The Swedish sportswear company Bjorn Borg worked with a neurologist to combine exercise and classical music on a campaign called ‘Smartness’ which takes a creative approach to exploring what happens in our brains when we work out.
Launched on 9 September, the initiative is based on the idea that both training and classical music demonstrably make you smarter and this led to creating what the brand describes as the world’s smartest workout symphony ‘Symphonia Exercitii et Intelligentia’.
The Swedish sports-led clothing company put a training expert, a neurologist, and a classical music composer together to create a piece of music built on an ‘optimized beats per minute (BPM) with the scientifically supported objective increasing workout results and brain power when listening to the track whilst exercising.
The project, developed in harness with agency Nord DDB, culminated with a classical symphony (composed by Jonas Valfridsson and performed by Swedish orchestra Jönköpings Sinfonietta) optimized to help listeners work out and become more intelligent and the full 10-minute cinematic symphony was made available on Spotify.
This was promoted through a 2-minute 50-second online music video.
To practice what it preaches, while shooting the spot Björn Borg move its compulsory in-house office workouts (which it calls ‘sports hour’) to a concert hall where the staff experienced the symphony performed live by the Jönköpings Sinfonietta.
“To be asked to write a symphony for a workout was an unusual request, and a challenge as a composer. With inspiration from my favorite ‘Rocky’ workout anthems, it feels like I have composed the soundtrack to my own superhero movie,” said composer Valfridsson.
“I also wanted the piece to have an upbeat and rhythmic feel, without losing the melodies and counterpoints of classical music. Through the music I want to convey the feeling of facing a challenge and the proudness in fighting and overcoming it.”
“We want to inspire and encourage people to exercise,” says Emma Bengtsson, brand communications manager at Björn Borg. “We know how good it feels, but by talking about the positive benefits in relation to our brain, we now know it’s not just about a feeling—it’s science. With this symphony we talk about how working out can make us smarter. At the Bjorn Borg office, we work out together, and we wanted our team to experience this magical symphony performed live by an orchestra. And, of course, sweat it out on stage while listening.”
The campaign was created for Bjorn Borg Brand Communication Manager Emma Bengtsson, Marketing Director Anna-Karin Lingham, Brand Creation Manager Åsa Scherman and Social Content Specialist Cecilia Eklund by a team from agency Nord DDB which included Art Director Anna-Emilja Salonen, Copywriters Therése Bohlén-Kinn and David Alledal, Graphic Designer Can Hagström Cetindag, Client Director Johan Ljungman, Client Manager Tina Munck, Creative Producer Tobias Bergenwall, Planners Andrea Dahlbäck and Johan Rynell, PR Director Susanne Johansson, Social Media & Content Creative Jonas Eriksson, Motion Graphics Artist (Retouch – Photography) Christian Bjornerhag and Chief Creative Officer Andreas Dahlqvist.
The production company was House Agency with Agency Producer Jacob Fagerström and Director Matilda Callenbo, plus Director of Photography André Lindholm, Editor/Grade Edward Lever, online was handed by Olle Lindholm, Sound Editor Olle Ljungman and the sound editing was by The Line.
Comment:
Brain training and smart neuroscience is currently a hot topic in many fields including in advertising and marketing where notably initiatives range from Ford Motor Sport’s ‘Brain Training Helmets’ (see case study) to New Balance’s 2018 TCS New York Marathon activation (see case study).
Indeed, Bjorn Borg itself has a strong track record for exploring the psychology of sport through initiatives such as its March 2019 ‘Rage Gym’ project which let people slam doors and throw stuff at brick walls.
This is yet another imaginative initiative in the brand’s heritage of inventive and creative marketing campaigns which have included the blockchain based ‘Marriage Unblocked’ in 2018 (see case study), plus its ‘Exerhighs’ pop-up store (see case study) and its 2017 ‘Tennis Across Borders’ initiative (see case study).
Links:
https://www.youtube.com/user/insideratbjornborg
https://www.instagram.com/bjornborg/
Nord DDB
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