The spot begins with two playful fairies clocking in for work. They spend the evening sprinkling magic that will make people’s wishes come true, including making it snow, match-making a couple and improving gifts.
In one scene, the fairies change a present of a red alarm clock, which looks very similar to the one that featured in last year’s "the bear and the hare" Christmas ad for John Lewis created by Adam & Eve/DDB, into a gold bra. A mischievous message from M&S’s agency Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R, perhaps?
The spot is set to Julie London’s version of Fly Me to the Moon and ends with the strapline "Christmas is better with magic and sparkle" and the hashtag #FollowTheFairies.
The ad was art directed by Chris Hodgkiss and written by Pip Bishop. It was directed by Philippe Andre through Independent. The spot breaks online today and is first on TV during The X Factor tomorrow evening on ITV, in a media campaign by Mindshare.
The ad's release has been trailed by a mysterious Twitter account called @TheTwoFairies, which has now been unveiled as part of M&S' Christmas campaign. The idea was created and executed by Unity PR.
Spreading magic and kindness are two of our aims, soon we will share with you each of our names... #FollowTheFairies pic.twitter.com/q95tTrjNJS
— The Two Fairies (@thetwofairies) November 6, 2014
Over the past week, the two fairies, whose names are Magic and Sparkle, have delivered gifts such as cakes, tea and make-up to people across the UK who posted wishes on Twitter.
On Monday, they surprised children in Britain’s most southerly school, Landewednack Primary in Cornwall, by covering the building in "snow".
They were also spotted "flying" above the river Tyne in Newcastle, and have been spotted in Birmingham, London, Glasgow and Manchester.
There will be more activity from the two fairies in the run up to Christmas.
