Lawn Tennis Association Launches First Brand Campaign To Draw More Players

The Lawn Tennis Association has "launched its first brand campaign to persuade more people to pick up a tennis racquet as the weather warms up," according to Shona Ghosh of CAMPAIGN LIVE. Created with BBH Sport, the "Go hit it" campaign attempts to "move tennis away from its middle-class stereotype." The TV spot shows an "ordinary pair playing a game at their local tennis court with running commentary from John Barrett, as if it were a professional match." The campaign launched Friday on TV, radio and outdoor, and is "part of a two-year strategy to get more adults into the game earlier in the summer." BBH Sport's Ewan Paterson, Kimberly Gill and Mareka Stake created the ad, which was directed by The Sweet Shop's Mark Albiston. The agency has been working with the LTA to "help position tennis to the consumer since March last year." Over the next two years, the LTA will "first focus on the regions, encouraging people through the radio and outdoor campaign to find their local tennis court." Next year's campaign will cover the U.K. "as a whole and is intended to build on strong engagement around the Davis Cup last year" (CAMPAIGN LIVE, 5/20).