Magnum's 'Schedule the Sun' Campaign: Key Findings
The Magnum Ice Cream Company is back with the next chapter of its push to sell ice cream in the winter, and this time it wants a spot on your calendar.
"Schedule the Sun" was developed by creative agency LOLA Madrid, which is part of Omnicom Advertising Group.
It builds on the brand's "Find Your Summer" platform with a weather-triggered mechanic.
Consumers can opt in to receive calendar events whenever sunshine is forecast in their area, pairing the moment with a discount on Magnum.
The campaign rolls out across the U.K., France, and China in print, social, digital, and DOOH.
The positive results from the original 2024 campaign make a compelling case for committing to off-season advertising.
A Cannes Winner Gets a Practical Next Chapter
"Find Your Summer" launched with a film directed by Juan Cabral, including geo-located DOOH placements that used weather data to identify real-time pockets of sunshine across cities.
The idea positioned summer as a feeling, not a season, to make Magnum's ice cream relevant to customers year-round.
The campaign went on to win the Outdoor Grand Prix at Cannes Lions, as it was recognized for its striking simplicity and use of weather data as a creative tool.
"Schedule the Sun" keeps the same visual language while adding a behavioral layer.
The opt-in mechanic gives people a specific reason to buy at the exact moment the sun comes out.
Six films and six photographic executions, shot entirely in black and white by photographer Leslie Zhang and director Da Dong via Lunar Films Shanghai, also carry the creative.
Winter sunlight falls across a diverse cast of characters, with shadows forming shapes that mimic the Magnum silhouette.
The black-and-white aesthetic makes the campaign feel native to the season it is targeting.
Sales Data From 2024 Backs the Investment
The original campaign generated results that justify continuing the brand positioning into a second winter.
According to LOLA Madrid, total Magnum sales rose dramatically in Q1 and UK Brand Power hit its best result in five years.
Goze Iscan, global vice president at The Magnum Ice Cream Company, highlights the campaign strategy in a statement:
"[T]he work captures rays of winter sunlight falling across diverse characters, celebrating fleeting moments of warmth that 'Schedule the Sun' invites people to savour," he said.
LOLA Madrid executive creative director Tomás Ostiglia also puts it directly: "Ice cream sales drop in winter, yet the desire for pleasure doesn't."
The France leg of the campaign coincides with Paris Fashion Week 2026, placing Magnum's DOOH and print work alongside one of the season's most visible cultural gatherings.
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The "Find Your Summer" platform offers a repeatable model for brands looking to counter seasonal demand drops:
- Platforms compound: A second year of the same idea generates more return than starting fresh, because the audience already understands the premise.
- Contextual triggers convert: Weather-activated placements and calendar opt-ins connect the campaign to how people are really feeling during the winter.
- Cultural calendar timing earns visibility: Aligning DOOH and print with Paris Fashion Week extends reach, all without needing additional spend.
The data suggests that when the creative idea is grounded in real behavior, the off-season ad spend pays off.
Our Take: Does Scheduling Sunshine Actually Change Buying Behavior?
We think the calendar mechanic is the most interesting thing Magnum has done with this platform, and also the part with the most to prove.
The 2024 campaign worked because it was passive, with beautiful black-and-white OOH that reframed winter light as a Magnum moment.
"Schedule the Sun" asks consumers to take an active step, opting in to weather notifications and calendar events, which is a high bar for brand engagement.
The Q1 sales data from the original campaign is genuinely strong, and we think it earns Magnum the right to push the platform further.
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