In 2008, clothes company Wrangler put out a pitch to advertising agencies asking for help to reinvigorate the brand within the European youth market. It faced a specific image problem. “The problem was that Wrangler is an American brand, 125 years old, associated with middle America…” explains Fred Raillard of Parisian agency Fred & Farid. “So the perception of Wrangler was very much linked to the cowboy… But the cowboys in Europe was negative, because the cowboy means old, white America. It’s Marlboro, it’s John Wayne, it’s the people behind the indian genocide. It’s George Bush, who was hated in Europe”.
Despite this, Fred & Farid, which won the pitch, felt it was important not to stray too far away from the brand’s root in its new advertising. “You cannot start from scratch with the communication of a brand thai is 125 years old” continues Fred. “You cannot. Especially as in America the communication about the cowboy was to carry on… So we tried to extract the values of the rodeo – the wildness, being on an animal, roughness. Also, the positive aspects of cowboys – environment, nature, living with animals. Living in sinch with nature, having courage. We tried to extract some values that would connect with young people in Europe. The we thought: maybe we could just move from the cowboy to the animal… To the horse, in fact…”
This concept tied in with an old logo for the brand that the creative team found during their research. The logo from the 1970s saw the letters of the Wrangler name forming the shape of a horse. It may have been what Raillard describes as “cheesy”, but it meant that Fred & Farid’s idea of focusing on the brand’s associations to animals had a heritage. They then tested the concept on the target audience, and connected the idea with the culture of the time. “It was a period when we where facing a crisis” says Fred, “everything was collapsing, the banks were collapsing, and in that period of time we all had the feeling that our human society had reached a limit. So it was relevant to highlight that maybe we’d lost something when we lost our animality…”
The slogan WE ARE ANIMALS was decided upon, though Fred & Farid realized that this high concept ran the risk of backfiring if the execution of the ads was too heavy-handed. The key was to emphasize the animal instincts of humans, but in an unexpectede way. “The first thing we decided was to never show any animals…” says Fred. “To not create confusion – we’re talking about human animality, so the big mistake would be to show an animal. Then we thought with such a strong statement, we couldn’t play around, we had to really do it. The whole background had to be animalistic – spontaneous, not too intellectual. So we decided to set up a way of working on Wrangler that was more spontaneous and creative…”
The team decided to avoid too much planning and over-thinking before the shoot, and to employ a photographer who was skilled in attaining a raw, natural quality to their work. “We looked at photographers not from the ad industry but from art” says Fred. “People who in their personal work are passionate about showing human animality, celebrating animality in humans. We choose Ryan McGinley, as already in his personal work he was really driven by the whole idea of our animality…”
McGinley’s shooting style is loose, and his work follows a tradition of documentary photography begun by artists such as Nan Goldin and Larry Clark. He developed his style in the late 1990s by documenting his friends and acquaintances in New York engaging in parties, sex and general hedonism. When he moved to more formal shoots, using models, he retained this naturalistic approach. A shoot of McGinley’s even a commercial one, will usually involve setting up loose parameters and scenarios, but otherwise letting events evolve naturally, with everything captured on camera.
Fred & Farid wholeheartedly embraced this style of working for Wrangler shoot, which took place in the New Jersey countryside over two nights. Twelve models were selected to take part, drawn not from professional agencies but from street-casting. Actors and performance artists were also among those chosen, and the shoot, when described by Fred, has the feel more of an art performance than a commercial exercise.
“It was a crazy shoot!” he says. “People made love in front of us… everybody got crazy for two nights. It was freezing like hell, we were wearing North Face jackets, and they were naked in nature! Everybody was amazing, everybody went for this art experience. We experimented with any idea that anybody had on set…”
Mcginley, and his assistant, Tim Barber, took thousands of photographs over the two nights, according to Fred. “So you don’t even have time to think about anything – any idea that anyone has you experiment with. It’s chaos, complete chaos… and inside this chaos some pearls pop up…”
The shoot resulted in a set of arresting images, which were used to create the posters that stood at the centre of the WE ARE ANIMALS campaign. Beyond the impact of the images themselfs, what is striking about the posters is the lack of overt branding. The brand’s logo appears at the bottom, alongside the tagline, but otherwise the photographs are given room to breathe, a highly unusual approch in billboard advertising today, where brands have a tendency to shout their messages.
