Analysis: Subtle change of direction in new campaign

Adverts exist to grab attention and persuade people to carry out certain actions or change their beliefs or awareness of a company or its products. Some adverts are overt and obvious, while others are more subtle.

They all have different targets and intentions; it is always dangerous to assume that because you "get" or "don't get" an advert, it has either worked or failed. The "Only at Your M&S" adverts have certainly caused attention levels to rise. So people are talking about the ads, and the company is saying sales have increased; job done?

M&S has had advert disasters before - naked women running up a hill proclaiming "I'm normal" was not its finest hour - but it has also won major awards, most notably with "Your M&S", fronted by Twiggy, which focused on core values for the company. The current campaign quietly takes the focus away from price and on to desired attributes of quality and value. If the company is to be believed, then it is working commercially, and, given its plans for future, expanded campaigns, it has every reason to get it right.

• Leigh Sparks is professor of retail studies at the University of Stirling.