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.

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.

The campaign was produced in record timing, being presented, approved and produced in less than 24hr to match the key date: July 19th. That was when the media outlets around the world were talking about the unprecedented temperatures in the UK. As soon as this campaign was aired, we shared it with the main media outlets in Great Britain and on the brand’s social media platforms. Our pitch was in line with Magnum's reputation – a day without pleasure is a day lost, luckily even on the hottest day in the Nation’s history there’s still room for pleasure. Then, the journalists and the people online did the rest.

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.