Modern Citizens’ designs for the London waxwork museum shift the focus from glamour and fame to authentic emotions.
If you’ve ever got a spare day in London, you could do worse than spend it at Madame Tussauds: it’s a surprisingly fun place to visit. But the UK capital isn’t the only place to see waxworks of your favourite celebrities, stars and heroes. The brand is now present in an astonishing 24 cities across the globe, and welcomes over 10 million guests annually.
But despite its popularity, the brand can’t rest on its laurels. And so it’s just launched a new campaign that presents in a way that’s never been seen in its 190-year history.
Developed in partnership with modular agency Modern Citizens, the campaign moves away from the traditional celeb-centric approach that’s long defined the attraction’s marketing. Instead, it focuses on the interactivity of the guest experience and the emotional responses that visitors have when encountering lifelike figures of their favourite celebrities.
Getting to the heart of it
Stu Outhwaite Noel, chief creative officer at Modern Citizens, explains the thinking behind the new approach: “Madame Tussauds London isn’t just a place full of extraordinary celebrity figures,” he explains. “It’s a place filled with extraordinary emotions, reactions and feelings that visitors simply can’t get anywhere else. With this campaign, we wanted to make those completely unique feelings the star of the show, with our celebs—for maybe the first time ever in Tussauds advertising—the supporting cast.”
The campaign showcases three of the attraction’s most dynamic zones: the Marvel Hall of Heroes, the Awards Party and the Royal Palace. From Timothée Chalamet to Harry Styles, Iron Man to the Royal Family, the visuals demonstrate how Madame Tussauds offers a uniquely entertaining experience that cannot be replicated elsewhere.
“This campaign spotlights the array of unique and indescribable emotions you can only experience at London’s most immersive and impossible day out,” explains Steve Blackburn, general manager at Madame Tussauds London. “We’ve been curating and developing our experience for more than 150 years, with a supercharged refresh across the whole attraction in the last five, meaning it’s more dynamic, immersive and unmissable than ever.”
Campaign details and rollout
The campaign was produced by Eyeline Pictures and directed by Chloe Victoria Hughes, who brought a modern, vibrant and dynamic treatment to the creative. Media planning and buying was led by Wavemaker UK. Beyond the UK, the campaign will also appear in other key European markets including France and Germany. It is being adapted for use by Madame Tussauds Amsterdam too, with a launch scheduled for the end of April.
‘Feel it for Yourself’ will run primarily across audiovisual-first channels, including full-motion digital out-of-home advertising, online video and social media, alongside static outdoor sites throughout London.
A modern approach to a historic attraction
Overall, it’s a clever new approach that represents the latest development in the long-term partnership between Merlin Entertainments and Modern Citizens, which operates offices in London, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. By modernising the brand and emphasising the emotional aspect of visiting Madame Tussauds, the campaigns aims to connect with today’s audiences, who are primarily focused on the experience of visiting such an attraction.
“This campaign is the closest we’ve come to authentically emulating the feelings you experience when visiting Madame Tussauds London,” adds Steve. “We’re incredibly proud of the campaign we’ve created together with Modern Citizens.”
