Häagen-Dazs picks nice&frank as lead US creative agency and makes Super Bowl plans

Häagen-Dazs has named nice&frank as its new U.S. lead creative agency and announced plans to buy its first Super Bowl spot. This is a significant win for nice&frank, which was founded in October 2022 and has already worked with companies including Blackstone and PepsiCo, and fitness brand Les Mills. The nine-person shop, which has outposts in New York and Los Angeles, hit $4.5 million in revenue during its first full year in 2023 and was recently named Ad Age’s 2024 Newcomer of the Year. Agency Review Tracker Stay up to date with the latest account reviews Click here “Their energy, focus and collaborative spirit matched ours,” Rachel Jaiven, head of marketing for Häagen-Dazs U.S., said of nice&frank. “We don’t have a business challenge on our hands, but the ‘why now’ is because we wanted to continue to challenge the boundaries of our storytelling and reach that next level of growth.” Cartwright, the incumbent on the account, did not attempt to defend the business. “Though our partnership with Häagen-Dazs has ended, we are proud of what we’ve accomplished together for the brand’s image through ‘Thät’s Däzs,’ elevating Häagen-Dazs beyond the realm of traditional luxury, making it synonymous with cool, contemporary indulgence,” Cartwright previously said in a statement to Ad Age. The review—which took a couple of months—was handled internally, marking the latest in a series of pitches led by marketers instead of search consultants. The decision comes as General Mills, which sells Häagen-Dazs outside of North America, is also conducting a broad creative review. The change comes as the ice cream category is facing headwinds, including higher ingredient costs, price-sensitive consumers and increasing usage of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic. A Morgan Stanley survey suggested that ice cream consumption will fall 5.3% in the next 10 years. To stay relevant, analysts predict that ice cream brands will need to lean into premium ingredients and focus on smaller portion sizes. Read more on the state of ice cream marketing Drumstick, another Froneri brand, made its Super Bowl debut this year with a spot from Opinionated featuring Eric Andre. Häagen-Dazs is set to get its Big Game moment next year. It is the second brand to confirm an ad buy for the Feb. 9 game on Fox, following Skechers. “We were excited to see how Drumstick showed up, but for us, the Super Bowl is an incredible stage and appropriate time to talk about food,” Jaiven said. “Our decision to participate came down to the growth and opportunity we see in Häagen-Dazs.” Häagen-Dazs was formerly owned by Nestlé in the U.S. but is now owned by Froneri, which assumed control of it as part of a transaction announced in late 2019. Häagen-Dazs spent $38 million in U.S. measured media last year, up from $33 million in 2022, according to Vivvix, which includes paid social data from Pathmatics. Häagen-Dazs’ U.S. sales totaled $1.2 billion in 2023 and it has been focused on driving brand awareness to attract new customers, according to Froneri’s annual report. Spark Foundry handles U.S. media for the brand.

Häagen-Dazs picks nice&frank as lead US creative agency and makes Super Bowl plans

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