Freemans Launches Interactive Online Christmas Ad Featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor Amidst Strong Sales Growth

Digital department store Freemans has unveiled its inaugural online-only Christmas advertisement, strategically designed to allow customers to effortlessly locate and purchase the outfits featured within the festive commercial. This launch coincides with the retailer reporting a robust start to its key Autumn/Winter 2025 season, marked by significant double-digit growth in fashion sales.

The 30-second advert once again features singer and model Sophie Ellis-Bextor, who returns as the beloved ‘Face of Freemans’. The mini-film is being extensively distributed across major digital platforms, including YouTube, Instagram, prominent shopping websites, and Freemans’ own e-commerce platform.

The decision to make this year's festive campaign exclusively online-focused stems directly from the overwhelming success of last year’s digital ad. Tens of thousands of viewers streamed the previous commercial, frequently pausing at various points to examine outfits before proceeding to immediately place orders on the Freemans website, demonstrating a clear consumer preference for interactive digital content.

Ann Steer, CEO of Freemans.com, elaborated on this strategic shift, stating, “Every outfit featured in the 2024 Freemans festive ad was a sell-out. This year we’ve made our Christmas commercial sleeker and simpler, with a few seconds more between each outfit for fashion fans to view the yuletide looks and put in their order.” This adjustment aims to enhance the customer shopping experience even further.

The 2025 Christmas ad brings Ellis-Bextor back to a charming, snow-dusted Sleigh Street, where she reprises her role as a glamorous Santa. She is seen expertly navigating her signature retro red Freemans delivery van, brimming with carefully selected Christmas gifts, which she personally hand-delivers to the delighted residents along the road.

Adding an interactive element to the feel-good festive campaign, Ellis-Bextor changes her outfit for each house she visits. Crucially, a few extra seconds are incorporated into the online ad, allowing viewers ample time to pause and trace each distinctive seasonal style directly on the Freemans.com website. Highlighted looks include a chic matching berry-red coat, skirt, and pussybow blouse combination, a popular set of tartan pyjamas, a dazzling black sequin minidress, and an elegant plum faux-leather skirt paired with a matching glitter-detail cardigan.

The ad's compelling tagline, ‘Find it at Freemans’, powerfully underscores the sheer simplicity and convenience of ordering from the online department store. It serves to reassure customers that they can discover everything they desire for the festive season, including all of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s latest captivating looks. The soundtrack to the 30-second commercial is Ellis-Bextor’s iconic track, ‘Freedom of the Night’, which impressively peaked at No.2 in the UK singles chart after its feature in Freemans' 2024 Christmas commercial.

The primary target audiences for this campaign include stylish women over 40 who aspire to look their absolute best throughout the festive period, as well as busy households who value the ease and convenience of purchasing gifts online for their friends and family, saving precious time during the bustling holiday season.

Reinforcing the positive momentum, fresh figures released by Freemans indicate a strong start to the AW25 season. Net sales have already seen a significant increase of 14%. Furthermore, fashion sales alone have climbed by 13% even before the anticipated party season has fully commenced, while the home & living category has also experienced a robust 14% uplift in sales.