Häagen-dazs & Dimitrov Launch “let’s Play”

For the third year running, Häagen-Dazs is returning to the All England Club as the official ice cream of The Championships, Wimbledon, with world number six Grigor Dimitrov on board as an ambassador. 

As part of the campaign, Grigor Dimitrov’s favourite ice cream flavour, Cookies & Cream, is taking on the classic champion, Strawberries & Cream, to discover the number one flavour of the summer.

The “Let’s Play” campaign, devised by London-based creative agency Space, aims to highlight the characteristics of both the brand and Dimitrov by introducing his favourite flavour as the new challenger to the traditional favourite. 

To mark the collaboration, the brand is introducing a limited-edition stick bar designed by Grigor, which will be launched exclusively for Wimbledon. 

Commenting on the campaign, Grigor Dimitrov, global ambassador for Häagen-Dazs, said: “I’ve been a Häagen-Dazs Cookies & Cream guy all my life, so when my favourite ice cream brand asked me what flavour I wanted as my limited-edition for my favourite tournament, the answer was obvious as it’s the one flavour I can’t live without. I’m thrilled to be the creator of the flavour challenge for this summer’s #letsplay campaign and had a great time collaborating on my limited-edition which I hope everyone will get to enjoy during The Championships. I love Wimbledon and all its traditions, but this time, I am hoping to start a new one with my Cookies & Cream.” 

In the build-up to The Championships, Wimbledon, the brand will also be activating the ‘Champion vs Challenger’ series around LTA events, including The Queen’s Club featuring fan engagements with Grigor himself and the Women’s Tennis Association’s (WTA) Tennis On The Thames event at Bernie Spain Gardens on London’s Southbank. 

Head of marketing at Häagen-Dazs, Arjoon Bose, said: “We are thrilled to be launching our third Häagen-Dazs summer as official ice cream of The Championships, Wimbledon. This year, however, we wanted to be more disruptive and playful, taking a cue from our very own super fan and ambassador Grigor Dimitrov who really germinated the idea for this unexpected flavour challenge, to create what we believe is our most engaging Wimbledon campaign to date. Grigor is a major challenger for Wimbledon himself and backing #TeamCookies which is certainly raising the stakes. But with our Strawberries & Cream keeping the bar high from last year, can Grigor’s favourite live up to the challenge and convince the nation? You decide!”

David Atkinson, managing director at Space, added: “Space is proud to bring to life the collaboration between Häagen-Dazs and Grigor Dimitrov to celebrate some of the brand’s classic flavours during this grass court season. We’d like tennis fans and ice cream lovers to try both flavours and declare support for their favourite. So often ambassadors have only a tenuous link with the brand that they support, and it’s been refreshing to work with someone like Grigor who is sincerely passionate about his love for Häagen-Dazs.”