On July 18th, global media outlets announced that the following day would be the hottest day in the history of the United Kingdom. Magnum, the world's most iconic ice cream brand, wanted to respond in real-time to this conversation with a proposal that would refresh the spirits of a country unaccustomed and unprepared for such high temperatures.

Echoing a phrase that the British were repeating in the streets, in the media, and on social networks, "I'm melting," the brand decided to show how their ice creams lost their shape under the effects of the heat. Thus, they launched the first campaign in which the famous ice cream figure was not shown.

The objective of this campaign was to capitalize on the ongoing global conversation to remind the British people that even on the hottest day of the year, there is always time for pleasure. This allowed us to generate positive content that could also be adopted by the media to continue discussing the news from a different perspective.

On July 18th, 2022, news outlets around the world announced that the following day would be the hottest day in Great Britain’s history. So Magnum decided to remind people that even in that unprecedented heat there’s still time for pleasure. The goal was to connect and comfort people in a country that was not ready to handle temperatures over 40ºC. In less than 24 hours, Magnum launched “Melting Icon”, an outdoor campaign portraying how the classic ice creams lose their iconic shapes because of the heat.

Great Britain isn’t a country ready or accustomed to hot temperatures. The average highest temperature during summer is 18ºC. In 2022, it surpassed 40ºC for the first time in its history.

On July 18th, 2022, news outlets around the world announced that the following day would be the hottest day in Great Britain’s history. So Magnum decided to remind people that even in that unprecedented heat there’s still time for pleasure. The goal was to connect and comfort people in a country that was not ready to handle temperatures over 40ºC. In less than 24 hours, Magnum launched “Melting Icon”, an outdoor campaign portraying how the classic ice creams lose their iconic shapes because of the heat.

"Melting Icon" was presented, approved, and produced in less than 24 hours. In record time, we conducted a photo shoot to capture the iconic melting Magnum ice creams. We collaborated with photographer Ed Sanca and illustrator Nicolas Germani to ensure that this campaign had the elegance and beauty characteristic of the brand.

The next day, the series of five graphic pieces hit the streets. The ads were placed in various parts of Great Britain with a very simple message: "On the hottest day, enjoy it before it melts."

These pieces were also posted on the brand's social media. There, the response was so significant that Magnum decided to give away free ice creams at the Pleasure Store in London for the entire week.

For the Melting Icon campaign, the idea was to literally let the classic ice creams melt in the heat. The chocolate and the cream started to create combinations that were photographed by Spanish photographer Ed Sanca. This was Magnum’s first campaign that didn't feature the iconic shape of its ice cream, but only its other brand asset: the stick.

The images created a series of five different pieces that portray in an elegant way how artistically an ice cream melts on the hottest day in history, while still looking delicious. The goal was to keep developing the brand’s relationship with art in its highest level of craft, inspiring people to keep looking for the beauty even in an uncomfortable day.

Through outdoor digital ads alone, "Melting Icon" reached 529,524 people. People’s reaction to the Melting Icon campaign online was 100% positive so Magnum decided to give away free ice cream at the Pleasure Store throughout the week.

In addition, news outlets around the world picked up on the campaign, creating a new way to measure the heat: how long does it take for a Magnum to melt? With mentions in the country's major media outlets, such as the Daily Mail and The Sun, it achieved an estimated reach of 1.5 million people.

With this real-time campaign, Magnum had the opportunity to remind people that even on the hottest day in history, there’s always time for pleasure.