main talent: James Norton, Lucy Punch and Katherine Jenkins OBE
- Music: Katherine Jenkins, Heaven Is a Place on Earth
- Music producers: Fraser T Smith and Tom Howe
- Editing: TenThree
- Post-production: Black Kite
- Sound: King Lear
- Industry coverage: Creative Salon, LBB, The Grocer and The Guardian
Image credit: M&S.