Even the product itself is absent from many of the shoot. “We had to convince them” says Fred. “Clients want to show their product, but we really fought to convince them, to get them on board with us that it is more important to bring back the Wrangler attitude and make a connection with a new generation. They would never have done it by showing the denim, because even if it’s great denim, denim is not a surprising product. We all wear denim now…”
The WE ARE ANIMALS print and poster campaign is a great example of pure branding. Fred & Farid used other media to do the less exciting work of the ad campaign – using the Wrangler website to provide the vital product information, for example – but insisted that the posters be more ambiguous. It was a risk strategy that ultimately paid off for the jeans brand, injecting it with an edge and attitude that allowed Wrangler to stand out within an extremely crowded market.
Wrangler Jeans print advertising campaign, “We Are Animals”, won the Grand Prix for Print at Cannes International Advertising Festival.
The Wrangler campaign was developed at FFL Paris by executive creative directors Fred & Farid (Frederic Raillard and Farid Mokart), art directors/copywriters Julie Louison and Perinne Durand, copywriters Baptiste Clinet, Nicolas Lautier, Philippe Pinel, Frederick Lung. Filming was shot by Ryan McGinley, known for his nude films.
1954. European cinema contractors launch the Festival to celebrate great cinema advertising. The first Cannes Grand Prix goes to a spot called “Il Circo” from Italy’s Ferry Mayer for Chlorodont toothpaste.
1992. The Press and Poster category introduced. McCann-Erickson Milan is awarded first Grand Prix in the category for its Levi’s campaign.
Advertising Agency: McCann-Erickson Italia Creative Director: Milka Pogliani Copywriter: Alessandro Canale Art Director: Stefano Colombo Photographer: Graham Ford
Grand Prix 2001 – FOX Regional Sports (Turkey/China/Russia/India)
A Turkish sports reporter is at a cliff-diving tournament. A diver jumps off a steep cliff, goes into a ‘swan dive’ and lands on dirt. Turkish peasants clap politely. Super: Sports news from the only region you care about. Yours. Fox Sports Net.
A Chinese sports reporter is showing highlights of a ‘tree catching’ competition. We see two lumberjacks chop down a giant 200-ft tree for an athlete to catch. He is not successful. Super: Sports news from the only region you care about. Yours. Fox Sports Net.
A Russian sports reporter is covering a ‘slapping contest’ in a smokey, seedy bunker. Two large men take turns slapping each other in the face. Suddenly, an impressive slap causes the drunken crowd to erupt. Super: Sports news from the only region you care about. Yours. Fox Sports Net.
The host of a Mumbai sports show is interviewing the National Clubbing Champion. Two blindfolded men chase each other with clubs in front of a large crowd. They swing wildly at each other … but miss. Then one loses his bearings and starts pounding a gentleman in the crowd. Super: Sports news from the only region you care about. Yours. Fox Sports Net.
Advertising Agency: Cliff Freeman and Partners, USA Creative Director: Eric Silver Copywriter: Dan Morales Art Director: Rossana Bardales Production Company: Partizan NY Director: Traktor
Alternative Grand Prix – John West (Bear)
At a river, a man fights a bear for a salmon. Voiceover: John West endure the worst to bring you the best. Super: John West Red Salmon.
Advertising Agency: Leo Burnett UK Creative Director: Mark Tutssel Copywriter: Paul Silburn Art Director: Paul Silburn Production Company: Spectre UK Director: Daniel Kleinman
A young man is tagged in an elaborate game, involving the entire city. He races off to tag someone else, and they elude him to the very end.
