New M&S Christmas Ad

Well, it's the middle of November. From now until December 25th our TV screens will be besieged by retailers wanting to flog us their Yuletide wares.

So much for the death of the 30" television commercial that's being predicted by the irritating digital evangelists.

I've just clapped eyes on the new M&S Christmas extravaganza. Actually, extravaganza's probably the wrong word to use. It's not really an extravaganza at all as it's a more a series of uninspiring celebrity vignettes interspersed with some cutaways of some bog standard Xmas fare they're flogging. Oh, and a very unseasonal godawful blue jumper.

Put bluntly, the new M&S ad has got all the excitement, anticipation and glamour of an afternoon spent peeling sprouts.

I might be being a little harsh but compare the new ad to the ones that ran in 2007 and 2008. They had more than a dash of style, charm and quality about them. And more than a little sprinkling of Christmas fairy dust in the way they were filmed.

This new ad veers dangerously close to Morrisons territory in my book. In fact, I half expected to see Richard Hammond pushing that fucking trolley through the ice rink in the middle of it.

Anyway, dear readers, what do you think?