To build pre Wimbledon excitement ahead of The Championships 2018, the All England Club (AELTC) rolls out a new #TakeOnHistory campaign launched with an animated ad telling the 150 year story of the world’s oldest tennis tournament.
The aim is to illustrate the brand essence of Wimbledon’s pursuit of greatness’ big idea: a concept now in its third year.
The accompanying press release states that Wimbledon ‘champions a philosophy of constant improvement, which it demonstrates through content, its partners and its players’.
The 60-second animation honours both the tournament’s 150th anniversary and 50 years of Open tennis and showcases the evolution of Wimbledon from 1877 to 2018.
The cartoon commercial opens by illustrating the competition’s early days: complete with smartly dressed crowds and the first champion Spencer Gore.
The narrative arc then moves through the eras: the animation style morphing and switching as the years tick by.
The spot closes with manga anime imagery of today’s iconic champions Roger Federer and Serena Williams.
The story also shows an array of ways that the All England Club has changed and improved over time.
The launch phase of the campaign – which is led by three versions of the film (with various player combination focuses produced for different broadcast and fan markets) – is amplified across the usual channels from YouTube,
to Twitter,
The Championships 2018. Time to write a new chapter…#Wimbledon #TakeOnHistory pic.twitter.com/T4gmHiAJbD
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 10, 2018
Facebook and Instagram.
The hero film was followed up with additional content – such as a video featuring all the tournament match winning points in its history
and will be further supported by a follow-up series of content films rolling out across social media that focus in more depth on three key areas of Wimbledon: the gardens, the ticket resale scheme and the famous queue.
This campaign has been developed in harness with agency McCann London and Nexus Studios, while the spearhead spot was directed by Smith & Foulkes.
The campaign is scheduled to run for five weeks and will end at the close of The Championships 2018 on 15 July.
The work is also a continuation of Wimbledon’s “In Pursuit of Greatness,” brand position, which is in its third year.
“This is a significant year for Wimbledon, not least because we are celebrating the 150-year anniversary of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club,” explained AELTC head of marketing and commercial James Ralley.
“This beautifully crafted film depicts the tireless pursuit of greatness Wimbledon represents, not just for our players and fans but as a global event. History is the benchmark that we judge ourselves by – and we are immensely proud to show the richness of our history through amazingly imaginative illustrations and incredible craftsmanship.”
Rob Doubal, McCann London’s chief creative officer added: “We’re really proud of this campaign, which perfectly captures how much Wimbledon has changed over the years and gone from strength to strength. The guys at Nexus were incredible at capturing the changing styles, not just of design and fashion, but of the Club, the players’ techniques and the atmosphere. All while staying true to the Wimbledon brand people know and love today.”
Comment:
Technically dazzling and strikingly eye-catching, the joint AELTC, McCann and nexus team has served up an ace ad.
It builds on last year’s ‘In Pursuit Of Greatness’ Wimbledon multi-platform campaign that linked modernity with tradition (see case study).
And this animation is another great approach to continue to blend the traditional with the contemporary.
After all, when it comes to the Grand Slam tournaments, Australia is ‘fun’, France is ‘elegant’, the US Open is ‘gritty and loud’, while Wimbledon is ‘tradition and history’.
For a further taste of pre grass Grand Slam excitement, check out Activative’s review of our Top 5 innovative Wimbledon campaigns from last year (see case study).
Links:
All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club / Wimbledon
http://www.youtube.com/wimbledon
https://www.facebook.com/Wimbledon
https://www.instagram.com/wimbledon/
McCann London
Nexus Studios
