Timberland joins cultural legacy trend
‘A to Z’ by Timberland is a montage grounded in a fun alphabet recitation and a reminder of the brand’s cultural impact.
In the last week, we’ve covered Kickers’ advertising ode to its impact on subcultures, and Boots and McVities celebrate their place in modern British life. This time, it's Timberland’s turn to impress their place in the eternal zeitgeist upon us.
The brand’s iconic yellow boot has spent decades drifting across subcultures. It has appeared on construction sites, hip-hop stages (notably Biggie, Nas, Jay-Z), city streets and fashion runways.
'A to Z' attempts to capture all of that history in a single campaign.
Direct appeal
Directed by Walid Labri and produced by DIVISION, the project feels larger than a product launch, cataloguing the myriad communities, professions and identities that have adopted Timberland throughout its history.
Labri was a smart choice, given that his work often blurs distinctions between documentary realism and stylised fashion imagery. The London-born filmmaker has built a reputation through campaigns for brands including Nike, NOCTA (Drake’s sub-brand), Corteiz, Aimé Leon Dore and New Balance, bringing an observational, street-cast authenticity to highly crafted fashion films.
Visually, the campaign blends fashion film, editorial photography and graphic design. Characters, objects and environments appear in rapid succession, playing into the recent trend towards montage.
Timberland's greatest hits
Historically, Timberland's strongest campaigns have focused on durability, but 'A to Z' broadens the brief to its footprint on culture.
Like Kickers, then, Timberland too is a social chameleon, and the campaign follows Timberland's Original Yellow Boot celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2023.
Will it last another 50 years? Given its cross cultural prowess and practicality, it's hard to see why not.
Credits
Client: Timberland
Chief marketing officer: Maisie Willoughby
Director Global Production: Alexandra Izdebski
Senior director, brand creative: Drew Villani
Senior art director EMEA: Massimo Mezzavilla
Head of social: Alison Crowley
Senior social art director: Adraint Bereal
CP production manager: Phillip Lewis
Sample coordinator: Kaleigh Merriweather
TBL sample coordinators: Stone Jarboe, Grace Providencia Wagner
Global brand product marketing: Nora Garrity
Global brand marketing: Josh Griffe
DIVISION
VP fashion & luxury: Gwendoline Victoria
EP: Theo Gall
Producer: Vincent Vève
DOP: Harry Wheeler
Director’s assistant / B unit director: Sebastian Tabe
Post-producer: Bylitis Leibovici
Post-producer assistant: Rojin Shafiei
Production coordinators: Tosca Poilliot, Benoît Barranco
Production assistant: Wafae Malle
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