The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) teamed up with agency McCann London to launch its annual promotional campaign for The Championships called ‘Always Like Never Before’ featuring a historic series of incredible ‘like never before’ Wimbledon moments.
Rolling out from 12 June and spearheaded by an inspirational trailer, the campaign spans digital, social, OOH and broadcast channels and will run through to the start of the SW19 tournament.
Each iconic poster moment from the anchor spot will be rolled out one-by-one in the lead-up to The Championships as part of the campaign’s social strand to attract new audiences and engage existing ones around the world.
The trailer blends archive footage, 2D illustrations, 3D animations, CGI and photography to revisit famous Wimbledon moments as commemorative posters. Each heroeing an iconic match-up and featuring legends of the game such as Serena and Venus Williams, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, while juxtaposes these classic with contemporary history-makers and rising stars like Coco Gauff, Nick Kyrgios, Ons Jabeur and Alfie Hewett.
The trailer, helmed by Director Ernest Desumbila at Iconoclast/Sauvage, aims to pay tribute to the tournament’s history and its career-defining moments, while simultaneously inviting fans to engage with a new generation of tennis talent.
‘Always Like Never Before’ was posted online on the AELTC’s own channels from 12 June and encourages viewers to ‘follow all the action this summer’ by joining ‘myWimbledon’ for a personalised Wimbledon experience that spans information on Championships ticketing and the public ballot at http://wimbledon.com/mywimbledon.
The team at McCann London collaborated with award-winning hip-hop and electronic producer, composer and DJ Hudson Mohawke who wrote an electrifying soundtrack for the through-the-line campaign featuring vocals by GiGi Grombacher.
The full length audio track, which was penned to encapsulate the spirit which this year’s campaign brings to Wimbledon, is available on all digital streaming platforms – including Spotify and Apple Music – from 28 June.
“You just need to watch one episode of Netflix’s Break Point to understand that we’re at a pivotal moment in tennis,” explained Wimbledon Marketing & Commercial Director Usama Al-Qassab. “We’re blessed with a raft of new players coming through the ranks, full of passion and hunger, and ready to make their mark on the tour. It’s an exciting, once in a sporting generation time, and we had to reflect this mood in our new trailer. After all, a day at Wimbledon is always like never before. Produced with our creative partners at McCann London, the trailer skilfully weaves together archive action with various creative techniques to produce a series of stunning filmic posters.”
McCann London Creative Director Matt Searle and Olly Wood added: “Fans know they can always rely on Wimbledon to deliver: from immaculate grass to awe-inspiring tennis, nothing stands still. Greats of the game will bid farewell, but there is always new talent rising to seize the mantle. The mix of tradition and innovation is at the heart of our ‘Always Like Never Before’ campaign, which recognises the sport’s trailblazers, great rivals, mavericks and spirited legends who inspire us all and have created so many unforgettable moments at Wimbledon.”
Soundtrack producer Hudson Mohawke commented: “I’ve been watching Wimbledon on TV since I was a young boy, so to be a part of this year’s trailer feels surreal. We’re seeing a new wave of legends define history in the tennis world, and I wanted to make a soundtrack that reflected this juncture and the tantalising mood that comes with it – it’s something that’s hard to put your finger on but you can just feel it in your chest. I’ve used terms such as ‘fearless’, ‘strong’, ‘stand my ground’ and ‘holding on’ in the vocals, to echo the nature of competitive sport and just how hungry this next generation of stars is for success.”
The campaign client was a team at The All England Lawn Tennis Club led by Marketing Director Usama Al-Qassab, Brand Managers Harry Kerr and Sarah Lopeman, Creative Director Alessandro Perottoni and Content Manager Will Giles.
The initiative was conceived and created by a group at agency McCann London which included Chief Creative Officers Laurence Thomson and Rob Doubal, Creative Directors Matt Searle and Olly Wood, Art Director Ran Stallard, Copywriter Amanda Devarajan, Managing Director Tommy Smith, Account Director Charlie Pullan, Strategy Director Emily Ellis-Mitchell, Project Manager Natalie Cummings and Design Director Lisa Carrana.
Production was handled by Craft London with Chief Production Officer Ben Clark, Managing Director Tanya Bogin, Head Of Production Amos Usiskin, Producer Sarah Hall, Executive Producer Chris Graves and Business Affairs Manager Clare Betts.
Additional production was through Iconoclast with Executive Producer Guy Rolfe and Producer Campbell Beaton, plus Sauvage with Director Ernest Desumbila and Executive Producer Llibert Figueras.
Music and sound was run through Factory with Sound Engineer Jack Hallett, Executive Producer Deborah Whitfield and Producer Beth Massey.
PR was by BCW Worldwide where the team was led by Account Manager Fiona Baird, while media was by TwoCircles.
Comment
The release of the bespoke campaign track across streaming services is a first from Wimbledon and this campaign follows on from previous AELTC promotional marketing bursts in 2022 such as ‘The Stage Awaits Centre Court 100’, ‘The Stage Awaits’, ‘The Hill In NY’ and ‘Wimbleworld In Roblox’, plus 2021’s ‘It’s A Wimbledon Thing’ and its 2020 Covid-19 influenced ‘The Greatest Championships’ and ‘Wimbledon Recreated’.
The Championships 2023 starts with a Qualifying Competition on 26 June, before the main draw fortnight of action is served up from 3 July.
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