BETC and Lacoste have made some remarkable commercials under the Life is a Beautiful Sport banner using running for drama. Their new film uses running too but its main aim is to reaffirm the brand’s bond with tennis. It’s also less drama and more play.    

This commercial, The Run, reaffirms the Lacoste identity, its style born of tennis and infused with a free-spirited, dynamic French elegance. In line with recent campaigns, a brand ambassador, in this case, Novak Djokovic makes the connection between brand and sport.

The film, directed by Fredrik Bond and produced by Stink France, holds attention with intrigue, the mystery of a free-spirited woman running through Paris with a ball in her hand. The city becomes her playground and her outfit intrigues. Polo shirt, pleated skirt – she could just as easily be on the street as on a court. Her run culminates on the Philippe-Chatrier Central Court at the French Open, a setting inextricably linked to Lacoste’s history, where the revelation occurs. The run was just one single gesture – returning a ball to play. The young woman is a ball girl. Facing her is Novak Djokovic, the brand’s ambassador, whose exacting standards and tactical brilliance have redefined the sport’s benchmarks.

The film is echoed in a poster campaign, shot by photographer, Angelo Pennetta. In everyday scenes with a familiar atmosphere, a tennis ball suddenly appears. Bodies stretch, lose their balance, and recover, in poses that blend tennis and fashion.

The full global campaign covers film, outdoor, digital, and social media. An enhanced presence at the French Open will extend the campaign’s reach, reaffirming the close bond between Lacoste and the tournament, historic partners for 55 years.

Eric Vallat, CEO of Lacoste, stated, “Lacoste was born from tennis, from which it is inseparable. Tennis inspires a style, an attitude, a way of being in motion that transcends time and generations. With Life is a Beautiful Sport, we reaffirm this vision: that of a sport which, like Lacoste, expresses itself through movement and attitude, and extends beyond the court to become part of life with fluidity and elegance.”

Nicolas Lautier, executive creative director, BETC Paris, added, “Our intention was to reinterpret Life is a Beautiful Sport with a more lifestyle-oriented, joyful, and free-spirited perspective. Lacoste is a brand born from tennis, one that has always conceived of style as a journey from the court to the street. The film captures this unique ability to be at ease in any situation, with that blend of boldness, lightness, and elegance inherited from René Lacoste’s original gesture: freeing movement to free style.”

Credits
Client: Lacoste
Agency: BETC Paris
Chief Creative Officer: Rémi Babinet
Executive Creative Director: Nicolas Lautier
Copywriter: Antoine Gauquelin
Art Director: Rayhaan Khodabux
Director: Fredrik Bond
Production Company: Stink France

Lacoste’s previous runs: