Design Case Study: Marks and Spencer – Summer 2007

The Brief

We do love sunshine and all things summer here at PLANarama so you can imagine how thrilled we were to be approached by Jane Hayman, Head of Design, Marketing & Production at Marks & Spencer (M&S) Head Office. M&S wanted our input to create media interest for their summer ad campaign at their Marble Arch flagship store.

The brief from M&S was very specific in that we were asked to capture the dream-like quality of their TV ad campaign and transpose it to their windows. The window also needed to allow for a personal appearance from M&S icon Myleene Klass to attract media attention.

Our MD, Neil, was very involved in this project. The first thing he did on receiving the brief was to go and look at the Marble Arch shop from all angles on the outside and watch the people passing by. The main question at this stage was, “What is going to get people’s attention?” This was when Neil noticed the white fascia panel above the window and knew that he wanted to use it to create more visual interest.

The Challenge

The challenge of this particular project was that we had to extract the essence of the advert and capture its magical quality without being too literal. The design team spent time watching re-runs of the TV advert in order to identify the basic elements we wanted to use, like that of the meadow, the swing, and the sunshine filtering through the trees.

They then created a series of three visual options for the client to choose from. M&S opted for Fashion Option 1 and we were able to go into production with our design.

The Design Solution:

This design featured a meadow floor and five mannequins representing each of the five female models associated with M&S, including Twiggy, Erin O’Connor and Myleene Klass. Each mannequin was positioned within a frosted vinyl oval frame, the frosted effect being used to capture the dream-like quality of the TV advert and focal point to stock. The sixth window featured a swing with a seated mannequin.

Behind the mannequins we positioned a large-scale photo of sunlight filtering through trees. This panel was backlit creating the effect that the entire panel was glowing. Our lighting designers used Gobo lights, often used in the theatre, to create the hazy, shimmering effect of light filtering through the trees. To add further visual interest we added another image of the sunlight through the trees on the outside, attached to a fascia panel above the window display.

The Outcome:

M&S loved the scheme. Myleene Klass made a public appearance on the swing in the window and M&S got the press coverage they were seeking.