Global swimwear brand, Speedo celebrates 90 years with the extension of its #WaterBabyForever campaign. Speedo has embarked upon a number of collaborations and activities to mark this iconic milestone including; a project to inspire people to swim, an initiative to protect the ocean, and a partnership with a world class swimmer attempting an unprecedented feat.
The campaign is headlined by a renewed partnership with renowned endurance swimmer, Lewis Pugh, who is aiming to become the first man to swim the length of the English channel.
Lewis, who famously completes his sub-zero challenges wearing only a Speedo brief, cap and goggles, is completing ‘The Long Swim’ to highlight the need to protect oceans and British coastlines. In his first challenge in UK water, Lewis has set off from Land’s End in Cornwall on July 12th to swim 560km down the English coastline. He is expected to complete the unprecedented journey in Dover in late August.
The partnership ties in with one of the core aims of the #WaterBabyForever campaign to preserve the world’s oceans so in the next 90 years and beyond the new generation of water babies can still enjoy them.
Underlining this commitment, Speedo is partnering with campaign group, Surfers Against Sewage. The group, also a partner of Lewis Pugh on the Long Swim, is working with Speedo to complete five beach clean-ups across the south coast to further highlight the dangers of materials like plastic entering the oceans. The Speedo x Surfers Against Sewage Beach Cleans will take place at key stops along Lewis Pugh’s journey.
Speedo will further highlight Lewis Pugh’s ‘The Long Swim’ by working with inner city community swimming group, SwimDemCrew, to host a community swim in Plymouth on July 21st. With a shared passion for making the sport of swimming more accessible, the event will be a joint celebration of Speedo‘s 90th anniversary and SwimDem’s 5th birthday and aims to inspire more people to enjoy the fun and freedom of life in the water.
Rob Hicking, Brand Director at Speedo said: “Our #WaterBabyForever campaign is all about celebrating our love of the water, whether it’s by protecting oceans, inspiring people to swim, or simply being at the side of swimmers as they achieve incredible feats. Today’s announcements tick all of those boxes.
“In partners like Lewis Pugh, Surfers Against Sewage and Swim Dem Crew, we’re working with people who share our passion for the water, and tell the stories of real people whose experiences in the water have shaped the person they are today and demonstrate that anyone can become a water baby.”
Lewis Pugh said: “After 30 years of swimming in some of the most remote places in the world, and seeing the truly frightening changes in our oceans, I’m bringing my message back home. Channel rules, of course, means doing the swim wearing only swimming trunks, cap and goggles, and Speedo has always been my brand of choice. Therefore, it’s great to be partnering with the world’s leading swimwear brand again, not only to supply my equipment but to help to raise vital awareness of the critical need to focus on the health of our oceans.”
Swimmers inspired by Lewis’s challenge are invited to hit the pool with the aid of the Speedo On app. A new challenge has been added enabling users to aggregate their swims to match Lewis’ progress. For more information, download the app now here https://on.speedo.com/challenges
The Speedo 90th Year Anniversary brand film can be watched here.
About Speedo® The world’s leading swimwear brand, Speedo is passionate about life in and around the water, creating revolutionary new technologies, designs and innovations and supporting swimming from grass-roots through to elite level. In the 1920s Speedo made history with the Racerback: the world’s first non-wool suit. In 2008 Speedo redefined swimwear again with Fastskin LZR RACER – the fastest and most technologically advanced swimsuit ever created. In 2015, Speedo launched the Fastskin LZR Racer X, the first suit engineered to help swimmers feel their fastest. Its development was made possible through analyses of the physical and psychological aspects of competitive swimming with over 330 elite swimmers. Speedo is owned by Speedo Holdings B.V and distributed in over 170 countries around the world; to find out more visit: www.speedo.com. SPEEDO, the ARROW device, FASTSKIN, AQUALAB, RACING SYSTEM, BIOFUSE, SPEEDO ENDURANCE, SCULPTURE and LZR RACER are registered trademarks of Speedo Holdings B.V. The LZR RACER suit has worldwide design rights and patents. The FASTSKIN3 cap, goggle and suit has worldwide design rights and patents pending
Swimming new is courtesy of Speedo International and GUNG HO, a SwimSwam partner.