This year’s M&S Christmas advert has sparked an angry backlash after being launched yesterday – not least from the greeting card industry.
The advert features singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor blowtorching Christmas cards, along with a host of other stars in the ad, which aimed to encourage customers to eschew Christmas traditions, and do their own thing.
But the greeting card industry has hit back at the advert.
Cherry Orchard MD Jackie Collins told Greetings Today: ”So M&S’s tagline this year is ‘ I would do anything for love’. Surely love is something to be spread all year round and especially at Christmas. We, as an industry do it so well with the sending of love and kindness through greeting card sending. Why would you create an advert to kick Christmas into touch – I’m astounded and feeling very sad indeed. Sack the creative director who signed this off – what were you thinking?!’’
Jackie added that she would be handing out free Christmas cards and stamps, dressed in a Santa outfit, outside her local M&S store on Saturday.
GCA CEO Amanda Fergusson had received a steady slew of comments from association members after the ad launched. She told us: ”Many of our members have been in touch today to say they’re somewhat surprised by the blow-torching of Christmas Cards in the M&S Christmas ad.
“They know how important the £1.5bn creative card sector is to the UK – and that Christmas cards are wonderful little things that support relationships, mental health and wellbeing, communities and charities.
“Perhaps it feels as traditional as a pair of M&S knickers, but thankfully most of us will think about putting others first this Christmas, not themselves. ”
It may appear like a seemingly innocuous moment where the cards are torched, but that message
Sandra Jarvis, Creative Cove
is so unbelievably hurtful. It tells the viewer
that the cards they have received in the post aren’t sent with love, but are a chore no one wants to do
Jo Sorrell, at Stevenage card shop Cardies, commented: “I hate it! Christmas is supposed to be about being thoughtful, kind and caring, this advert just says the exact opposite to me. Not M&S finest…’
Meanwhile, Sandra Jarvis at card and stationery shop Creative Cove, Lampeter Wales, told us: ”I am absolutely outraged and saddened to see the M&S advert this year. It may appear like a seemingly innocuous moment where the cards are torched, but that message is so unbelievably hurtful. It tells the viewer that the cards they have received in the post aren’t sent with love, but are a chore no one wants to do. It tells that elderly person who receives one, that they’re a burden, that someone has had to take time out from the other things they could be doing and send that card. But what it also does, is put another knife in the back of the greeting card industry, an industry which is struggling to remain relevant at the best of times (and is defying all expectations, albeit tentatively).
“It’s a knife in the back of every single independent retailer, each producer and each artist. This industry exists to spread joy and love, to share artwork and special sentiments. We saw the impact of the humble greeting card in the midst of lockdowns, where it literally connected people through adversity. And now M&S, in its infinite wisdom, has decided to trash that in a split second and tell the nation that our precious industry is worth nothing, that people shouldn’t waste their time with our cards. An industry, I hasten to add, M&S is a part of. Talk about trying to kill off an entire industry for the sake of one message and some profit.’’
Marks & Spencer has already deleted an instagram post showing Christmas paper hats burning, with the caption ‘This Christmas, do only what you love…like saying no to paper hats’, after there was heavy criticism from some quarters that the colours were the same as the Palestinian flag.
We have contacted M&S press office for their comments…
