Brompton's Anniversary Film Unfolds 50 Years of Cycling

Brompton is celebrating 50 years since its founder, Andrew Ritchie, created the first of its iconic folding bikes from his flat overlooking the Brompton Oratory in 1975.

Since then, circa 1.2million Brompton bikes have been designed and crafted in its London factory and made available in nearly 50 countries worldwide. In London alone, there are over 80,000 Brompton bikes currently on the road.

In a community now estimated to be 500,000+ strong, Brompton estimates that a collective 27,500 hours were spent socialising on its bikes in 2024 alone, leading to 3.1 years of riding and 8.2 million calories burned.

To coincide with its 50th birthday, Brompton is launching a new, long-term global brand platform, ‘Life Unfolded’, designed to celebrate the many physical and emotional benefits that Brompton riders from Beijing to Berlin talk about in online forums and IRL meet-ups around the world.

‘Life Unfolded’ launches with a new brand film, created by London-based creative agency, The Liberty Guild. With montage imagery taken from 50 years of Brompton history, the fast-paced aspirational 60-second hero film tells the stories of lives unfolded: powered and empowered by a 'portable, foldable and unstoppable' bike with 'small wheels and big ideals'.

​Jon Williams, CEO and founder at The Liberty Guild, added, “For 50 years Brompton has been the bike that folds. The fundamental shift that The Liberty Guild delivered for the brand is that… when you look at it with fresh eyes… it’s actually about unfolding. That’s when the magic happens. That’s when the road opens up. That’s when the possibilities become clear. That moment when you flick it open and its finely crafted mechanism clicks into place is the starting point for many, many stories. Stories that cross continents and generations. That simple viewpoint shift unfolds a new chapter for the next 50 years.”

​Chris Willingham, global marketing director at Brompton, added, “The Brompton is much more than just a bicycle - it opens up a whole new world of mobility for riders. It not only helps you move around your city differently, it helps you see it differently too. Its multi-modal portability enables you to go places and meet people you may never otherwise have discovered. I’ve seen more of London in my 9 months on a Brompton than I did in 30 years as a user of public transport.

“Once you understand what a Brompton can unlock, there’s no going back - this shared understanding is what brings our global communities together every week, offline and online. ‘Life Unfolded’ seeks to capture this joy and freedom by telling the stories that flow through our communities. It scratches the surface of how a humble folding bike can enhance people’s lives on a daily basis.”

This campaign coincides with a full brand refresh, designed to drive greater consistency and cohesion across channels and markets globally, creating foundations on which the company can build as it drives towards ambitious long term growth targets.