J. Crew (under renowned chairman and retailer wizard, Mickey Drexler) introduces its Spring 2013 Crewcuts collection. In addition to cute clothes for the little one in your life, you have to admire the clean, crisp and catchy marketing this line has delivered since its inception. Visuals are always bright, active and engaging. Photography and copy follow suit and are consistently both approachable and fun. The new season’s video is also adorable with kids answering questions on color and inspiration behind the new collection. And we’ll agree with Noah. Lime sorbet is pretty awesome…
Category: Advertising
Chilly cool
Underpass, a film for Dior Homme, by Willy Vanderperre. The well-shot if not slightly haphazard short film (promoting Spring/Summer 2013) establishes a feeling of the sublime with its multiple deserted underpasses cut along with the atmospheric “How Does It Feel?” by British psychedelic rock band Spacemen 3. If discipline comes at some cost to accessibility, it’s a tradeoff you imagine the designer, Belgian Kris Van Assche, would approve. These are clothes to be worn seriously—or maybe enlisted in. Right in line with the honed brand image that Dior Homme has cultivated for years…
Cheers II
Jameson Irish Whiskey has extended its “legendary tales of John Jameson” campaign by TBWAChiatDay New York with print and outdoor ads depicting 18th century-inspired oil paintings. The paintings were created by artists from around the world and aim to celebrate Jameson’s legendary character and his reputation for being a man loved by the people of Dublin. The paintings were hung in bars along with plaques inscribed with dates and entertaining descriptions of what was going on in each scene. The use of authentic, old-world oil paintings enabled a credible depiction of Jameson’s time while still retaining a contemporary sense of humor. Entertaining television spots bring the concept to life and again have yielded a bunch of deserved awards for the agency. See you at the bar…
High-minded, brilliantly executed
What If, the campaign… Financial services giant (and longtime Kellyco client) Morgan Stanley introduces the “What If” integrated branding campaign. The campaign (print ads, video and dedicated website) was created by the Martin Agency and photographed by Nadav Kander, and combines portraiture with images of industry, business, and philanthropy, attempting to position the strength of the firm’s wealth management services while bringing together values of social responsibility and good ole American capitalism. The ads also announce the new name for the U.S. wealth management business, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management (previously Morgan Stanley Smith Barney). Quite a production to say the least. A bit ominous (especially the score), but quite progressive in both spirit and execution…
Find your greatness
Nike introduces its big new campaign for the London Olympics. Features various places in the world called London that aren’t in Great Britain. The first spot shows that the performance and success is not reserved for a chosen few but to all. Love Nike’s strategy in passing on Olympic sponsorship (and the millions involved in fees) and investing in their own brand positioning. Using London as a device here certainly attaches the brand to the Games, most likely to the dismay of official sponsor Adidas. Again, hats off to the Widen + Kennedy folks for brilliant strategy and classic Nike thoughtful, motivating impact…
A campaign that celebrates the individual
Go Forth/Year Four… Levi’s is back (via Wieden + Kennedy) with its Go Forth campaign. For the latest installment, a second “This is a pair of Levi’s.” has been added. The new creative is an obvious extension of the individualism and optimism of past campaign iterations but now with a heavier dose of product and style. It is introduced in this first spot which features a rap-like chant that plays over a bunch of cool looking models/actors that are getting dressed for a new day. It’s the thread in your seams that’s tied to your dreams…
The art of collaboration
Select images from the Penn/Miyake collaboration featured in the exhibit, “Irving Penn and Issey Miyake: Visual Dialogue”, at 21_21 Design Sight Tokyo. Interesting to note, the two creative forces met on the set of a Vogue shoot in 1983, and subsequently began their 13-year journey of collaboration. Though Miyake never attended any of Penn’s shoots and Penn never attended a Miyake runway show, a mutual aesthetic respect led to an unspoken trust in Penn’s extraordinary interpretations. In the end, a truly revered gift to both fashion and photography history… (designboom)
Go forth and sell some jeans
The initial Levi’s Go Forth spot launching the global campaign by Widen + Kennedy references “The Laughing Heart,” a poem by the late Charles Bukowski. It also features images of protests/riots resulting in a decent amount of criticism and a U.K. ban. Slickly done, but does seem a bit radical for hawking jeans. Lofty is one thing. Aspirational usually is the way to go with branding. Imagery that alludes to violence, not sure. We predict adjustments coming very soon…
Giant global brands with great advertising also have their challenges
The Levi’s situation… The Levi’s brand has had a tough time in recent years. Competition, too many products, lack of product clarity, distribution issues, retail failures and marketing have all been cited as part of the world renowned brand’s ills. Levi’s Go Forth campaign (Wieden + Kennedy) has run in North America since 2009 and globally since 2011. The insight (from extensive worldwide research) driving the campaign is that youth today believe it is up to them to make positive change in the world. The Levi’s brand promise has always been about delivering clothing that allows customers to pursue their passions. Go Forth launched in the the U.S. with the Walt Whitman poem “Pioneers! Oh Pioneers!” celebrating the American spirit to make things happen and change (all while wearing Levi’s, of course). An early global Go Forth spot references “The Laughing Heart,” a poem by the late Charles Bukowski with images of riots that got it banned in a few countries.The print work (sampled above) has been stellar (to be expected with W + K). Simple, fresh and high energy. All the right stuff for Levi’s but yet, the denim giant continues to struggle. Shame, but they’re working on it. More to come we are sure…
Think series for impact
To support its 100-year anniversary campaign, IBM has created 100 unique visual “marks” to represent “100 Icons of Progress”. Each mark incorporates the number 100 plus illustration and photography to represent a key breakthrough or milestone, such as the First Salaried Workforce, the Punched Card and Space Exploration. They are designed to be shown individually to tell a single story or as a collection to tell multiple stories about the richness of IBM’s history. Admittedly, quite a big undertaking, but such a contemporary, engaging and compelling way of reinforcing the company’s influence over its impressive history…
