Häagen-Dazs made its Super Bowl debut in February, enlisting the stars of the “Fast & Furious” franchise to slow down and enjoy some ice cream. The ad scored well via System1 testing while driving engagement and growth on social media, with the brand seeing an 11% year-over-year increase in views on Instagram and a 128% YoY jump in TikTok followers, according to information shared with Marketing Dive.

While some Super Bowl ads make their mark on game night and then fade from memory, many brands are working to extend the shelf life of these efforts, partially as a way to justify what are often multimillion-dollar investments. Häagen-Dazs has done just that, using its Super Bowl ad to kick off a larger “Slow” brand platform that it has continued to iterate on in 2025 with a fully integrated campaign spanning TV, social, digital, influencer, out-of-home and sampling. “Slow” positions the 65-year-old brand as a balm for consumers seeking a moment for themselves amid continued sociopolitical tumult, economic uneasiness and global strife.

“Savoring some time to yourself does connect with the world that we know consumers are living in, where it’s just so fast, everything's changing — I can barely keep up with all the trends on TikTok,” said Rachel Jaiven, head of marketing at Häagen-Dazs. “People feel over-programmed, and if you’re not moving fast, you feel like you’re behind.” 

Since building on the Super Bowl push with a campaign that launched in April, Häagen-Dazs has seen steady lifts in ad recall and consideration from the target 25-34 year old audience on YouTube, as well as strong engagement across social platforms including Meta and TikTok. The brand believes its message is resonating at a deeper level as well.

“This moment to care for yourself is something people really crave. Everyone needs more of this because ‘slow’ is something that people need to survive,” Jaiven said.

Diversity and influencers

To extend “Slow” beyond the Super Bowl spot, Häagen-Dazs has followed an industry-wide trend of increasing investment in influencers who are valued for authenticity and amplification.

“Every single year, we always are very focused on finding great talent, diverse voices and people who are really creative as a way for us to select who might be a great partner for us to get that message out in a way that’s authentic and engaging,” Jaiven said.

Häagen-Dazs works closely with creative relations agency The Door and its team of influencers to determine how to best showcase the brand and the “Slow” story in a way that reflects the passions and interests of creators. To that end, the brand introduced “Slow Sundays” content that integrates ice cream into peaceful weekend moments, an initiative supported on paid and organic channels.

Häagen-Dazs’ influencer push has long been tied to its programs around diversity. In 2023, it fulfilled a $1.5 million pledge to support underrepresented creators that it made two years prior, at the height of brand interest in responding to calls for diversity, equity and inclusion that have since been widely rolled back due to conservative backlash. Despite the anti-DEI headwinds, Häagen-Dazs remains committed to such work.

“It’s really valuable for the brand, and also reflects at the core what this brand started with, which was our founding story about two wonderfully talented Polish immigrants who came to the United States and had a dream to make an incredible ice cream,” Jaiven said. “We want to help think about how these creators might be doing the next thing to help transform what someone might experience in the future.”

Along with its financial commitments and social placements, Häagen-Dazs in June expanded its partnership with Allies in Arts, a nonprofit focused on underrepresented creators, to turn out-of-home placements into murals. The murals, made by three LGBTQ+ artists, ran in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco for two-month flights centered around Pride Month celebrations.

Agency partnerships

Häagen-Dazs’ marketing work beginning with the Super Bowl has been made in partnership with indie shop Nice&Frank, which the brand appointed its creative agency of record in July of last year. Founded in 2022, the upstart agency has also worked with Frito-Lay brand Doritos and health tech company Oura, and is helping Häagen-Dazs show up in more spaces and places.

“Since Häagen-Dazs is made to be savored with its unmatched smooth and creamy texture, we’re focused on highlighting those product truths by encouraging ice cream lovers to take a moment to pause the chaos of everyday life with us and enjoy a much-needed, sweet moment of peace,” said Erica Stevens, creative director at Nice&Frank, in emailed comments.

Along with Nice&Frank, Häagen-Dazs has collaborated closely with The Door and Spark Foundry for the last several years. Together, the brand and its agency team continue to find unique ways to get the brand’s “Slow” message in front of consumers.

“We’ve seen some really strong results from campaigns,” Jaiven said. “We’ve seen some really great growth in some of our key metrics with getting the right creative out there at the right time to the consumer in very different ways that are helping grow the brand.”