'Connecting emotion with innovative design': Bugaboo on how it created its global campaign

When Bugaboo came rolling into the UK at the turn of the millennium, the pushchair market was defined by well-designed, if largely aesthetically unappealing, strollers and prams.

Amsterdam-based Bugaboo was the brand that shook up convention, redefining the category by bringing design to the fore. The somewhat clunky pushchair was transformed from boring necessity for new parents to stylish status symbol. 

It's a legacy that Bugaboo's latest ad campaign clearly plays on. Kelly Nairne, Bugaboo marketing director EMEA, spoke to Campaign about how the brand created the work in-house.

The centrepiece is a 30-second TV ad. Bugaboo has also created three 15-second category films around the topics of "newborn", "home" and "city". The work was created in-house after Bugaboo built its creative capabilities "learning, growing and redefining our strategic creative approach", Nairne says.

"We needed a brand campaign that builds a strong connection emotionally and, at the same time, shows off our innovative designs. Our creative team lives and breathes our brand and has the versatile skill set to make this happen and deliver work that is truly differentiating in the industry."

The campaign went live at the end of May on TV, with digital activity on Sky web channels as well as its YouTube, social and apps. Bugaboo will also use Sky Advance to retarget people who engaged with the ad. Activity will also include further media partnerships, influencer campaigns and events.

"For new parents it's all about experiencing life together, shaping their new life with and around their children," she says. "Parental perception has shifted from 'me' to 'we'. Our campaign incorporates this insight."

'Designed for the future'

The main spot opens with a stylised shot of a pregnant woman. “Hey you… Yes, you too,” the narrator says, addressing the mother, before the shot shifts to the foetus inside her. Various vignettes follow, of babies and couples with Bugaboo pushchairs.

“The world is yours, you know,” the voiceover continues. “What’s it going to be? Will you shape it? Save it? Make it? You just go with the flow, or against it.

“We design for wherever you take it. For day one. For the journey. For the future.”

The work is designed to promote some of its new products, such as the Bugaboo Giraffe, a five-in-one highchair, and the Bugaboo Stardust, a one-second-folding travel cot. The brand, which has B-Corp status, also says it is campaigning for a greener future and aims to reach net zero CO2 by 2035. Accordingly, Bugaboo's new brand platform is called "Designed for the future".

Nairne says the work was crafted from a "carefully curated combination of visual ingredients, with our brand anthem as its ultimate hero", ensuring all the visual elements were consistent and "part of one holistic vision, perfectly complementing each other in tone, attitude and style".

"We've developed a simple system, building further on the Bugaboo visual identity, that allows our content to be the hero, creating space for 'Designed for the Future' to come to life through a smart mix of lifestyle film, stills and product renders (CGI)," she says.

Challenges

There were challenges in producing the work in-house, not least due to the need to ignore the famous adage of not working with children or animals. 

"It was a big production," she says. "So yes you always encounter challenges, particularly when working with young children! It requires dedication and hard work, but the energy in our team made sure we were aligned on our goals and we're extremely proud of the outcome."

The campaign's objective is to grow brand recognition in the UK and other global markets, with work that forges an emotional connection between brand and audience.

There is a clear financial incentive, too. Amsterdam-based Bugaboo was founded in 1997. In 2018, it was acquired by US private equity giant Bain Capital (speculation at the time was for a price tag of around $222 million), while according to research company Technavio (cited in an FT article at the end of 2023), the global buggy market is forecast to increase at an annual rate of 6.25% between 2022 and 2027, growing the marketplace by some $4.3 billion.

Meanwhile, Bugaboo's sales have seen double-digit percentage growth in the past five years, and there have been rumblings of consolidation at the top of the market, including a possible sale of Bugaboo by Bain.

"Designed for the future": a brand slogan and a marketing mission that also appears to work as a statement of corporate intent.