How Magnum Poked Fun at Its Copycat Competitors in Humorous Ad
Classic stick ice cream born in 1989 Magnum, has recently decided to address its copycats with its newest humorous campaign by LOLA MullenLowe.
In the spot, a woman finds out that her partner has been buying ‘fake Magnums’, which to her is unacceptable. She asks herself what else he might be lying about and embarks on a journey through their home, uncovering his lies one by one. Fake sports trophies, edited photographs from alleged adventures, fake weights at their home gym and even a fake moustache.
Deeply unsettled by the knock-off lifestyle she hadn’t previously suspected, the woman storms off to the nearest supermarket to get herself a pack of real Magnums.
Centred around the insight that customers often succumb to imitation ‘Magnum-like’ ice creams, the brand knew that humour was the right tone to convey the main message of this campaign: Only Magnum is like Magnum.
LBB’s Zoe Antonov spoke to managing director at LOLA Tom Elliston and Tomas Ostiglia, executive creative director at LOLA, to find out more about the casting and writing of the campaign, as well as the agency’s long-standing relationship with the brand.
LBB> What was the brief for this project and how did you approach it initially?
Tom> What I love about this brief is that it came from healthy conversations and debates with the client about the growing threat from the imitations of Magnum. Being the leader of the category and the number one ice cream brand in the world, we had to get the proposition bang on, sounding confident, not defensive and leveraging our distinctive brand assets.
LBB> Have you worked with magnum before and if yes can you tell us a bit about the history between you and the client? How creatively involved were they in this process?
Tom> We have been working with Magnum for over 15 years. They are not just clients. They are partners. Friends. Family. The relationship is amazing in how we set the bar high and push each other to raise it even further. This campaign is a testament to the great relationship that we have where we could flex the brand but keep it true to its essence. The client team, in particular Ben Curtis, really showed immense bravery with this campaign and stuck to his guns. I’m sure it will pay off for him.
LBB> And what was the research or insight at the centre of the campaign? How did it lend itself to comedy?
Tom> The great thing is that the data was all around the product. When people eat an ice cream that is not a Magnum, they really notice it. Like a Magnum that is definitely not a magnum (I remember going round to a friend’s house and finding non-Magnum’s in their freezer and nearly kicking off with them). However, as a brand we could not sound arrogant and the comedy gave us the exaggeration needed to to cut through this.
LBB> Who was your target audience for the campaign and how did you address them in particular?
Tom> Basically, all people who naturally waver and consider other, cheaper options in these times. There’s been lots of reviews in the UK national press evaluating established brands against cheaper imitations. We needed to respond to this but cracking the right tonality was critical.
LBB> The narrative of the film heavily diverges from the standard ice cream advert - why did you decide that humour was the best way to approach this?
Tomas> Not only does it stand out from the category, but also from the language of our own communication. Comparing oneself to others is always a challenge for a leader, and books often advise against it. However, faced with the growth of Magnum imitators, we had to find a way. That's why we chose humour, but a subtle and elegant humour to stay true to the brand's world. This way, we could highlight our originality without sounding arrogant.
LBB> How important was the casting in the film and how was it carried out?
Tomas> Casting is always crucial, especially in a film where you have to convey a lot through contained performances. In Magnum productions, casting is key. In this case, we conducted casting sessions in Spain, France, and the UK to find the best actors for these roles.
LBB> How did you come up with the different 'fake' things in the two character's relationship and why was the moustache the perfect culmination?
Tomas> The truth is, in the script, we had a lot of examples of amusing situations for the film. For instance, fake fire, hair dye, and even a lifelike ceramic pet. However, we settled on those that we believed were in the right tone of humour. The moustache joke arose from the input of Ben Curtis, our client, who felt the need for a humorous peak at the end of the story, and he was right.
LBB> Tell me about the choice of the music and its role in the project?
Tomas> The music is Antonio Lucio Vivaldi's Concerto in G minor, and what we did was record the "fake, fake, fake" with a professional choir at Abbey Road Studios. We wrote these lines to synchronise with Vivaldi's original music and align with the scenes in the film. The seriousness of the music contrasts well with the comedy, and the choirs add freshness, originality, and a better understanding to the story.
LBB> An interesting moment is the main character having the original Magnum in her car, while it's pouring rain outside - another unorthodox choice when it comes to ice cream. What informed this decision?
Tomas> The rain is an element that complements the melodramatic tone of the story, providing a more original and less obvious backdrop to the positive aspect of the narrative, which is the consumption of the product.
LBB> What was the most fun part of creating the campaign?
Tomas> We had a good time throughout the process, but surely those who enjoyed themselves the most were the creative directors, Jorge Zacher and Kevin Cabuli, along with the creative team Pedro Mezzini and Augusto Callegari. They tossed around whimsical ideas that we later collectively refined and gave to Martin Werner, who did an exquisite job directing the film.
