Häagen-Dazs #LoseYourself Wimbledon Activation Turns Attention From Courts To Crowds

The official ice cream of Wimbledon 2016 is activating its rights to the tennis tournament with a £2.5m #LoseYourself campaign that turns the lens away from the on-court action towards the fans in the crowd.

The brand is working with renown street photographer Adam Katz Sinding on an image-led campaign capturing tennis lovers at Wimbledon losing themselves in intense moments

Adam Katz Sinding is tasked to shoot a real-time portrait series right through the tournament with the objective of bring to life the Haagen-Dazs campaign title – #LoseYourself.

The initiative, being developed with agency Grey London, uses iconic photography to link the premium ice cream’s intense taste with the intense emotions of the fans at the world’s top tennis event.

So Sinding’s lenses are focusing on the crowd and are capturing the intense moments experienced by those watching The Championships in person.

The activation sees those images amplified across Häagen-Dazs’ social channels – including Twitter (and a promoted #LoseYourself Twitter)

Feel the intensity building. As the Official Ice Cream of Wimbledon we couldn’t be more excited. #LoseYourself https://t.co/R9Ddhp7gUE

— Häagen-Dazs UK (@haagendazsuk) June 27, 2016

We're serving up two weeks of #Wimbledon #LoseYourself moments by Adam Katz Sinding @Le21eme. Read on @BritishVogue https://t.co/TI0wrSVlxd

— Häagen-Dazs UK (@haagendazsuk) June 27, 2016

@haagendazsuk Ice cream is sugar and fat – it isn't sexy.

— EmergencyPeace (@EmergencyPeace) June 29, 2016

and Instagram.

#LoseYourself also includes other social-led content including a series of #LoseYourself digital films on Wimbledon.com,

We're poised & ready to capture the intensity with @Le21eme! Bring on Week 2… #LoseYourself #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/RNduBIV4Za

— Häagen-Dazs UK (@haagendazsuk) July 4, 2016

#LoseYourself with @haagendazsuk & @Le21eme as we capture the most intense moments at #Wimbledon 2016… pic.twitter.com/lHyRqQT0tN

— Häagen-Dazs UK (@haagendazsuk) June 28, 2016

as well as via Häagen-Dazs branded Snapchat geofilter, plus digital-out-of-home sites in London and billboards nationwide across the UK, as well as a ticket competition and experiential engagement in the famous ‘Wimbledon Queue’.

The initiative is further sported by an influencer led PR push, an exclusive content partnership withVogue.co.uk and the brand’s Wimbledon activation also includes limited edition, tournament logo branded promotional packaging – including the launch of a new limited edition Strawberries & Cream stick bar sold exclusively at this year’s event.

#LoseYourself at #Wimbledon with @haagendazsuk from the comfort of your chair, over on https://t.co/LRKwPvYlJf #ad pic.twitter.com/GpmnrjzOPl

— Ali.Gordon (@AliGordon_) July 1, 2016

Plus there is an exclusive ‘Lose Yourself to Strawberries and Cream’ Wimbledon Limited Edition retail partnership with Selfridges during the fortnight of The Championships.

The creative team at Grey London includes copy writers Greg Ormrod and Sadie Majer, art directors Simon Helm and Thomas Worthington, planners Cristina Tazza, Andy Hyland and Matt Tanter, designers Matteo Alabiso, John-Patrick Racle and Kit Suman and executive creative director Ben Clapp.

The producer was Gemma Hose, the project manager Laura Pillings, while the content managers were Alex Wrigley, Emma Nabridnyi and Laura Gaponenko and the account managers were Tamara Bennett, Rachel O’Shea and Michelle Simons.

The media is being handled by Mindshare’s Lenka Trebichalska and Esther Suquet, retouching is by Studio RM and the experiential work is be BEcause Experiential Marketing

‘Given both create intense moments and guttural emotion, losing yourself to Häagen-Dazs and losing yourself to Wimbledon fit naturally. But while anyone can lose themselves in a tub of Häagen-Dazs, not everyone is lucky enough to make it down to Wimbledon,’ explains Richard Williams, Northern Europe marketing director at Häagen-Dazs owner General Mills.

‘We wanted to capture those edge-of-your-seat moments to bring that emotion alive for Britain and in Adam, we’re working with one of the most distinctive portrait photographers of his generation. The result should be something genuinely eye-catching.’

‘Wimbledon is about so much more than the tennis. It’s an event synonymous with fashion, camaraderie, Britishness, strawberries and cream…the list goes on,’ adds Grey London executive creative director Ben Clapp.

‘So, while everyone else is taking photos of the players, we decided to capture what really makes Wimbledon unique – the fans. Instead of re-watching the action on the court, we’re reliving it through their intensity and emotions.’

While Adam Katz Sinding comments: ‘I’m honoured and excited to be part of the Häagen-Dazs Lose Yourself project. My job takes me across the globe in search of excitement and authenticity. These genuine moments of excitement, suspense, shock, and joy happen in mere seconds, and it takes the right technique to capture them beautifully. While at Wimbledon, I’ll tap into the high intensity of the tournament and find those people who are caught in a moment of passion, that embody the campaign. The idea that I’ll be on the sidelines of one of the most prestigious sporting events in the world is extremely fulfilling.’

Comment

Both the photographer and the media are currently very much ‘in fashion’.

Sinding is best known for candid, street-style portraits of fashionista and his distinct approach is based around getting images to convey personalities: so the upmarket ice cream brand believes he is the perfect photographer to capture the emotional highs and lows across the faces of those down at SW19.

While Snapchat is turning in to one of the key activation channels at Wimbledon 2016 and Wimbledon itself has signed a multi-year deal to share live moments from the competition and sell ad space to official sponsors.

The work marks Häagen-Dazs’ new five-year Wimbledon sponsorship which was signed as recently as late June 2016 and saw Häagen-Dazs become the official ice cream of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships.

The deal sees the full range of Häagen-Dazs being sold as the tournament’s exclusive ice cream brand on site at the All England Club through the tournament.

‘Wimbledon is a strong fit for our overall strategy to increase brand saliency and elevate our iconic equity. Awareness is going to be very high this summer and this gives us the perfect opportunity to excite and attract new shoppers, and ultimately cement Häagen-Dazs’ position as the go-to luxury ice cream brand,’ comments Häagen-Dazs Northern Europe marketing manager Arjoon Bose.

‘Our campaign creative will put the brand front-of-mind amongst consumers, inspiring them to add Häagen-Dazs to their shopping list and pick it up from the ice cream aisle. Our line-up is incredibly strong; with flavours delivering on tastes such as Salted Caramel that are in line with consumer trends as well as the much celebrated Strawberries & Cream, which is synonymous with Wimbledon itself.

We are encouraging retail partners to make sure they stock up on the full Häagen-Dazs range across stick bars as well as 300ml and 500ml sharing sizes to reap the benefits and to incrementally grow sales for the overall ice cream category.’

Links

Häagen-Dazs Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/haagendazsuk/

Häagen-Dazs Twitter:

https://twitter.com/haagendazsuk

@haagendazsuk

Häagen-Dazs YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/HaagenDazsLive

Häagen-Dazs Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/HaagenDazsUK/?brand_redir=1525503647702737

Häagen-Dazs Google+:

https://plus.google.com/102902003577589191354