Magnum Rebrand

Design: Sunhouse
Location: United Kingdom
Project Type: Produced
Client: Unilever
Product Launch Location: Global
Packaging Contents: Ice Cream
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Cardboard

Magnum has updated it brand expression, reinforcing its status as the world’s most iconic ice cream. Crafted by its long-standing partners at Sunhouse, the new identity evolves the idea of pleasure as an exclusive privilege to pleasure as a liberation to be enjoyed by all.

Sunhouse initially began working on Magnum in 2011, and is the agency that elevated the ‘M-Stamp’ to its now instantly recognisable stature. In the 10 years since, the independent design studio has worked side-by-side Magnum and the cross-agency team to creatively guide the brand’s transcendence from leading ice cream brand to global fashion phenomenon.

This latest progression was driven by the need to recapture the brand’s distinctiveness. As the category’s preeminent offering, Magnum sets the standard for decadent indulgence. This has inevitably led to copycatting as well as persistent challenges from competitors. Sunhouse was briefed to strengthen the brand from the inside out, defining strategic brand principles that would inspire Magnum’s brand world as well as redesigning current packaging to align with its new positioning as a liberated force of pleasure.

“All the incredible work over the past ten years has successfully positioned Magnum as a genuine lifestyle brand,” comments Sunhouse’s Sally Knapton. “But as the democratisation of culture and fashion begins to shift our perception of luxury, the brand ran the risk of becoming stiff and contained. Our challenge was to set it free by pushing it off its pedestal without losing any of its aspirational allure and desirability.”

Magnum’s new liberated expression is guided by principles that inspire fearlessness, confidence and sensorial indulgence. Firstly, the gold and brown of the M-Stamp have been flipped to elevate its iconicity beyond the product. The bling is gone, but what remains is singular, contemporary and completely self-assured. The wordmark has been redrawn for optimal balance and elegance, whilst the introduction of the new M-Angle amplifies the brand’s most powerful asset – the indulgent ‘crack-and-cream’ experience.

“Magnum is and always has been a champion of true pleasure, devoted to those who are brave enough to free themselves to experience it genuinely and in full. The nuance of this has been exquisitely captured in Sunhouse’s work,” comments Ben Curtis, Global Brand Director at Magnum. “Sunhouse has been with us through three redesigns, and they never fail to deliver sensational creativity. Just like us, they care about the details, which is why Magnum continues to feel fresh and culturally on-the-pulse.”

“To develop the new identity, we assessed the purpose and possibility in every Magnum asset,” comments James Giles, Creative Director at Sunhouse. “It wasn’t about inventing something new. It was about unlocking what was always there and always true. In this way, we were able to find alignment with what consumers intrinsically love about Magnum and then evolve it for relevance and impact.”