2022 marks a significant milestone in Wimbledon’s history, as the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) celebrates 100 years since the opening of the iconic Centre Court at Church Road.
To highlight this landmark moment and look ahead to the next 100 years, AELTC has today released an inspiring animated TV trailer, ‘The Stage Awaits’, created by McCann London, building anticipation for this year’s Championships.
Featuring three young Wimbledon fans who are inspired by the magnetic wonder of Centre Court, the 60” animation combines the thrill of tennis, the celebration of style and the awe of the club’s grounds – the three elements which encapsulate the unique magic of Wimbledon.
As the viewer follows each of the characters on their imaginative journey, we witness Wimbledon through their eyes, feeling the excitement that the iconic event instils in so many of us. The film features tennis greats including, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic and Emma Raducanu. Watch below:
Wimbledon, as an event, is guided by its Brand Essence ‘In Pursuit of Greatness’, a promise to never rest on its laurels and perpetually better itself in everything that it does, from its beginnings in 1877 to the hi-tech, performance-driven game of today.
The animation speaks to this essence, showing how fans, in their own pursuit, can achieve great heights.
REELated: Squeak E. Clean Australia adds Cecil Coleman
“After two years of disruption, we couldn’t be more excited to welcome fans from all over the world back to Wimbledon. What makes this year even more special is the fact that we’re marking the centenary of Centre Court at Church Road. This impressive milestone speaks to the legacy of The Championships, and this year’s campaign trailer ‘The Stage Awaits’ further demonstrates how the event is a pillar of inspiration for our fans worldwide. We can’t wait to see what the next 100 years has in store for Wimbledon – the next century starts now,” says Alexandra Willis, AELTC Director of Communications and Marketing, said
Rob Webster and Alexei Berwitz, Creative Directors at McCann London, add: “For one of the biggest sporting events in the calendar, Wimbledon has always been about much more than just tennis. This film is packed fuller than a strawberry punnet with all the things that make Wimbledon so special, from history and architecture to spectacular floral and fashion displays and of course Serena’s epic forehands.”
The film was written and art directed by Rory Peyton Jones and Elliot Lee at McCann London, directed by Smith & Foulkes at Nexus Studios and produced through Craft London, will launch exclusively to Wimbledon’s guest database my Wimbledon on 6th of June and will be shown across social and broadcast ahead of and during the Championships, which start on the 27th of June this year.
Smith & Foulkes, Directors, Nexus Studios, told Reel 360 News: “This was the sort of creative brief that you dream of, taking a cherished National Institution and completely re-imagining it as a vivid dream. We looked at the iconic images of Wimbledon through a lens of surreal invention, packing every scene with unexpected twists, using a textural illustrative look and seamless transitions to create a fluid stream of consciousness. It was a chance to paint a picture of Wimbledon that isn’t all about the tennis, focussing as much on the iconic architecture and sense of social occasion, although there’s obviously a fair sprinkling of the tennis greats along the way.”
The launch of the animation spearheads ‘The Stage Awaits’ campaign, which marks the centenary of Centre Court at Church Road and celebrates its rich history, and looks ahead to the future, promising that the next 100 years of the Wimbledon Championships will be just as good.
Wimbledon goes from June 27 through July 10. Notable absentees include Roger Federer, Leylah Fernandez and Serena Williams.
CREDITS:
BRAND: Wimbledon
CLIENT: THE ALL ENGLAND LAWN TENNIS CLUB:
- Head of Communications, content and digital: Alexandra Willis
- Marketing and Brand Lead: Harry Kerr
- Commercial and Marketing Executive: India Crawley
- Creative Lead: Alessandro Perottoni
AGENCY: MCCANN LONDON
- Chief Creative Officers, McCann UK and Co-Presidents, McCann London: Rob Doubal and Laurence Thomson
- Creative Directors: Rob Webster and Alexei Berwitz
- Creatives: Rory Peyton Jones and Elliot Lee
- Managing Partner: Tommy Smith
- Project Director: Steph Dix
- Chief Strategy Officer: Theo Izzard-Brown
- Strategy Director: Emily Ellis
AGENCY PRODUCTION COMPANY: CRAFT LONDON
- Chief Production Officer EMEA: Ben Clark
- Head of Integrated Production: Sophie Chapman-Andrews
- Executive Producer: Amos Usiskin
- Producer: Jacob Gardner
- Post-Producer: Filipa Kinomoto
- Music Supervisor: Chris Graves
- Editor: Matt Dollings & Sam Mitchell
- Business Affairs Manager: Val Boyce
PRODUCTION COMPANY: NEXUS STUDIOS
- Producer: Rebecca Archer
- Production Manager: Edith Chappey
- Studio Lead: Bethany Levy
- Art Director: Melanie Climent
- Storyboard Artist: Louis Kynd
- Character Designer: Alexandra Petit
- Character Designer: Yujia Wang
- Lead Environment Designer: Brandon Coates
- Design support: Joe Dennis
- Design support: Cat Wong
- 3D Generalist: James Drummond
- 3D Generalist: Matilde Vinther
- Lead 2D Animator: Marylou Mao
- 2D Animator: Fanny Hagdahl Sörebo
- 2D Animator: Duncan Gist
- 2D Animator: Sean Weston
- 2D Animator: Hozen Britto
- 2D Animator: Bianca Beneduci Assad
- Clean up artist: Laura N-Tamara
- Clean up artist: Natalie Gray
- Clean up artist: Clementine Gautier
- Clean up artist: Louise Gregersen
- Clean up artist: Samira Tristani-Firouzi
- Clean up artist: Sivan Kidron
- Lead Compositor: John Taylor
- Compositor: Stuart Fortune
- Compositor & FX Animator: Richard Perrigo
- Compositor: Craig Maxwell
- Editor: Dave Slade
- Editor: Zaki Fulford
SOUND
Sound Studio: Factory
- Composition Title: Come Alive
- Artist: Summer Kennedy
PR handled by BCW
MEDIA handled by Mindshare
Follow us on our new Instagram Page!
