Emma Bunton plays a Cinderella figure, wearing M&S lingerie, while T4 presenter June Sarpong is cast as a Little Red Riding Hood, who distracts a wolf with roast turkey and champagne. They are all characters in a new storybook called 'Once Upon a Christmas'.
Will Young appears as Prince Charming, although he is more interested in Sleeping Beauty's quilt than in her lips. And Zoe Wanamaker appears as a wicked queen, asking her reflection "Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?", only to be told "I am -- but I do love your shawl".
The voiceover is by Patrick Stewart, star of the 'X Men' films and veteran crew member of the Star Trek Enterprise, and in the final scene of the ad a curtain is pulled back to reveal Stewart sitting in front of a roaring fire. He delivers the last line to camera: "And all too soon I must bid you farewell, with magic and sparkle, this will be an enchanting Noel."
The ad was created by Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R and breaks next weekend. It will run until Christmas Eve. The creative team at Rainey Kelly was Chris Hodgkiss and Pip Bishop and the ad was directed by Jeff Stark and produced by Large Corporations. Media buying was through Walker Media.
Alice Avis, marketing director at Marks & Spencer, said: "The television ad has become an eagerly anticipated event from Marks & Spencer and is central to the Christmas campaign, which kicked off last month with the rollout of our dedicated Christmas shops."
She said that the "magic and sparkle" theme would be extended with a new icon of a sparkling tree of lights and a Christmas poem, which will be used on instore materials and carrier bags.
While the ad features a stellar cast, it hardly compares with last year's celebrity-filled extravaganza for Marks & Spencer, which featured David Beckham, Joan Collins and Graham Norton, among others.
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