Magnum is a Unilever-owned mostly European ice cream brand known for its chocolate covered vanilla ice cream bars on sticks and risque ad campaigns of ladies in semi sexually suggestive positions eating chocolate covered vanilla ice cream bars on sticks.
This year, the powers that be at the 14-year-old brand finally decided to seriously enter the US market (though they long used US stars to market their wares overseas). They tapped renowned German designer and creative director at haute couture fashion house Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld to create a series of online films featuring The O.C. star Rachel Bilson to promote the launch. Obviously.
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There are three shorts in the online video campaign. All star the calming and soothing effects a Magnum ice cream bar (now available at your local grocery store in six flavors including Classic, Almond, Double Caramel, Double Chocolate, White and Dark) can have on an incredibly attractive individual who is either chased by an excitable mob and equally attractive significant other, has a tough time being photographed, or is in need of a muse. The videos also all highlight why Lagerfeld is an household name in the fashion – and not film – industry.
Magnum’s online film series is pretty to look at, but it terms of story, it’s plain vanilla. You’d think Lagerfeld could conceive of something more creative than to portray the item he’s advertising as the focal point of, and catalyst for change in his characters and commercials, but I guess unapologetically putting the brand front and center is part of his forte.
If my decision to eat chocolate coated vanilla ice cream in bar form was based purely on online video marketing campaigns, I wouldn’t need more than five seconds to go for that Klondike bar.
