Häagen-Dazs creative returns to BBH after nearly 30 years

Bartle Bogle Hegarty has been appointed the global lead creative agency for Häagen-Dazs, reuniting an agency-brand relationship from the 1990s.

The appointment follows a competitive pitch process involving VCCP and Dentsu Creative. Oystercatchers worked with the General Mills brand on the review.

Stagwell-owned creative agency Forsman & Bodenfors won the account in 2019. 

BBH worked with the luxury ice cream brand in the early 90s, creating work based on adult sensuality, such as the “Dedicated to pleasure” press campaign. 

It was also behind the brand’s first TV ad campaign “Heat” from 1995.

Manuel Garabato, global brand director of Häagen-Dazs, said: “This isn't our first date with BBH. After appointing the agency in 1990, Häagen-Dazs rapidly became the most talked about ice cream brand in the world, thanks to the combination of the brand’s disruptive adult positioning and the cultural and creative brilliance of BBH. 

“Now we’re rekindling that relationship to create a bold and challenging approach to the category with a distinctive new global brand platform.”

In a statement, Häagen-Dazs said within the first year of working together in the nineties, Häagen-Dazs' annual sales grew close to fivefold.

Karen Martin, chief executive officer at BBH London, said: “Häagen-Dazs has a unique place in the creative legacy of BBH and getting the chance to reconnect with such an iconic brand feels like an incredibly special moment.

"We share the same passion and vision for the work and can’t wait to get going, again.”

Forsman & Bodenfors work for the brand included last year's “The Rose project”, a global campaign honouring Häagen-Dazs’ female co-founder Rose Mattus, which pledged bursaries to women trailblazers around the world.

The brand has also created experiences, including the pop-up, “Flavours of love”, in Covent Garden in 2023. 

Toby Southgate, the global chief executive of Forsman & Bodenfors, said: "We have had a great run on Häagen-Dazs and are really proud of the impact we've had over the last few years. We wish the whole Häagen-Dazs team every success in their new relationship with BBH, and we look forward to the evolution of the work."

The brand's 2019 pitch was unusual because it asked for ownership of the ideas presented and asked the agencies to commit to gender inclusion.

Saatchi & Saatchi had the business between 2015 and 2019.