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

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.