Haagen-Dazs debuts new flavours, in tone as well as ice cream

The Haagen-Dazs TVC above is the main statement piece in a new campaign under a new brand platform concept: 'Don't hold back'. While not exactly revolutionary, it's bright and light and seems to represent a tangible and welcome shift for a brand that has always presented a surprisingly serious and even dour façade, considering it's a sugary treat.

The campaign is the first new work from Forsman & Bodenfors, which won the brand's global creative duties last year following a pitch that, according to the agency, demanded a commitment to greater inclusion. It shows.

The agency's Stockholm and Shanghai shops collaborated on the campaign, which is hitting more than 20 countries in Europe, Central and South America, Asia (including Australia) and the Middle East. It includes more than 40 films for TV and digital, as well as in-store activations, social media, local PR events, and new product launches.

The hero film above features Japanese singers/fashion icons Aya and Ami Suzuki, Swedish-Korean actress and director Nim Kyoung Ran Sundström, and styling by designer Selam Fessahaye. The music is a remake of "Galvinize", which won a Grammy for The Chemical Brothers. The buff couple enjoying some spa time is left unnamed in press materials.

Here's the brand's take on the philosophy at work in the new work, from Michelle Odland, global business director:

In an increasingly busy world full of pressures and expectations, we spend a lot of our life not being present. Time, genuineness, and real connection have become luxuries, as lives become simultaneously shared, but less open; connected, but lonely. The moments that stand out now are the ones where we let down our guard and let our authentic selves shine through. By saying 'Don’t Hold Back', we want to encourage people to let go and be truly present in a moment.

Ad Nut likes the new direction, but notes a disturbing lack of new nut-based flavour options. Perhaps in the fall?

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