‘Ab ra ca dab ra’ 

In Brompton’s new campaign, the five simple sounds represent the five movements it takes to unfold a Brompton bike.

In a first-ever global brand campaign, developed in partnership with ScienceMagic, Brompton focuses on the sleek engineering of its foldable product showing just how easy it is for customers to create a bike as if by magic.

The campaign has been inspired by the idea of ‘transformative freedom’, a state of being that is enabled by the product. The creative also draws inspiration from the brand’s founder Andrew Ritchie, whose original brief to himself was to design a ‘magic carpet’ which would make traveling across London easier for all.

Building upon this notion the creative concept plays on the idea of the well known magical phrase ‘ab ra ca dab ra’. In a video at the heart of the campaign, the five sounds of the phrase coincide with one of the just five folds needed to create a fully functioning bike.

The product is at the centre of the campaign which features clean, simple shots of the product and each of its folding mechanisms. Alongside the satisfying shots is a snippy, playful ‘voice’ that makes noise with each movement. The routine of unfolding the product is fluid and paired with “ab ra ca dab ra” type animated matching the style.

The concept allows the brand to show off the unique selling point of the product whilst also highlighting how the bike is able to ‘magically’ transform travel with ease.

“The magic of this campaign is it's rooted in our founder, Andrew Ritchie's original idea behind the Brompton; to make a bike that you could fold up and almost put in your pocket, like a magic carpet for the city. “ab ra ca dab ra” brings this to life whilst putting our product front and centre but with an added layer of warmth and humanity. Each execution is as beautifully crafted as our bikes, reflecting the precision engineering that goes into every Brompton,” explains Shelly Pearce, Global Brand Director at Brompton. 

The campaign aims to connect with an audience segment identified by the brand dubbed the ‘Urban Outsiders’. This group of consumers are identified as  people with an urban mindset who are both living and exploring a city. 

The campaign hopes to drive growth and brand awareness while reframing perceptions of the brand and breaking down any barriers to purchase. In order to reach the relevant audience the media activations have been developed with globally consistent but locally relevant executions for each market. These executions will  tackle specific issues audiences face in their cities.These challenges range from  a lack of space in New York, to too much congestion in Beijing. Media planning and buying for the brand campaign will be handled by Havas Market.

With just five sounds the brand brings to life the ease and speed of its bikes. The simplistic concept is able to neatly package up the brand values and showcase the reasons why audiences across the globe would benefit from buying a Brompton.