M&S sends a topless Santa into the Christmas ad battle with John Lewis

For years, the Christmas advert moment in Britain has belonged to John Lewis. This year, Marks & Spencer (the high-street giant known for clothes and food) has turned up with a very different weapon: a topless Santa.

James Norton, the TV heart-throb, plays him. Yes, there is a lingering shot of him in nothing but a white M&S cotton towel.

What happened? 🎅

M&S launched its ad this week, just days after John Lewis unveiled its own. Norton and Lucy Punch play a youthful Mr and Mrs Claus. Santa shaves off his beard so he can enjoy the run-up to Christmas incognito, while Punch's Mrs Claus is delightfully snobbish.

The couple gatecrash a dinner party, pop into a children's carol service and discover "picky bits". The message is that Christmas is about shared moments, not just big gifts. Still, it is an advert: everything on screen, from the pyjamas to the towel, is for sale.

M&S has also rolled fashion, food, beauty and homeware into one campaign instead of separate ads. It last did that in 2017.

Why is everyone talking about it?

The towel shots have gone viral. Men's Health called Norton a "shredded Santa" who leaves the traditional mince-pie physique "looking a little dated".

Gurjit Degun, creativity and cultural editor at the marketing magazine Campaign, called the ad "playful and tongue in cheek without being silly".

John Lewis, meanwhile, cast Kristin Scott Thomas as a glamorous granny turning a room of her huge townhouse into a "gran cave". Critics said the sprawling house and ungrateful grandchildren felt out of touch with the national mood. Retail consultant Jonathan De Mello thinks it is smart, aimed at affluent customers who have paid off their mortgages. But he warned it could "alienate the mass market".

Punch said she wants fun, not tears: "Life is enough of a tearjerker."

What's next?

The stakes are high for both. M&S is still recovering from a 2025 cyber attack that shut its website for more than six weeks and cost it over £100m. John Lewis is dealing with higher costs and weaker consumer confidence.

De Mello says the M&S ad shows how the retailer has turned itself around, with food and fashion now aligned and a pitch to younger shoppers. Whether that wins over the tills, rather than just the internet, is the real test.