Pierce Brosnan channels his licence to thrill in Burberry's Christmas advert

Burberry’s newly-released Christmas ad stars actor Pierce Brosnan boogying with model Cara Delevigne - to the music of Sylvester’s 1982 hit Do Wanna Funk? 

The scene is a boisterous family festive party in the panelled ballroom of a stately home.

Filmed at Longleat House, the home of the Marquess of Bath, it features an array of Burberry merch for adults, children - and dogs.

Clobber includes a £1,895 Kensington trench coat, a £1,925 Cotswolds handbag, a £1,395 Ambleside puffer jacket, assorted scarves in the ‘house check’ and the new blackwatch tartan design for £395.

Investors will be hoping to hear that these and other gift items from the iconic British brand are flying off the shelves when Burberry chief executive Joshua Schulman announces results on Thursday.

Sales at the FTSE 100 company are expected to have risen by 3 per cent to just over £1.1billion in the half-year to September while operating profits jumped to £44million from £19million.

Since taking on the top job in July 2024, Schulman has embarked on a turnaround of the beleaguered business which had been hit by the consumer slowdown in China, its most important market where it has 65 stores.

The company has also been wooing back younger aspirational shoppers who had been put off by exorbitant price tags for bags, beanie hats and other accessories - essential entry-level products for securing long-term loyalty to a luxury label.

An emphasis on ‘Britishness’ has been a key tactic in Schulman’s approach in what is a tough luxury goods sector. 

Some observers believe that spending will never return to its buoyant post-pandemic levels when shoppers indulged in ‘revenge buying’ after lockdowns.

Watching the latest update with intent will be Mike Ashley.

The maverick entrepreneur now has a 6 per cent stake in the 170-year old company through his Frasers empire which also encompasses Sports Direct, a holding in British bag maker Mulberry, the Harvey Nichols stores - and his Flannels shops, a Burberry stockist.

Schulman will doubtless be quizzed on any conversations with Ashley – and on the price of Burberry shares. When he joined the company, they traded at £7.40p, compared to £11.22.

But that’s still way below their post-pandemic peak.

The question is: does Ashley aspire to add Burberry to the ‘luxury eco-system’ which he is building?

Or is he happy to be merely a bystander, having recently reduced his slice of the company?

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