M&S Scores a 4.7-Star World Cup Winner with Four Years of Consistent Creative

Opportunity

For over four years, M&S Food has been one of the UK’s most consistently effective supermarket advertisers. Across multiple campaigns, the brand has demonstrated that long-term creative consistency, emotional storytelling and distinctive brand assets are a powerful combination for sustained growth.

Its Eat Well, Play Well campaign is a standout example. First launched in 2022, the campaign celebrates fresh, great-tasting food while encouraging healthier eating through a natural partnership with football legend Ian Wright. By combining the joy of sport with healthy eating and retaining the same trusted ambassador over several years, M&S has created a campaign that is instantly recognisable and increasingly effective.

Rather than continually reinventing the idea, M&S has committed to building a long-term creative platform, giving consumers more opportunities to connect with the campaign and its message over time.

Solution

Over its long-standing partnership with System1, M&S has embedded many of the principles proven to drive advertising effectiveness. Through System1’s Competitive Edge platform, the team has continually benchmarked its work against both competitors and previous campaigns, using those insights to refine and strengthen each new execution.

This approach reflects the findings of The Creative Dividend, System1’s research with Effie, which showed that the brands delivering the strongest long-term growth are those that invest consistently in recognisable creative platforms. Rather than chasing novelty, they build memory structures over time, allowing every campaign to reinforce the last and compound its effectiveness.

Eat Well, Play Well is a clear example of that principle in action. Each execution has built on the same emotional platform, distinctive creative cues and trusted partnership with Ian Wright, strengthening the campaign rather than resetting it.

“The best campaigns aren’t built overnight. They’re built through the confidence to stay the course, learn from every execution and keep improving. Working with System1 has given us an objective view of what resonates with consumers, helping us make better creative decisions and build on a platform that’s delivered consistently over time.” Robbie Black, Head of Brand, Communications & Omnichannel Marketing, M&S Food

Results

System1 Competitive Edge data shows that Eat Well, Play Well has become more effective with every new execution since launching in 2022. The latest campaign, created for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, achieved a 4.7 Star Rating, making it the highest-rated supermarket World Cup campaign in the category. It also represents a 1.6-Star improvement on the original campaign, demonstrating the compounding effect of creative consistency.

That creative momentum is being matched by commercial performance. Econometric modelling shows the campaign has consistently delivered ROI well ahead of WARC retail benchmarks, with returns improving year on year as the platform has evolved. Early results from the latest campaign are equally encouraging. Between the end of April and June, awareness of M&S’s FA partnership increased by 5 percentage points, while awareness of the Eat Well range rose by 3 percentage points. Together, the results demonstrate how investing consistently in a campaign consumers already recognise and love is strengthening emotional response, reinforcing distinctive brand assets, and delivering measurable business growth.