Cannes Lions

CK1

MOTHER NEW YORK, New York / CALVIN KLEIN / 2015

Presentation Image
Film
Case Film

Overview

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Credits

Overview

Description

We created a series of vignettes as seen through the eyes of 21 emerging artists, actors, musicians and models. Dev Hynes, Ali Michael, Lelela, Say Lou Lou, Stephen James, Edie Campbell, Taeyang, Petra Collins, Evian Christ, Michael Bailey Gates and more.

As they fluidly transition from photographer to subject and back again, each cast member's story contrasts the one before it. Some are warm, eclectic and punk rock, others romantic and provocative, others austere and intimate, and the sound design reinforces this in each.

Together the stories form a narrative about identity experimentation and everything that comes with it - the messiness, ambiguity, and sexual tension.

Execution

No singular celebrity image could reflect the borderless nature of the global tribe. We needed to represent a tribe bigger and more diverse than any group that could be plucked from a single location or clique.

So we broke typical fragrance norms and cast 21 emerging artists, actors, musicians and models. We gave them a lounge full of music, mirrors and cameras, and they made what they wanted. The cast shared themselves through SnapChat with global youth, and the kids reciprocated. Everything ended up on Tumblr, blurring the line between the campaign’s creators, subjects, and people interacting with it.

Outcome

Global ethnographic research showed that youth are starting to connect with the brand again. The campaign was one of the top ten highest performing Snapchat campaigns globally, and was the top branded fashion Tumblr page for three months running. It beat the majority of internal benchmarks by 200% with 4 times more followers and 7 times more page views than our nearest competitors. I-D magazine even named our video the 5th most important fashion film to see for the 10th anniversary of YouTube.

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