Advertising Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, USA Creative Director: Dan Wieden, Hal Curtis, Jim Riswold Art Director: Monica Taylor, Andy Fackrell Director: Frank Budgen
Alternative Grand Prix – Levis (Odyssey)
A man and a woman hurtle through a string of solid walls. They crash out of the building, land on a tree, and run up it into the night sky.
Advertising Agency: BBH, UK Creative Director: Stephen Butler Art Director: Gavin Lester Production Company: Academy, UK Director: Jonathan Glazer
An old lamp is thrown out to make way for a new one from Ikea.
Advertising Agency: Crispin Porter + Bogusky, USA Creative Director: Alex Bogusky, Paul Keister Art Director: Mark Taylor, Steve Mapp Copywriter: Ari Merkin Production Company: MJZ, Los Angeles Director: Spike Jonze
Alternative Grand Prix – Honda (Cog)
Cog is a two-minute chain reaction using only parts from a Honda Accord. Each car part cleverly triggers off the next, showing the beauty and precision of the pieces, and the ingenuity of the engineers who built it, prompting the V/O to comment “Isn’t it nice when things just work?”.
Advertising Agency: Weiden + Kennedy, London Creative Director: Tony Davidson, Kim Papworth Art Director: Matt Gooden Copywriter: Ben Walker Production Company: Partizan, London Director: Antoine Bardou-Jacquet
Hundreds of thousands of people are forming a human mountain higher than any of the other buildings in the city. At it’s zenith a variety of people enjoy a moment of exhilaration before others scramble over them and take their place.
Advertising Agency: TBWA/London Creative Director: Trevor Beattie Art Director: Tony McTear Copywriter: Paula Marcantonio, Tony McTear Production Company: Gorgeous Enterprises, UK Director: Frank Budgen
Alternative Grand Prix – Lynx 24-7 (Getting Dressed)
A man and woman wake up in bed. They start getting dressed. We soon discover that their clothes are scattered right across the city. The last shoe sits by two opposite-facing shopping trolleys in a supermarket. The couple met there only hours ago. The man was wearing Lynx 24/7 bodyspray.
Advertising Agency: BBH, UK Creative Director: Rosie Arnold Art Director: Nick Gill Copywriter: Nick Gill Production Company: Small Family Business, UK Director: Ringan Ledwidge
Can hate be a good thing? Honda ‘Grrr’ sets out to prove just that. A tranquil world is invaded by flying, dirty old Diesel engines. However, the population get angry and even, using their hate for the better, destroying every last one. Finally, they herald the brand new Honda Diesel.
Advertising Agency: Weiden + Kennedy, London Creative Director: Tony Davidson, Kim Papworth, Chris O’reilly Art Director: Sean Thompson, Michael Russoff, Richard Russell Copywriter: Sean Thompson, Michael Russoff, Richard Russell Production Company: Nexus Production, London Director: Adam Foulkes, Alan Smith
Alternative Grand Prix – Adidas (Hello Tomorrow)
Adidas 1 is the first shoe with a computer. “Hello Tomorrow” demonstrates that with every step these magical shoes can create an entirely new world out of nothing. It is a story of rebirth and
taking your first steps – again.
Advertising Agency: TBWA/Chiat/Day, San Francisco Creative Director: Lee Clow, Chuck McBride, Joe Kayser Art Director: Joe Kayser Copywriter: Chuck McBride Production Company: MJZ, Los Angeles Director: Spike Jonze
Three young men at a bar drink Guinness. Suddenly the action pauses and the film starts to play in reverse. The men walk backwards out of the bar. As they walk they seamlessly go back down the evolutionary chain through hundreds, thousands, millions of years. Super: GUINNESS. Good things come to those who wait.
Advertising Agency: Abbott, Mead, Vickers, BBDO, UK Creative Director: Paul Brazier Art Director: Matt Doman Copywriter: Ian Heartfield Production Company: Kleinman Productions, London Director: Danny Kleinman
Alternative Grand Prix – Sony (Balls)
Dropping 250,000 brightly coloured bouncy balls down the streets of San Francisco for real = colour like no other.
