Carhartt
Carhartt needed a brand awareness campaign—we chose not only to settle the debate between real cowboys who rely on the gear and the posers who wear it for style, but also to showcase the true strength of the brand..
It’s hard to find common ground between a rugged cowboy and a poser. Somehow Carhartt has found itself there, at the intersection of stylish and ruggedness. Through this campaign, Carhartt finally recognizes the hipster posers who proudly wear Carhartt. Doing so, the fight between workers and posers is finally settled: the Carhartt jacket always wins.
Copywriter: Emma Roth
To sum up the struggle: the jacket wins. The street-styling urbanite can see that Carhartt is tough enough to withstand a challenge high in the sky on the way to their favorite coffee shop or their next Instagram photo shoot.
All across small-town and urban America news will be spread about the stand-off between two new rivals through print and OOH.
This magazine ad, inspired by old-style print, will live in places like Bloomberg Business and Ranch & Rural Living.
The campaign includes three key ad spots. In the premiere commercial “The Beau” and “The Brawn” meet. Both spot a jacket. A standoff ensues.
In an effort to settle the challenge, The Beau and The Brawn compete to see who can hang from the Carhartt jacket the longest. After hours, they both let go at the same time, and the jacket wins.
In the final highly anticipated Super Bowl spot, Beau and Brawn duke it out to prove, once and for all, who’s toughest. They both slip at the same time, and the jacket wins again.
(Sound on) Onlookers of the showdown can check back for updates, as well as new information about the new rivals. The landing page holds everything, including the challenge videos, backstory, and bios of both Beau and Brawn.
When going into town, the poster wall inspired by vintage newspapers is sure to capture the attention of the working-class Carhartt target. Each poster corresponds to a battle between the Beau and the Brawn.
Encouraging engagement from fellow Beaus and Brawns in Carhartt communities will strengthen and connect to Carhartt in a new way.
Both the Beau and the Brawn take to audio to spread their side of the story on the challenge.
Video may have killed the radio star, but for our blue-collar audience with older, Bluetooth-less cars, radio is a thing of the present.
In 2024, everyone and their mother has a podcast. This includes The Beau and many of his type. In his newest episode the Beau realizes theirs a bounty on his head.
Music says a lot about a person. To add to the Brawn and Beau’s dimension, we created corresponding country and indie playlists.
Spreading the challenge to the UFC, Carhartt will sponsor fights that tie to Beau’s and Brawn’s in pop culture. Such as Mike Tyson and Jake Paul’s upcoming fight.
A sports betting incentive allows the battle and reach to go beyond a Western standoff.