Wanting to avoid the familiar visuals of people just enjoying their music, we decided to focus on bringing to life the power of our headphones to transform noise pollution into silence.

We did this by creating a simple and clean visual comparison between two related objects – a thunderous airplane vs. a graceful bird, a sputtering motorcycle vs. a simple bicycle. On top of each image, we placed the words “Off” and “On” to reference the noise-cancelling feature turned off (loud, noisy world) and turned on (tranquil, peaceful, calm). With just these simple visuals, we were able to convey the feeling of serenity and heightened enjoyment enabled by the headphones.

Plane/Bird and Motorbike/Bicycle were shot in a stark studio environment, while Storm/Cloud was adapted from stock. In the imagery the aim was to bring attention to the objects and for the viewer to question their meaning, linked by the overlaid text. To achieve this, they are shot in sharp focus and set on muted, minimal backdrops, each a different colour and texture to bring in a sense of environment. The binary divide between sections of the layout helps to highlight the OFF-ON effect of noise cancelling and provides a canvas for the product and sub-messaging. In this branded third, the product is set with a bold crop which aims to draw the eye down to the copy beneath, which rationalises the concept the viewer has just seen.

The overall “Get Closer” campaign was Bose’s most successful above the line marketing campaign to date. Specific results are not available to share.