After years of trailing behind arch-rival Levis, Lee decided to change tactics. In autumn 2012 Lee (China) launched their most provocative collection yet 'Night Skins'.

The overall campaign idea 'Free your Night Side' aimed to trigger a discussion about the recessive ‘night side’ within the target market.

We were asked to create a launch event that would not only showcase the Night Skins collection but also generate content that would increase engagement with the campaign. And of course they wanted to sell a few pairs of jeans in the process.

With no paid media support we had to utilise the social influence of our high-profile guest list. We needed to create content our guests couldn’t resist sharing.

So we invited a carefully selected guest list of fashion bloggers, editors, and celebrities to what they thought was a normal launch event. But it was all a big set up. Awaiting them was a cast of over 100 people but most importantly, a network of hidden cameras.

In pairs our unsuspecting victims were subject to a series of experiences, each carefully designed to expose their Night Side to our cameras.

Immediately after the event, our guests received a personalised film of their experience. Each film linked through to the eCommerce site helping ensure the sales targets were met.

99% of our guests willingly shared the content. The films received over 3 million views.

The range sold out entirely and for the first time in 10 years Lee outsold Levis, despite spending 3 times less.

On the week of the collection’s main launch we invited China’s most influential bloggers, celebrities and fashion editors to what seemed like a normal launch party.

The event was held at a converted warehouse in Beijing’s fashionable art district.

The guests were given different times to arrive and for the first 10 minutes the guests happily enjoyed a drink while waiting for the ‘show’. Little did they know they were about to become the show. The guests were then invited to join the ‘VIP’ room where it all kicked off. From then on, they were led through a series of surprise experiences.

We used a live edit suite to create customised videos of each guest’s ‘best bits’. We sent this to them straight after the event, improving the likelihood of them sharing the content. To help ensure the sales objectives were met, the videos were embedded with links through to the eCommerce site.

The films received over 3.2 million views, helping to grow Lee’s Weibo fan base by 261%

Lee outsold its competitor, Levis, for the first time in 10 years, despite spending 3x less.