Freemans spends big this Christmas on 'Find the Joy' ad campaign

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Nov 8, 2021

The biggest Christmas for retailers in two years warrants big responses. So online department store Freemans has ramped up its message for this year’s key event with the brand’s biggest ever multichannel ad campaign, including TV, which will run up to Christmas.

The ‘Find the Joy’ campaign headlines with the TV ad which airs across all channels, featuring a host of ex-Strictly Come Dancing favourites.  

As you'd expect, it's a dance-filled campaign and features well-known dancing favourites including Flavia Cacace, Erin Boag and Ola Jordan, together with brothers AJ and Curtis Pritchard, wearing the retailer’s new collection of partywear.

They dance their way through room sets, “giving a flavour of the fabulous gifts Freemans has to offer this year from fashion, through to home, toys through to dining and its new fragrance shop… to get the perfect gift for friends; for family; for all - with much loved brands… as well as exclusives you won’t find anywhere else”.  

It also promotes its ‘always-on free delivery seven days a week' promise. 

The ad, which closes with the end frame 'Freemans, Be More Free', is accompanied by a unique Christmas mix of signature sound tracks entitled Do It Like This by Daphne Willis, and includes a voiceover by Downton Abbey actress Joanne Froggatt.

The Find the Joy campaign is replicated across digital, social, print and PR activity, and supports Freemans’ ambition “to become the UK’s online department store of choice this Christmas”.

Freemans said it also continued to move away from using an ad agency for a second year, instead briefing out to independent creative directors supported by the retailer’s internal marketing and creative teams. 

Richard Cristofoli, chief customer officer, said: “We wanted to showcase the breadth of our gift offer at Freemans with a celebratory, upbeat campaign led by a host of incredibly talented, well-known dancers who take us on a journey that highlights what we are all about this Christmas.”

Last month, Freemans announced that it had ‘brought forward Christmas’ with relevant Christmas product available three weeks sooner, compared to last year. It said the decision “reflected customer demand with Christmas search terms appearing earlier than ever before”.