Archives For brand as story

brand as story

17/10/2017

A brand that speaks to a man’s heart

Gillette’s film about a son helping his elderly father shave won the Cannes Gold this year. And deservedly so.

The ad follows Kristian Rex (a NYC session singer) as he carefully and gently shaves his elderly dad (who has been left incapacitated by a stroke) with the new Gillette TREO razor. Apparently the idea for the new product came after Gillette noticed numerous social media conversations describing the difficulties faced by care-givers when shaving their loved ones.

The headline copy on the Gillette TREO website reads:

IN THE PAST 100 YEARS, OVER 4000 RAZORS HAVE BEEN DESIGNED TO SHAVE YOURSELF. THERE HAVE BEEN 0 DESIGNED WITH THE INTENT TO SHAVE SOMEONE ELSE.

UNTIL NOW

Gillette introduces the first-ever razor designed solely for assisted shaving.

What this campaign does for the Gillette brand is to shift it FROM the traditional, typical, male, muscle, macho shaving brand stereotype TO a brand that is in touch with men in a real way.

It speaks to our hearts, and for that I love Gillette’s work.

Agency: Grey New York

In brand as story
permalink

brand as story

24/08/2017

Work hard dream big

This film for Beats by Dre is dedicated to Conor McGregor — he who is facing Floyd Mayweather in the biggest battle of his fighting career — and is not only topical and timely, it is pure inspiration.

 

We all need heroes, especially as young boys. My childhood hero was Muhammad Ali, and today I wear t-shirts that celebrate his great victories. To me Ali was a hero who devoted himself to an ideal, and transformed himself and the world in the process. To me he was a person who made an impact, and he captured my imagination. Like Conor McGregor does for young boys today.

At the same time, however, when I was a kid it was always strongly implied, “You can admire, dream about, and pretend to be a hero, but you are not one, and you will never be one. You will grow up and get a real job, and do what normal people do”. And that’s the real power of this Beats by Dre film — you can be a hero. Know this, and never submit.

Enjoy the fight this weekend everyone 🙂

In brand as story, brand power, brand YOU
permalink

brand power

19/07/2017

The world’s most expensive perfume

There are fragrances, there are luxury fragrances, and then there’s Clive Christian.

Originally established as The Crown Perfumery during the reign of Queen Victoria in 1872, the fragrance house had fallen upon hard times, with declining profits and a fall in the quality of its products. Perfumer Clive Christian purchased The Crown Perfumery in 1999, intent on restoring the brand back to its former glory.

The first release by the newly purchased company was the Original Collection, which featured the fragrances ‘1872’, ‘X’, and ‘No.1′. Today Clive Christian fragrances are widely known as the most expensive perfumes in the world, with prices that reach upwards of $800, and they’re happy to tell you that—you’ll find “The World’s Most Expensive Perfume” inscribed on the label of ‘No.1’ (US $2,150 an ounce to be exact). Mission accomplished: another great British brand revived and restored to its former glory (ala Burberry).

But what goes into such a lofty price tag? Well, there are the ingredients they use. The scent has top notes of bergamot, lime, Sicilian mandarin nutmeg, cardamom and thyme. The heart notes are more of heliotrope, ylang-ylang, jasmine, rose, and lily of the valley while the base notes smell of sandalwood, cedar wood, amber wood, vanilla, and vetiver. And all of the Clive Christian perfumes contain between 20 and 25% perfume, making them linger on the skin longer.

And then there is the packaging. The bottles are a work of art in and of themselves. Each bottle is handmade from lead crystal, while the neck is 24-karat gold-plated sterling silver, set with a solitaire. Not to mention that they have Queen Victoria’s stamp of approval – an enduring symbol of quality and British excellence.

Okay, let’s just get a reality check on all of this. Imagine you’re just starting your day. After a leisurely bath it’s time to choose which fragrance will best fit your mood. Instinctively, you reach for a bottle with a label proclaiming it is “The World’s Most Expensive Perfume.” A smug, satisfied smile reveals itself as you think, “I’ve made it, I’m wearing the world’s most expensive fragrance” –at US $750.00 for 50ml of liquid (two and a half table spoons), which works out to circa 70 cents a drop or US $30.00 per light spray.

But hey, if that’s the price for confidence in a bottle, maybe it’s not such a bad deal after all.

In brand as story, brand power
permalink

brand as story

14/07/2017

Using fashion to get inside his opponent’s head

David August is a UK based provider of “tailor-made suits and casual wear for the most distinguished of business leaders, sports professionals and entertainers.” Their brand stands for confidence and assertiveness, and carries a whole lot of alpha male attitude. Their suits are only tailored to fit, and make the wearer look a million bucks. Which gets me on to my story.

The so-called ‘billion dollar megabout’ is happening on 26 August between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor. And as with all fights, the two contenders met face-to-face in front of the press this week. Getting in your opponent’s head is a huge part of these pre-bout press conferences. Do it successfully, and you’ll throw him off his game, leaving you with the advantage. And neither fighter needs to be told this.

Except the way Conor McGregor set about getting inside Floyd Mayweather’s head was a first: he used fashion to do it.

Yep, Conor McGregor turned up wearing a supremely tailored bespoke David August pinstripe suit. And it wasn’t just any David August suit. The fabric was a custom, in-house product made of super 130s navy wool, which has been dressing McGregor for the entirety of his career. To pair with the suit, McGregor went for a lapel flower, hot pink tie, and a patterned pocket square. Way to go Conor!

But upon closer examination, you would notice that the pin stripes weren’t just ordinary, everyday pin stripes — the pin stripes were made out of the two words “Fuck You”, written over and over and over and over. Not that McGregor’s insults stopped at what was written on his suit, as he pointed to Mayweather saying, “He’s in a fucking track suit. He can’t even afford a suit any more.”

I reckon there were two BIG winners in this bout — Conor McGregor and David August. And wow, what a beautiful way for a UK-based, alpha male suit brand to make its mark on the world stage.

 

In brand as story ,
permalink