Digital department store Freemans is hitting the fashion campaign trail hard for the upcoming season, with singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor the face of its statement AW24 ads.

 Ellis-Bextor — “a British icon [chosen] to reinvent a British icon” — will sit front and centre of the campaign to spearhead the brand’s “renewed strategy”. 

The refocus is “designed to drive consideration for Freemans.com and celebrate its unique proposition… curated across a host of major international brands, complemented by exclusive in-house designed and parent company Otto-sourced ranges”.

And the bottom line is to “reach new audiences with a host of new season fashion collections”.
 
The campaign targets the 40+ female shopper, demonstrating its fashion credentials with the aim of positioning itself as a ‘style ally’ to a consumer group “who… still don’t feel communicated to in an authentic, informative and relatable way”.
 
A 30-second film starring Ellis-Bextor premieres Friday (13 September) in the prime Coronation Street ad break on ITV and the season opener on Channel 4’s Gogglebox as well as YouTube and all major digital channels.

Shot on location in Stockport, Warrington and the Trafford Centre, the ad’s soundtrack exclusively features a preview of the singer’s brand-new single called ‘Freedom of the Night’ which will be released later this month.

Product (“as per Freemans’ strategy”) is the focus, with Ellis-Bextor changing outfits five times as she appears from a ‘Freemans’ lift, through to the singer walking down a cobbled street, descending escalators, cutting to a ‘giant’ wardrobe, packed full of the retailer’s product, and ending in a party scene in a bar. She’s joined with models of different ages and sizes throughout.
 
The full-360 campaign also sees her joined by the newly-launched ‘Freemans’ Style Squad’ in social and digital channels — a collection of stylist influencers offering style tips and advice from ‘Get Ready with Me’s’ to ‘Ask Me Anything’ — in response to the retailer’s customers asking for more help and advice. 

Richard Cristofoli, chief customer officer, Freemans, said: “We are passionate about reclaiming Freemans’ fashion positioning as our transformation journey continues at pace.
 
“As one of the UK’s most iconic brands, we can think of no-one better than one of the UK’s most iconic singers to lead the way with us as we continue to evolve.

“Together with our Style Squad we are creating a content platform that responds to customer needs for more help and advice through the new season,” added Richard.

The through-the-line campaign will appear across all channels including online, CRM, social and PR. Paid socials, including Meta and Pinterest, also support with the retailer trialling Tik Tok video shopping ads for the first time. The activity will be further amplified via PPC and out of home.