Ahead of the 15 June start of the 2021 iteration of Royal Ascot, the rights owner has teased the famous race meeting with an at-home style spot called ‘Raindrops’.
Working in harness with creative agency Isobel, the short film features a woman sat beside her window while working from home watching three raindrops race down her window pane whilst she imagines the excitement of horse racing.
The ad promotes the 15 to 19 June meeting, which returns in 2021 after its complete cancellation last year due to the pandemic, and it closes with the copy line: “We cannot wait for the day we can welcome you back to Ascot Racecourse, and we hope to be witnessing world-class racing with you soon. The wait only adds to the drama”.
The video seeks to encapsulate the emotion behind racing and harness the excitement around what lies ahead as the lockdown starts to ease and seeks to drive people online to find out more about the meeting’s latest return of spectators statement: https://www.ascot.co.uk/return-of-spe…
The spot was posted across Royal Ascot’s digital and social channels on 22 March.
The spot targets ‘anyone who really loves racing and misses the exhilaration of actually being at the races – particularly followers of Ascot’ explained Isobel Account Partner Sarah Humphreys.
“These people frequently see racing content from both Ascot and other brands, so we wanted to create something that stood out, and connected with them on a more emotional level,” explained Humphreys.
To shoot the spot small tubes filled with water and glycerine were used and set off at timed intervals and actually filmed on separate pans and then spliced together in the edit.
“The original client brief was to show off the racing at Ascot and demonstrate the love that people have for the sport,” said Isobel Creative Partner Rob Fletcher. “However, just showing a compilation of racing footage wouldn’t do Ascot justice.”
Ascot Head of Marketing Ros Robinson added: “Whilst we await the return of spectators to the racecourse we wanted to evoke the memories of Royal Ascot. The work by isobel truly brings this to life building on our brand platform of ‘home to some of the best drama on earth,’ which certainly rings true in 2021.”
The campaign was created by a team at agency Isobel which included Creatives Rob Fletcher and Chan Spencer, Account Partner Sarah Humphreys, Account Director Emily Powers, Account Executive Lucy Tittensor, with Director Rob Fletcher, Producer Amy Hansen, DOP Jack Mealing and Camera Assistant David Churchyard.
Comment:
This reminds us of an inclusive, middle class lockdown, working from home version of the old City of London cliché about bankers being willing to bet on anything – including which raindrops dripping down window panes.
With a further round of lockdown easing due on 21 June, it seems likely that this year’s Royal Ascot will have some live spectators at the track – albeit with reduced capacity.
The current plan sees outdoor sports events limited to 4,000 people or half capacity (whichever is lower) from 17 May with all limits lifting on 21 June.
But whether the Queen will attend and the usual royal carriage parades will take place remain to be seen.
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