Häagen-Dazs made its Tremendous Bowl debut in February, enlisting the celebs of the “Quick & Livid” franchise to decelerate and revel in some ice cream. The advert scored effectively through System1 testing whereas driving engagement and development on social media, with the model seeing an 11% year-over-year enhance in views on Instagram and a 128% YoY soar in TikTok followers, based on info shared with Advertising and marketing Dive.
Whereas some Tremendous Bowl advertisements make their mark on recreation night time after which fade from reminiscence, many manufacturers are working to increase the shelf life of those efforts, partially as a strategy to justify what are sometimes multimillion-dollar investments. Häagen-Dazs has performed simply that, utilizing its Tremendous Bowl advert to kick off a bigger “Sluggish” model platform that it has continued to iterate on in 2025 with a completely built-in marketing campaign spanning TV, social, digital, influencer, out-of-home and sampling. “Sluggish” positions the 65-year-old model as a balm for customers looking for a second for themselves amid continued sociopolitical tumult, financial uneasiness and world strife.
“Savoring a while to your self does join with the world that we all know customers live in, the place it’s simply so quick, every part’s altering — I can barely sustain with all of the tendencies on TikTok,” stated Rachel Jaiven, head of promoting at Häagen-Dazs. “Individuals really feel over-programmed, and for those who’re not transferring quick, you are feeling such as you’re behind.”
Since constructing on the Tremendous Bowl push with a marketing campaign that launched in April, Häagen-Dazs has seen regular lifts in advert recall and consideration from the goal 25-34 12 months outdated viewers on YouTube, in addition to robust engagement throughout social platforms together with Meta and TikTok. The model believes its message is resonating at a deeper stage as effectively.
“This second to look after your self is one thing individuals actually crave. Everybody wants extra of this as a result of ‘sluggish’ is one thing that folks must survive,” Jaiven stated.
Range and influencers
To increase “Sluggish” past the Tremendous Bowl spot, Häagen-Dazs has adopted an industry-wide development of accelerating funding in influencers who’re valued for authenticity and amplification.
“Each single 12 months, we at all times are very targeted on discovering nice expertise, various voices and people who find themselves actually inventive as a method for us to pick out who may be an ideal companion for us to get that message out in a method that’s genuine and interesting,” Jaiven stated.
Häagen-Dazs works carefully with inventive relations company The Door and its workforce of influencers to find out find out how to finest showcase the model and the “Sluggish” story in a method that displays the passions and pursuits of creators. To that finish, the model launched “Sluggish Sundays” content material that integrates ice cream into peaceable weekend moments, an initiative supported on paid and natural channels.
Häagen-Dazs’ influencer push has lengthy been tied to its packages round variety. In 2023, it fulfilled a $1.5 million pledge to assist underrepresented creators that it made two years prior, on the top of brand name curiosity in responding to requires variety, fairness and inclusion which have since been broadly rolled again as a result of conservative backlash. Regardless of the anti-DEI headwinds, Häagen-Dazs stays dedicated to such work.
“It’s actually useful for the model, and likewise displays on the core what this model began with, which was our founding story about two splendidly proficient Polish immigrants who got here to the USA and had a dream to make an unbelievable ice cream,” Jaiven stated. “We need to assist take into consideration how these creators may be doing the following factor to assist rework what somebody would possibly expertise sooner or later.”
Together with its monetary commitments and social placements, Häagen-Dazs in June expanded its partnership with Allies in Arts, a nonprofit targeted on underrepresented creators, to show out-of-home placements into murals. The murals, made by three LGBTQ+ artists, ran in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco for two-month flights centered round Delight Month celebrations.
Company partnerships
Häagen-Dazs’ advertising work starting with the Tremendous Bowl has been made in partnership with indie store Good&Frank, which the model appointed its inventive company of document in July of final 12 months. Based in 2022, the upstart company has additionally labored with Frito-Lay model Doritos and well being tech firm Oura, and helps Häagen-Dazs present up in additional areas and locations.
“Since Häagen-Dazs is made to be savored with its unmatched clean and creamy texture, we’re targeted on highlighting these product truths by encouraging ice cream lovers to take a second to pause the chaos of on a regular basis life with us and revel in a much-needed, candy second of peace,” stated Erica Stevens, inventive director at Good&Frank, in emailed feedback.
Together with Good&Frank, Häagen-Dazs has collaborated carefully with The Door and Spark Foundry for the final a number of years. Collectively, the model and its company workforce proceed to search out distinctive methods to get the model’s “Sluggish” message in entrance of customers.
“We’ve seen some actually robust outcomes from campaigns,” Jaiven stated. “We’ve seen some actually nice development in a few of our key metrics with getting the best inventive on the market on the proper time to the buyer in very alternative ways which are serving to develop the model.”