Advertising Agency: Fallon London Creative Director: Richard Flintman Art Director: Juan Cabral Copywriter: Juan Cabral Production Company: MJZ, London Director: Nicolai Fuglsig
“We created a film that exposed the manipulation of the female image in the media. The objective was to encourage discussion around the subject of real beauty and lead people to the campaignforrealbeauty website.”
Advertising Agency: Ogilvy & Mother Toronto Creative Director: Janet Kestin, Nancy Vonk Art Director: Tim Piper, Mike Kirkland Copywriter: Tim Piper Production Company: Reginald Pike, Toronto Director: Yael Staav, Tim Piper
Alternative Grand Prix – Epuron (Power of Wind)
Wind has a strong nature. Better keep him busy…
Advertising Agency: Nordpol + Hamburg, Germany Creative Director: Lars Ruehmann Art Director: Bjoern Ruehmann, Joakim Reveman Copywriter: Matthew Branning Production Company: Paranoid Projects, USA Director: The Vikings
Grand Prix 2008 – Cadbury (Gorilla)/Microsoft (Halo 3 Campaign)
We hear ‘In the air tonight’ by Phil Collins as we realize we’re in front of a calm looking gorilla. ‘I’ve been waiting for this moment for all of my life…’ The ape stretches its neck like a heavyweight boxer would do before a fight. He’s sitting in front of a massive drum kit as the best drum fill of the history of rock is coming. The Gorilla knows this. He smashes the drums phenomenally – feeling every beat. The camera leaves the ape and his drum. United, the way they are meant to be.
Advertising Agency: Fallon London Creative Director: Richard Flinthan, Juan Cabral Art Director: Juan Cabral Copywriter: Juan Cabral Production Company: Blink, London Director: Juan Cabral
On-line, the Halo 3 website served as a virtual museum, providing an interactive fly through of the entire John 117 monument and putting visitors right in the middle of the fight. They could also learn more about our enemies and hear first hand stories from the men who were there. For that we filmed interviews with surviving veterans of the battle who served with Master Chief. They talked about their experiences and spoke with reverence and awe about what it was like to serve with mankind’s greatest hero.
Advertising Agency: T.A.G. San Francisco/McCann Worldgroup Creative Director: Geoff Edwars, Scott Duchon Art Director: Ben Wolan Copywriter: Rich Herrera Production Company: Go Film, Hollywood/RSA Films Los Angeles Director: Simon McQuoid, Rupert Sanders, Neil Blomkamp
Alternative Grand Prix – Nike (Next Level)
“Next Level” is new take on Football from Nike. Made to inspire football obsessed teens, the film is a first-person journey up the football ranks–from being discovered by Arsenal in a youth match to a life-defining moment playing for our national side. Along the way we experience success (finishing a cross from Cesc Fabregas) as well as frustration (getting burned by Ronaldinho). The film celebrates playing the game with purpose and passion. It shows what it takes to become a modern, brilliant fofotballer – to take your game to the next level.
Advertising Agency: 72 And Sunny, USA Creative Director: Glen Cole, John Boiler, Bryan Rowles, Jason Norcross Production Company: Anonymous Content, USA Director: Guy Ritchie
Philips set out to own the idea of a cinematic viewing experience at home. From the start the strategy was to create a film that movie lovers would want to see.
The film is hosted within a site that, through interaction, educates the audience about the three main features of Philips televisions – Ambilight, Cinema 21:9 and Picture Quality – and ties these features to the act of film making. So, what would movie lovers want to see? We decided on a seamless tracking shot, one long take that a film loving audience could marvel at and be fascinated by. Within the ‘housing’ of a tracking shot we inserted behind the scenes glimpses where the experts could talk about their craft and the decisions they made whilst filming the shot. The DOP on lighting, the Director on the 21:9 format and VFX supervisor shows why picture quality is so important. To allow for more interaction, we decided that a frozen time film, shot using a state of the art motion control rig, would give the audience control upon interaction allowing them to literally move the camera back and forth frame by frame. This is done intuitively through a ‘grabbing hand’ cursor when the screen is moused over.
