‘There’s you and there’s Royal Ascot you’

Horse racing is more than a sport, it’s an excuse for extravagance. This essence is captured in The Royal Ascot annual campaign, where horses play second fiddle to flamboyant outfits. It may seem at odds with promoting the event. Yet it’s a brave acceptance that awareness is high amongst their target, so they can focus on something greater than sport - the feeling that you get when you attend.

Horse racing is one of the last events - aside Wimbledon, Formula 1 - on the social calendar that carries this level of pomposity. It’s a great advantage but better still, it’s accessible. As The Sun aptly puts it, it’s where ‘Monarchs battle car salesmen for winners’; where else can you get such a spread of society? It’s the perfect melting pot, where Joe Bloggs can feel like an aristocrat for the day. Who knows, they may even be able to spend like one if they pick their horses well. Upmarket ticketed events are one of the greatest environments to reach the aspirational, which are perhaps underutilised by premium brands.

There is a dress code, but what you do with it is up to you. Sticking to their winning strategy, Royal Ascot have sought to push this further - to display more flamboyance. Emphasising the idea of expressing yourself and borrowing from the school of ‘what happens in Vegas…’. ‘There’s you and there’s The Royal Ascot you’ is a direct application of the human insight that pulls all of this together, boldly used as a tagline. It’s simple, direct and carries great meaning.

It’s a wonderful piece of advertising, a show of bravery and belief in the idea.

Above all, it’s a triumph of aspiration and accessibility.

We think they’re backing a winner.