In the 1950s M&S embraced new ways of advertising to customers. The village of Iffley in Oxfordshire was one of many places that hosted an M&S fashion show during this decade. In the picture below you can see that lots of the women in the audience are wearing hats, not something that would be common today.
An advert in Woman magazine shows M&S 'New Look' dresses and skirts inspired by the designs of Dior, reflecting fashionable styles of 1958. It was one of the first full-colour adverts that M&S placed in women's magazines.
In 1959 M&S began hosting charity fashion shows – these continued until the 1980s and drew large crowds. The shows raised money for charity, promoted the brand and encouraged people to buy items from new collections. A headline for this article about a fashion show in Edinburgh says, ‘Reached New Audiences’, a key aim for marketing activity!
M&S adverts appeared in cinemas for the first time in the 1950s. Featuring dance troupes and elaborate sets, the adverts ran for several minutes (a long time in advertising!), with a focus on innovative fabrics and the new, easy-care properties of clothing. An M&S advert called ‘Carefree Summer’ won second place at the 12th International Advertising Film Festival at Cannes in 1965 (see Video in Resources).
