Neither frumpy nor slutty (gasp), M&S’s Christmas Advert went fully feminist this year by making Mrs. Claus the main protagonist.
At this festive season, we’re often used to Father Christmas being the star of the show. Portly, jolly and working tirelessly into the night, it is Santa who holds the reigns at Christmas.
However, this year, M&S did something different. We women are used to seeing Mrs. Claus as a tired, downtrodden and unromantic character. Depicted as a stout, rosy-cheeked and albeit a somewhat dowdy housewife, she is often clad is a strange red dress and bonnet as she waves Father Christmas on his way before stitching his socks and sack by the warmth of the hearth.
Alongside this depiction, she has also been painted as Santa’s “little(?)” helper ‘the night before,’ sitting on his lap, sexily stroking his knee while he sips his port. As we all know who is going down the chimney tonight, thigh-high lacquered boots, a red lip and a flippy skirt, in this case, seem more apt for the job.
But in a bid to salvage 2016’s posture on women’s rights and roles, Marks and Spencer have trampled over John Lewis’s trampoline animation with a bold recasting of Mother Christmas. This Mrs. Claus is played by British actress Janet McTeer – a stylish 50-something, flying helicopters and performing secret missions in the night.
She saves Christmas by speedily delivering a pair of red trainers to a little girl Anna – NB: no dolls, no make-up, no “One Direction” posters. The advert sees a little boy Jake (sensitive, empathetic, knowing Santa won’t cope with his request) call to Mrs. Claus specifically for help. He recognizes her importance, skill and aptitude with all things Christmas and trusts that she, and only she, will do the job right.
Mrs. Claus sees her husband out the door, warning him for eating too many mince pies, before lounging in her fittingly trendy Scandinavian garb: warm cashmere, loose trousers, slipper socks. With thick-rimmed glasses, she sets down her “Fifty Shades of Red” (a comic nod to women’s sexual agency), and is determined to help Jake, without her husband knowing.
Turning to her closet, she picks the right outfit for the job: a long red coat, knee-length dress, black heels and black leather gloves. An amalgamation of spy, CEO and fashion icon, her hair is subtly quaffed into a Hilary Clinton-esque bob. She bestrides her snowmobile and powers through desolate frozen landscape to an ice cave, where R-DOLF, the big red chopper, is waiting.
With no pilot or heard of showy reindeer, Mrs. Claus-come-Jane Bond flies her helicopter over London to deliver the gift. Upon arrival at Jake’s home, she does not admire the soft furnishings. Rather, she scoffs at the ridiculousness of climbing down the chimney, strides into the house and makes a beeline for the mince pies and brandy.
(Photo Credit: www.marksandspensers.co.uk)
After dropping off the gift, she heads back to her chopper. Back at HQ, she beats Father Christmas and feigns sleep once back in her knitwear as he slogs through the front door (treading in snow and dirt no doubt).
At a time of year which typically warns women not to overindulge, overstress or (God forbid) let the family down, this advert is a breath of fresh air. Amidst the threatening advice columns that tell mums how to plan ahead, ensure everyone is happy or to make their own home-made Christmas centrepieces, it is exciting to see a woman, particularly a typically glossed over middle aged woman, be sexy, ambitious and funny in the Christmas context where these qualities are usually taken for granted.
I can wholeheartedly say that I love this advert; it is an optimistic start to the Christmas Season and a much-needed palette cleanser following the disheartening recirculation of misogynistic discourses. As Christmas cheer goes, I can’t think of anything jollier. Mrs. Claus’s come-back punctuates the fact that every ‘Mrs’ can do as every ‘Father’ can.