Wimbledon Invites Fans to #JoinTheStory and Witness Iconic Moments in History

To mark the start of the grass court season and the three-week countdown to Wimbledon 2019, The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has released #JoinTheStory, a new campaign for The Championships 2019.

The multimedia campaign, which will run across broadcast, out-of-home, and online, showcases the many extraordinary Wimbledon moments that have shared the front page with some of the greatest stories of our time, demonstrating how sport and society have influenced each other throughout our history, and will continue to do so long into the future.

The campaign begins with a trailer, The Story Continues, which launches today.

Created on behalf of the AELTC by McCann London, director Elliot Dear and animation studio Blinkink, the 60-second trailer follows a selection of landmark headlines from Wimbledon and the global news archive, layered against each other to create a series of visually-arresting tableaux.

As Amelia Earhart becomes the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, Althea Gibson becomes the first black woman to win Wimbledon; as Billie Jean King leads the fight for equality in tennis, man lands on the Moon; as Roger Federer redefines the way the sport is played, the Human Genome is documented, showing that epic feats of human endeavour have made headlines alongside each other, on and off the court.

Innovative craft, including photography, live action, typography, state-of-the-art VFX and post-production techniques, allowed static archive imagery to be projection-mapped onto 3D wireframes, bringing to life historical moments that were never filmed in cinematic slow motion.

Sound-tracked by an orchestral re-record of Oasis’s Live Forever, the trailer will run across TV, online and digital for three weeks in the build up to The Championships.

James Ralley, head of commercial and brand, the AELTC, commented: “The story of Wimbledon began in 1877 and we’ve been making headlines ever since. Each tournament creates new heroes and new stories; while our greatest moments have shared the front page with two world wars, the moon landings and the invention of the Internet.

“This global campaign truly celebrates Wimbledon’s ongoing role at the forefront of world news and events – and shows that when it comes to sporting achievement the best is yet to come.”

Rob Webster and Alexei Berwitz, creative directors, McCann London, said: “Wimbledon is the most prestigious tennis event on earth. A championship that is truly unique: in its traditions, rituals and its place in the pantheon of sporting history. Working alongside Blinkink and visionary Elliot Dear, we have aspired to create a campaign with a story for all the ages. An obsessively craft-driven piece that represents Wimbledon’s ongoing pursuit of greatness.”

Throughout the build-up to Wimbledon, the AELTC will be running a social content series that evolves Wimbledon’s headlines from telegraph, to paper, to mobile phone, to tweet, and, during the week before Qualifying, will be releasing an innovative mini documentary series, all under the #JointheStory banner.

The mini-series, produced by Livewire Sport, showcases five of these stories through the mediums of audio and video, tapping into the podcasting trend with over 50 different voices coming together to reflect on Althea Gibson, Billie Jean King, Boris Becker and Steffi Graf, John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, and Andy Murray, and the impact they have had on sport’s place in society. The series will be released across Wimbledon’s channels from 24 June.

Lastly, on 28th, 29th, 30th June, the AELTC will tease the start of The Championships through the hosting of Wimbledon Rematch 1980, a live re-creation of The Championships 1980 in a first-for-sport immersive experience. Tickets are on sale here.

The Championships 2019 begins on Monday 1 July and ends on Sunday 14th July.