What makes this interaction really special is the interactive cinematic score. The score, composed by Michael Fakesch, was composed as a linear piece, but was then handed over to a flash music developer to carve up and distort as the user moved back and forth through time, frame by frame – all designed to pull the audience in and hold them there longer whilst they try to unravel the mystery of how the film was made.
The second main element of interaction is the way the audience is able to trigger the three behind-the-scenes educational scenes from the film’s timeline. When the user clicks on the timeline, they reveal films within the film. The timeline unfolds and expands, the post production disappears, each expert walks in and the rigging reappears revealing that all along the actors were simply holding their position whilst a state of the art motion rig captured them in frozen time. All this was designed to be as seamless as possible with maximum visual reward ensuring the audience clicked all three of the hotspots.
In addition to the interaction within the film, the ratio of the film itself could be changed at anytime through first person interaction. This simple, but effective comparison tool really did get across the spectacle of the new Philips 21:9 TV. The other elegantly simple piece of interaction is Ambilight on and off, in the words of the DOP – “you really miss it when it’s not there.” A final point worth noting is the dynamic title sequence. Instead of a traditional loader, we crafted a title sequence correspond to the speed of the users internet connection. The slower the connection, the longer the sequence.
Advertising Agency: Tribal DDB Amsterdam Creative Director: Michael Fakesch, Chris Baylis, Andrew Ferguson Art Director: Mariota Essery, Maximilliano Chanan Copywriter: Carla Madden Production Company: Stink Digital, London Director: Adam Berg
Alternative Grand Prix – T-Mobile (Dance)
On 15th January at 11am, a single commuter started dancing in the middle of a train station. The dance grew as more dancers joined in, until there were over 300 people perfectly choreographed. The excitement caused hundred’s of genuine unsuspecting members of the public to join in and share the moment.
Advertising Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, London Creative Director: Paul Silburn, Kate Stanners Art Director: Rick Dodds Copywriter: Stephen Howell Production Company: Partizan, London Director: Michael Gracey
Grand Prix 2010 – Old Spice (The Men Your Man Could Smell Like)
This TV commercial was created to appeal to men as well as women, showing them both how great a man can smell when they use Old Spice Body Wash.
Advertising Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland Creative Director: Mark Fitzloff, Susan Hoffman Art Director: Craig Allen, Eric Kallman Copywriter: Craig Allen, Eric Kallmacanal Production Company: MJZ, Los Angeles Director: Tom Kuntz
Alternative Grand Prix – Canal + (Closet)
Canal+ launched its new ‘Original Creativity’ campaign in September 2009. The objective highlight to Canal+’s showcase of original programming, consisting of series, documentaries and fictions, created exclusively by and for Canal+, scripted by prestigious writers such as Olivier Marchal and Jean- Hugues Anglade. To launch this new campaign, we produced THE CLOSET. The film unites quality, humour, originality and a touch of impertinence inherent to the brand’s communications: ‘Never underestimate the power of a great story”
Advertising Agency: BETC EURO RSCG, Paris Creative Director: Stephane Xiberras Art Director: Eric Astorgue Copywriter: Jean Christophe Royer Production Soixan7e Quin5e, Paris Director: Matthijs van Heijningen
Every four years, the keys to football heaven are dangled in front of the international elite. One goal, one pass, one game saving tackle can be the difference between fame and forgotten. What happens on the pitch in that split second has a ripple effect that goes beyond the match and the tournament.
‘Write the Future’ was a messaging platform that allowed Nike to show how football creates this ripple effect. It allowed us to give a glimpse into the future to see what the players were really playing for, in their own lives and the lives of those that follow them. Our goal was to weave the brand into the conversations around this major tournament in a way that celebrated the participating teams and athletes and engaged football fans around the world.
