Gillian Anderson fronts Team GB Official Sleep Partner Dreams’ Paris 2024 campaign

Late May saw Dreams leverage its status as the official sleep partner of Team GB through a UK, integrated campaign fronted by actress Gillian Anderson and a strong line up of Olympic and Paralympic athlete ambassadors (including swimmer Tom Dean and wheelchair racer Hannah Cockroft) all inhabiting a calm, dreamlike brand world and calm, soothing ad atmosphere.

Objective

Ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics (which run from 26 July to 11 August and 28 August to 8 September), the UK mattress brand aims to leverage its rights and harness the hype and excitement ahead of the Games by boosting national pride and team support, while linking its existing brand environment and positioning with the fact that sleep and rest enhances athletic performance.

The sponsor seeks to show its support for every GB athlete with its products and sleep performance training and drive home a message that it is an expert in understanding the powerful effect sleep has on performance for elite athletes and for everyone.

Activation

The multi-channel campaign is fronted by a series of TV adverts created by agency M&C Saatchi and helmed by Director Andrew Gaynord at Mindseye.

The four spot series sees actor Anderson – arguably best known for her roles in The X Files, Sex Education and The Crown – talking softly, yet directly to the camera as she introduces the sleeping sports stars (and even takes a sneaky selfie with one) while explaining that the Dreams’ beds they are sleeping on will help them achieve their sporting potential.

The creative establishes a distinct, yet gentle soft and calm brand world of gentle tones and deep purple hues which create a reassuring, even alluring branded ad atmosphere.

Anderson’s whispered tones and direct gaze encourage viewers to lean in and join her on a tour of this branded, elite athlete dormitory: she draws consumers in and immerses them in the brand environment.

The hero spot, ‘Dreams Beds x Team GB | Official Sleep Partner’, dropped across TV and owned and paid online platforms from 24 May.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5oQR-2kcXA

Other strands of the Dreams’ Paris 2024 activation programme include a ‘Sleeps Remaining’ until the Olympics and Paralympics countdown clock on the brand’s website

While earlier in 2024, led by an event marking World Sleep Day (15 Match, 2024), Dreams’ and Team GB showcased the effect sleep has on performance and discussed how the sponsor was supporting all GB athletes at Paris 2024 with a sleep performance training programme, athlete interviews, marketing content and an expert guide on how to sleep better and perform at your best.

This included launching the ‘Dreams Sleep Retreat’ as part of its Paris 2024 programme which included a weightlifting masterclass with Team GB silver medallist Emily Campbell, tips about rest and recovery for fuelling performance and the unveiling of the ‘Dreams Sleep Pods’ which are available to athletes during the Games to promote healthy recovery and plenty of sleep.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X53fk3U3F98

The campaign actually began in earnest back in August 2023 – a year prior to the Games – when Dreams began rolling out spots in its social series titled ‘Whose Paralympic dream started in this bedroom?’ to introduce its athlete endorser team. An initiative which ran through Spring 2024.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plctax3IbD0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqFHI74-qhk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdM1U6b2W9o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d0j656d4Zc&t=1s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQSr9u3RU-k

Credits

The campaign was briefed and commissioned by a Dreams team led by Chief Marketing Officer Jo Martin, Marketing Director Simon Moore and Marketing Manager Sally Browne.

It was conceived and created by a group at creative agency M&C Saatchi which included Creative Partner Guy Bradbury, Senior Creatives Alex Lucas and Jon Farley, Managing Partner Christian Davis, Business Director Claire Maddocks, Senior Account Manager Brydie Heaphy, Chief Strategy Officer Sophie Lewis, Strategy Director Lucy McCarthy, Senior Film Producers Alessia Small and Charlie Lonngren, Project Director Duncan Collins and Assistant Producer Matt O’Neil.

The production company was Mindseye with Director Andrew Gaynord, Executive Producer Charlie Phillips, Producer Hera King and Director Of Photography Benedict Spence.

The Offline Editor was Mark Edinoff of Work Editorial, while online post and colour was by 1920vfx, grade by Kai Van Beers with VFX Ryan Hadfield and CG Mike Farrar.

Sound was created by 750mph’s Sam Ashwell and Mike Bovil, while the music company was Twenty Below Music. 

Comment

Calm and soothing, this is Dreams’ third ad instalment featuring the Sex Education star and it sees Gillian Anderson deliver a charismatic, whispering performance and almost steal the show. But the creative’s brand world and its attention to detail (for example, the athletes sleep next to / cuddle up with their respective sporting equipment) ensures the brand and the rights owner don’t get entirely lost beneath the actresses star turn.

Previous Dreams’ Gillian Anderson ads (not all of which are part of the Team GB activation programme) have included:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd0f5ccckeU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXONrFlPF0Y

Other Dreams’ Team GB activations from previous Games have included 2021’s ‘Sleep Like True Olympians’, plus 2021’s ‘A Winning Bedtime Routine’ and Beijing 2022’s Winter Olympics marketing.

This case study originally appeared on Activative: which offers clients creative and strategic intelligence to fuel game-changing sports and sponsorship marketing. www.activative.co.uk