Just Released: Marks & Spencer's "Believe in Magic & Sparkle" Xmas Fairy Tale Campaign (Yes. It's As Gorgeous As They Said It Would Be.)

So, here it is. I know you've all been on the edge of your seats... ;)

Actually it's quite lovely and I sort of wish it were longer... (You can tell me "I told you so" later, 'k?)

Wonderland and Oz work very well together here, as does Little Red and Hansel & Gretel. I'm guessing Arabian Nights was the most legitimate way they could think of to have Rosie in her underwear again, though they could have taken it one step further to make it Snow Queen-ish at the end before tumbling back down to Oz. I have to admit, the guy in the painting throws me a little as all I can think of are more obscure tales that he might be from but, other than that, there are more fairy tale references than I first thought there might be. It's an interesting take and mix, though some transition better than others (as in, why did she lose her clothes through the rabbit hole, exactly? "Part of the contract" is not a legitimate answer.).

Overall it's quite lovely and very "Christmassy".

Here's a behind-the-scenes look, which is fun to watch too, and gives some insight into the thought process behind using fairy tales for Christmas. I particularly like that the Director opted to do as much "in camera" as possible, rather than use green screen and CGI. It makes a huge difference to the acting and the end result.

(Side note: I wish OUAT would do more in camera. The effects in that show really pull me out of the scenes.)

They essentially say "fairy tales and Christmas go together", which is an interesting concept to me. It seems to be a consistent idea at M&S since this isn't the first Christmas fairy tales have been used to advertise the store. 

Interestingly, my six-year old, while watching this behind-the-scenes with me, said "Fairy tales aren't all Christmassy! They happen all the time.." (Seriously - I have the best kid ever!)

This at least the second time M&S have used fairy tales for their Christmas campaign (which apparently approaches the status of Superbowl commercials in the US). Here's an earlier ad, likely from a previous "Magic & Sparkle" Christmas campaign a few years back but uploaded earlier this year, with Patrick Stewart and pop-up fairy tale books! *swoon* This one is great too, but in a very different way.

(Note: Red Riding Hood is used in both Christmas campaigns - interesting. I guess the red against the white makes for wonderful visuals and red can equal Christmas all by itself. It's just not usually a tale you put into a Christmas collection - perhaps because of the gathering flowers reference - but I like the idea of transforming non-Christmas tales to be holiday-seasonal. Could be a new and interesting fairy tale collection... hint, hint.)

Enjoy!

I have to admit, the 2013 one in particular does set a magical and Wintery mood. So well done M&S.

What did you think? Are you now inspired to make your Christmas* season fairy tale-ish this year? (She says, hurriedly throwing out the rotting jack-o-lanterns and packing up various skeletal appendages and lightweight gravestones...)

* Where I'm from, "Christmas" isn't a religious term but more a description of the season. Though I celebrate more of the Winter Solstice, I love all the end of year/mid-Winter traditions from various faiths. And I still call it Christmas. :)

Let the Holiday (Advertising) Season Begin... With Marks & Spencer's "Magic & Sparkle" Fairy Tale

You know it's supposed to be a big deal when an ad gets a trailer. That's right. The new two minute ad campaign has a fifteen second preview. Apparently the new Marks & Spencer Christmas ad campaign is "highly anticipated" (not sure by whom exactly, but anyway...) and this week they released a sneak peek teaser of the ad and a special behind-the-scenes look.

Set to an enchanting orchestral soundtrack, the ad is shot in a filmic style as it takes the viewers into a world of 'magic and sparkle' from Alice in Wonderland to the Wizard of Oz. 

Rosie Huntington-Whitely is - of course - the leading lady, first seen pursuing a pretty little dog across a city street before tumbling from the real world into a snow dusted enchanted forest, seated at a fantastical feast.

The ad then follows the lingerie designer and model through a red riding house scene, an Arabian Nights flight and finally a walk along the yellow brick road, with a little help from the ever handsome David and a bewitching Helena Bonham Carter, whose appearance is seen as a huge coup for the retailer. (source)

You can read more details HERE.

Ok, yes. It's very pretty.

But even if this ad campaign is completely beautiful and lovely and worth its millions of dollars in production (not kidding on the $), it's essentially a fancy (and expensive) Christmas window to draw people into the stores.

In the meantime, it seems like Helena Bonham Carter is giving us a preview of her fairy godmother persona from the (Disney) live action Cinderella movie to top it off, although apparently she makes an appearance in Oz first.

I've thought about this waaay too much and there was a LOT more before I deleted. (You're welcome.) I'm going to blame the current time-shift (aka ending daylight savings), turn off my brain and just watch it...

 

Aahh, there, see? I get it now. "Ooh pretty. More please!"

The full two minutes, with many more "Believe in Magic & Sparkle" fairy tale references, will be available to watch online on YouTube, this coming Monday.

What I want to know is: do you see any differences and updating in the way these familiar tales are being retold and/or used? What does this ad say about the way we view these tales? (And when did the Mad Hatter change from creepy buck-toothed crazy-person to avoid at costs, into the mysterious, sexy man at the end of a table of bounty?!)

Sorry. Apparently my brain refuses to stay in "sleep" mode, unless it's lying on a pillow. Goodnight!

Happy New Year!

May you find wonder in every new day...

Happy New Year!

Pageant of the Masters 2011: Only Make Believe

I didn't know about this at the time but apparently this year's Pageant of the Masters theme, from the Festival of the Arts in Laguna Beach, CA was Fantasy. Specifically, "Only Make Believe."

[If you don't know what Pageant of the Masters is, it's essentially where they take live people and turn them into famous works of art, on stage for a sit down show/performance. Each actor is made up to blend into the painting - which is also reproduced person-sized, complete with prop pieces to help the actors blend in - and they must hold their pose for 90 seconds at a time while the story of the painting is told to the strains of a live orchestra. Neat stuff!]

This would have been wonderful to see in person. Apart from a simply awe-inspiring show and feat of art this year they apparently had Edmund Dulac's Cinderella With Fairy Godmother* AND Cinderella Sitting In The Ashes (please see note at end of post), along with Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Arabian Nights and many more (the videos show the most variety of pieces.)

 Here's a video with some of the behind-the-scenes work put into the Cinderella paintings/ performances, though this is from 2007. (I'm a little confused - did they duplicate this one for the 2011 show? See my additional note at the end of the post):

From fairies to superheros, here's another to give us a preview (now, a post-view!) of what people could expect to see:

Luckily there are a few photos from around the web to give us some closer and more specific glimpses, though why I can't find some decent ones of the Cinderella pieces is (frustratingly) beyond me.

And because I couldn't get enough glimpses myself (and thought perhaps you couldn't either) this news spot video shows some different works again:

There's so much work that goes into duplicating these paintings and making a 90 minute show. It's quite phenomenal. While I'm sad to have missed this year's works of Rackham, Dulac and many more, the Pageant of the Master's is definitely on my to-do list before I leave LA (whichever year that will be).

Pageant of the Masters happens every year in Laguna Beach, near Los Angeles. Next year's theme (2012) is "Genius".

 

*I've found a weird anomaly of a Dulac Pageant of the Masters photo from an earlier year, though the  program and promo videos and photos clearly showed Cinderella in the Ashes by Dulac happening in 2011. In one of the videos the two painting-performances are shown side by side so I'm a little confused by this one!