Advertising Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Amsterdam Creative Director: Jeff Kling, Mark Bernath, Eric Quennoy Art Director: Stuart Harkness, Freddie Powell Copywriter: Stuart Harkness, Freddie Powell Production Company: Independent Films, London Director: Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu
Alternative Grand Prix – Volkswagen (The Force)/Crysler (Born of Fire)
For the all-new 2012 Passat , Volkswagen brings Star Wars™ to one of TV’s most talked about events. Accompanied by John Williams’ iconic “The Imperial March,” the spot features the most infamous villain in the galaxy, a pint-sized Darth Vader who uses the Force when he discovers the all-new 2012 Passat in the driveway. The two iconic brands leverage humor and the unforgettable Star Wars score to create an emotional spot and make Super Bowl ad history.
Advertising Agency: Deutsch, Los Angeles Creative Director: Eric Springer, Michael Kadin Art Director: Ryan Mclaughlin, Craig Melchiano Copywriter: David Povill Production Park Pictures, Santa Monica Director: Lance Acord
Of the big three American car companies, Chrysler was in the most danger of failing. Had there not been a last-minute vote of confidence from the U.S. Government, they would not exist. This was public knowledge, debated throughout the country—should we have loaned Chrysler the money? When it came time to introduce a new product, we had a car to sell and also had to win back America’s confidence. To do this, we took the unlikely position of embracing Chrysler’s Detroit heritage when every other American car company was distancing themselves from the city. We created a 2-minute homage to Detroit, a city primed for a comeback, and ran the spot only once, on Super Bowl Sunday.
Advertising Agency: Weiden + Kennedy Portland Creative Director: Mark Fitzloff, Susan Hoffman, Aaron Allen Art Director: Jim Lasser Copywriter: Mark Fitzloff, Joe Staples, Kevin Jones, Greg Rutter, Dan Kroeger Production: Serial Pictures, Culver City Director: Samuel Bayer
“Everybody who has been to the Cannes Lions Festival has a story to tell. A story that in some shape or form has influenced or changed their lives,” says Philip Thomas, Festival CEO. “Who better to give an insight into the ethos of Cannes – the opportunities, the creativity, the relationships, the rewards – but some of those people who know best, and at first-hand, that great advertising and communication is about storytelling.”
How can an agency showcase its work and awards without arrogance. In a business where egos sometimes seem too big for an agency’s well being, Leo Burnett wanted to proudly celebrate its work and performance without ever crossing the line into arrogance. Tura, a stray dog from the agency’s creative director seemed just the perfect fit for this task.
It’s a thin line between being arrogant and just plain informative, when one talks about his or hers agency’s awards and success. Leo Burnett Lisbon’s performance in the awards shows has been very successful. And it is no secret that the more creative an agency is, the better work it does and the more relevant and attractive it become in the eye of potential clients. Tura, the dog, became the right and genuine way of being able to say it all without ever crossing the line.
How? We named Tura, the dog, the agency’s creative director. And in every work submitted for an award, Tura was added. We also created a site, where one can see Tura hard at work picking ideas, concepts and displaying her awards. Tura, the dog, became an ambassador to the agency’s work. And with her as an integral part of our creative team, we were able to always talk about our creative work and results through the acts of a dog. The most creative dog in the world. Tura was further advertised via Direct mail, Dog USB Card with Agency Credentials, event and T-shirts.
Results: with over 5,000 views online Tura’s presentation video is a good example of this idea’s reach and success. Moreover, we have been approached through Tura’s site several times in the last year. Clients have been known to want to meet her in person. And as result, Tura, the dog is today the agency’s most popular spokesperson. And having received free press in trade magazines and online, the return in investment is above the norm in this market by far.
Advertising Agency: Leo Burnett Iberia Executive Creative director: Chacho Puebla Creatives: Juan Christmann, Ricardo Toledo Year: 2010
This is not ADVERTISING 