Back for the fourth year running, Dawn French makes her return as the Christmas fairy in this year’s M&S Food festive campaign.

This year, the beloved character stars alongside Dawn French herself, as the Christmas Fairy sprinkles some M&S magic on Dawn to make the festivities perfect.

The campaign follows an exhausted and frazzled Dawn French heading home after a day out Christmas shopping. When she returns home all she wants to do is kick back in her Christmas PJs but she has so much Christmas decorating and preparing to do. Much to her surprise the M&S Fairy (voiced by French) is on hand to make everything go smoothly.

With French’s comedic flair, she and the fairy work to prepare for a Christmas party for the street laden with an M&S Christmas feast. With a wave of her wand, Dawn’s PJs turn to partywear, the house is transformed into a magical, cosy Christmas scene, and the table is filled with treats. French is able to enjoy her Christmas party stress-free with joy, enjoying ‘not just food, M&S Christmas food’.

The campaign brings back the beloved Dawn French Christmas fairy to build on the success of previous M&S Food festive campaigns. Last year’s campaign was celebrated by ad testing platform System1, and 2022 Kantar cited the fairy as one of the most powerful and unique characters in retail.

In the run up to the big day, the campaign will launch in 6 different parts. Following the November 4th launch, a gifting focused iteration will launch November 13th, a party food spot on November 20th, a ‘big day’ iteration on November 17th, dessert on 17th December and finally a New Year’s Eve spot will launch December 26th.

In all campaign iterations, food is front and centre. Mouth-watering visuals of the award-winning products available at M&S throughout the festive period feature predominantly. The first spot showcases an M&S Food Christmas spread, as the Fairy sprinkles her magic across Dawn’s home with a feast fit for a festive party. The following five episodes build on the excitement, showing more of M&S Food’s Christmas range, from party food guaranteed to please, to food-based gifting ideas, to show-stopping desserts. The campaign features a breadth of Christmas essentials and New Years Gastro Pub delights.

The six-part series aims to keep audiences hooked during the run up to Christmas, and to reach a broad audience with a multi-channel approach. A festive cameo performance by the world’s most successful classical singer, Katherine Jenkins, is set to surprise audiences as the big day draws nearer. Customers can also look forward to competitions, a behind the scenes social series featuring Dawn, in-store giveaways and celebrity surprises.

Showcasing the breadth, quality and variety available at M&S with magic and ease, the Dawn French Christmas Fairy proves that M&S has audiences covered throughout the festive period.