Marks & Spencer's sales increase fuelled by Twiggy ad campaign

LONDON – Marks & Spencer's fortunes appear to be on the up at last, thanks to an advertising campaign featuring 60s supermodel Twiggy, which the company said had clothes 'flying out of the store'.

The buzz surrounding the store's newest clothing range is said to be the result of television and poster ads, created by Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R.

The ads, M&S's first womenswear TV ads for almost five years, featured well-known models representing different age groups: Twiggy, Erin O'Connor, Laura Bailey and Noemie Lenoir.

The latest figures revealed that although non-food sales were down for the eighth consecutive quarter, the decline was only 0.2% compared with 11.2% in the previous quarter.

Despite the turnaround, M&S has already said that it will not be using celebrities in its Christmas ad campaign this year.

According to insiders, M&S chief executive Stuart Rose wants a more straightforward approach to boost sales.

In August, M&S signed comedians Bob Mortimer, Jimmy Carr and 'The Office' star Martin Freeman for a print campaign to promote a new range of suits designed by Timothy Everest and Nigel Hall.

A recent television ad featuring a rich chocolate pudding resulted in a 3,000% increase in sales for the line. Food sales were up across the chain by 1.3%.

The new autumn range is the first to have been seen through since Rose's appointment in May 2004 and the arrival of its new head of clothing Kate Bostock, who was brought in from George at Asda.

Previous ad campaigns have featured England captain David Beckham, pop star Rachel Stevens, TV presenter Cat Deeley, actor Rupert Everett and actress Dame Helen Mirren.

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