Marianne Calnan
Mar 14, 2024

Decathlon relaunches as a global sports brand with focus on 'Wonder'

Global brand consultancy Wolff Olins and creative agency AMV BBDO collaborated to rebrand Decathlon, the third-largest sports company globally, emphasising enjoyment, connection, and adventure.

Decathlon has kicked off a rebrand designed to help people “rediscover the joy of play”, promoted by a TV and out-of-home campaign.

The French sporting goods retailer worked with Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO on the campaign, while the rebrand was created by sister agency Wolff Olins.

The push includes a 60-second film called "Ready to Play" that asks, “What were we born to do?" People are shown exercising and playing sports, including wheelchair users playing basketball, an elderly man boxing and a baby crawling after a ball. The voiceover states: “Play is what we’re made for” before the tagline “Ready to play?”

Decathlon said the ad combines original and found footage to highlight how sport and fitness “truly occurs with real people around the world”.

It was directed by Hector Dockrill through Magna Studios.

The ad will also appear in 30-, 15- and six-second formats across TV, digital and social media. This comes alongside OHH and social media elements.

The OHH work features stills shot by Tom Sloan designed to capture the joy of real people at play across a range of sports.

The campaign will be unveiled at an event in Paris today (12 March) and in 70 markets starting this week.

Decathlon worked with Wolff Olins on the redesign for two years. This included strategy, design, internal culture and branding.

The sports retailer said the brand refresh found people’s “love for sport is not tied into the winning but in the enjoyment and wellness it brings”, which led to the development of its refreshed purpose "to move people through the wonders of sport".

It said the brand platform is designed to "make sport yours", which breaks away from the sport industry’s traditional focus on perfection.

Wolff Olins streamlined a portfolio of 85 brands into one unified Decathlon brand and created its new brand icon: L’Orbit, which will feature prominently on Decathlon’s products.

Barbara Martin Coppola, global chief executive of Decathlon, said: “Today marks a very special moment in both the history and future of Decathlon. More than ever, business needs to be a force for good. We hope that by moving people through the wonders of sport we can do that while building a new narrative for the category.

“We are overjoyed to reintroduce Decathlon to our customers, our teammates, our partners and our communities and really celebrate the start of a new era for our global business.”

The rebrand follows the appointment of Coppola as Decathlon’s global chief executive in 2022.

Celine Del Genes, global chief customer officer at Decathlon, said that the rebrand “unites Decathlon’s customer initiatives, and elevates how we go to market in a fresh and playful way”.

AMV BBDO has worked with Decathlon since last year.

Laura Rogers, executive creative director at AMV BBDO, said: “Play is at the heart of the Decathlon brand, from their stores to their people and now in their communications. We hope that this work, which is our first in partnership with the brand, inspires people everywhere to find that joyous spirit within themselves and get out there and play.”

Rogers was hired by AMV BBDO in November last year.

Source:
Campaign UK

Related Articles

Just Published

1 day ago

Agency Report Cards 2024: We grade 25 APAC networks

The grades are in for Campaign Asia's 22nd annual evaluation of APAC agency networks. Subscribe to read our detailed analyses.

1 day ago

Agency Report Card 2024: Initiative

After losing marquee clients Amazon and Lego, Initiative faces an uphill battle to rebuild its reputation, leaning on new tools, a "challenger" mindset, and a focus on e-commerce to stay competitive in a rapidly shifting industry.

1 day ago

Global CEO of WPP Media’s Nexus departs

Bidon has been global chief executive at Nexus since April 2022.

1 day ago

Mark Read: 'People are happier when they’re in the ...

WPP’s chief executive spoke at SWSW and touched on hybrid working, the future of the workforce with AI and whether brands will return to X.