Today in JWT New York news not related to Gustavo Martinez, the agency launched its first campaign for Nestlé-owned ice cream brand Häagen-Dazs, entitled “äah.”
The campaign arrives after the sweets brand moved its advertising business from Goodby Silverstein & Partners to JWT at the beginning of the month without much fanfare. GS&P had held the account since winning creative duties from JWT Chicago in 2003. (JWT last became the brand’s AOR way back in 2002, and its Japanese office made ads for Häagen-Dazs as recently as last year.)
The playful title nods to the brand’s name (which is a completely made up word) and its typically minimalist marketing. Unsurprisingly, this campaign is no exception to that rule.
In the 15-second spot “Vanilla,” an ice scream scooper slowly scoops up the brand’s vanilla offering while a voiceover asks how such a creation “so pure, yet so indulgent” could be summed up in words. The “äah” line then appears onscreen, followed by the the first two letters retreating into the brand’s logo. In addition to 15-second broadcast spots, the campaign, which launched this week, also includes a four-city OOH initiative arriving next month.
“Häagen-Dazs has always aspired to a nice, clean aesthetic. They strip everything down to the essentials—focusing on simple, pure, ultra-premium ice cream,” JWT New York executive creative director Chris Dealy explained to Adweek. “Aesthetically, we wanted to treat the layout like a very high-end fashion brand.”
Credits:
Client: Häagen-Dazs
Agency: J. Walter Thompson, New York
Campaign: “äah”
Executive Creative Director: Chris Dealy
Creative Director: Dominic Al-Samarraie
Art Director: Jessica Stewart
Copywriters: Erin Copithorne, Kate Delaney, Kyle Provo
Chief Creative Officer, JWT, NY : Brent Choi
Project Manager: Scott Kogos
Agency Account Team: Simona Margarito, Global Business Director; Katie Gallagher, Account Supervisor; Charlotte Deavers, Associate Account
Client Account Team: Kim Peddle Rguem ,VP, Marketing; Alex Placzek, director of Marketing; Kerry Hopkins, Brand Manager; Kim Chitra, Associate Brand Manager
TV Director: Torsten Eichten
Production Company: The Marmalade Films GmbH & Co KG
Photographer: Nigel Cox
Media Agency: Metavision