The Tennisables: Characters to help get the next generation of kids playing tennis
LTA, the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, unveils its new integrated campaign to inspire more children aged 4-11 years old to play tennis. British professional tennis players, Emma Raducanu MBE, and Jack Draper, star in the campaign to introduce a new generation of tennis players to the game.
The integrated campaign, by creative agency BMB, welcomes six new characters, collectively known as “The LTA Tennisables”, aimed at making tennis more engaging, accessible and fun, to support the LTA’s long-term mission to open up tennis to a wider audience, through their innovative junior programme, LTA Youth.
Grand Slam champion, Emma Raducanu opens the TV spot, as she serves to British tennis’ break-through star Jack Draper. On return, we see the tennis ball morph into an animated Tennisable character called “Ace”.
Ace joins five colourful friends Slice, Spin, Dash, Smash – and Bounce who was born deaf and is voiced by actress, Rose Ayling-Ellis, known for her role in Eastenders and being the first deaf contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, which she won in 2021. Each character proudly showcases their own individual personality traits and tennis superpower.
Launching in 60-second and 30-second spots online and broadcast media on ITVX and Sky on 12 June, the characters will also feature in a 6-episode LTA YouTube content series designed to teach kids the basics of tennis, whether or not they own a racket or have access to a court. Each episode features an individual Tennisable, who demonstrates ways to develop a particular skill: speed, competitiveness, resilience, technique, brainpower… all whilst having fun.
The campaign has been designed using research and insight into the behaviours and motivations of children and their parents and the integrated campaign is a game-changer for the LTA and its mission to open tennis up to new audiences.
Matt Lever, CCO at BMB said:“We’re very excited to introduce The Tennisables to kids all over the UK. And the fact that we’re getting the furry little guys into tens of thousands of kids’ hands too, means we can hopefully inspire real enthusiasm for tennis - and the brilliant courses the LTA offer - in children that have never even held a racket before”.
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