Debenhams launches big new campaign, focus on continuity and newness

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 25, 2021

If anyone thought that Boohoo Group taking Debenhams online-only would mean the retail brand having a lower profile, they need to think again. On Friday, its new owner launched a major new multi-media campaign for the webstore operation.

It’s the first brand campaign since its acquisition by Boohoo in January. The nationwide UK campaign positions Debenhams as a “digital-first department store destination for Fashion, Beauty and Home” under the new name Debenhams.com. 

It showcases the extensive offer under those product categories and sees the e-tailer “connecting with its established 18.9 million customers across digital and social platforms”. 

The campaign launched early on Friday with a 30-second ad set to run for eight weeks across a number of primetime shows, including ratings magnet Love Island, plus This Morning and Celebrity Gogglebox. It will also be seen via on-demand platforms such as 4OD and ITV Player. 

So what’s the ad itself all about? It features “an everyday family to reflect the wide customer audience of Debenhams.com,” and aims to “drive both new and existing customers to the newly relaunched e-commerce site”. 

It’s interesting that the Debenhams heritage is a big part of the pitch with the new owners clearly aiming to stress a level of continuity for the operation.

In the campaign, we see six models dressed in new-season products arriving in a vintage branded van “to deliver an abundance of Debenhams.com packages, all containing the latest in Fashion, Beauty and Home for the family”. References to Debenhams’ “rich heritage feature throughout”. This can be seen in the house door number (243), representing the number of years since Debenhams was established. There are also vintage Debenhams ads in photo frames and the dog in the advert is named Debs. It can be followed on Instagram, @Debs_The_Dog. 

Fast forwarding to the campaign’s focus on the new, it highlights Debenhams.com’s multi-brand offering and importantly, its in-house brands are a key part of this. That means Principles, Red Herring, Maine New England and Mantaray. But of course, there’s also the addition of brands from across the Boohoo Group portfolio. And beauty is at the forefront as well with big-name brands such as Benefit and Marc Jacobs a focus.

Boohoo Co-founder and Executive Director Carol Kane called the campaign a “milestone and said it “sets the tone for Debenhams.com and how we see the vision for the brand developing. As we go into the summer season, I’m looking forward to seeing the in-house brands grow and find their place within the group, introducing a strong product offering supported with a confident brand DNA you can see coming through from Debenhams.com.”