"It’s not often you get the opportunity to make a great campaign that tortures an Englishman and your deputy ECD at the same time. “So for me it was a no-brainer,” says DiLallo.
In partnership with its creative agency TBWA Sydney and PR company Eleven, men’s tailored suit brand M.J. Bale enlisted a UK weatherman to help break norms associated with wool.
With the world getting hotter and global record temperatures continuing to be smashed – and given Australia is on the front line of this, M.J. Bale has designed a new range of Cool Wool suits “to be the most breathable yet”.
To put this hot claim to the test, the brand gave the new suit to UK weatherman Alex Beresford, from Bristol.
Armed with his forecasting equipment, an M.J. Bale suit and a skeleton crew, Beresford set out on a heat-seeking mission from the set of TV show Good Morning Britain to chase the sun around the globe and put the Cool Wool through its paces.
Every day he forecasted where tomorrow’s hottest temperature was going to land on the globe, then raced to make it there for another live weather forecast. Back home, the results of these broadcasts were fed into a custom-built M.J. Bale change room designed to change people’s opinion of wool as a summer fabric, allowing the public to experience the effects of M.J. Bale’s Cool Wool suits in the exact same conditions as Beresford encountered.
TBWA chief creative Officer Andy DiLallo says it’s not often you get the opportunity to make a great campaign that tortures an Englishman and your deputy ECD at the same time. “So for me it was a no-brainer,” he says.
Each forecast was delivered through Facebook Live, allowing the public to interact with the weatherman in real time. Unfortunately for him this meant that he spent 11 days being tormented by his audience, from the blistering sands of Dubai to the salt flats outside Jodhpur all the way to the middle of the Sahara Desert. It was only when he finally arrived in the record-temperature-holding Death Valley that his audience finally relented and rewarded him with an icy cold drink instead of the molten-hot vindaloos and arduous camel rides he’d had to endure.
Despite phones melting, numerous vehicles breaking down and tempers flaring hotter than the sun he was chasing, the suit held its own in the hellish conditions.
Deputy executive creative director of TBWA Sydney (and member of the skeleton crew), Craig Brooks, says: “When we were coming up with the idea I assumed that I wouldn’t actually be heading out on the shoot so we really pushed the torture elements to the limit.
“Big mistake, because I then had to experience it all for myself. Luckily the suit and Alex held up to everything we threw at them so it was worth it, even though it shaved five years off my life”.
Founder and CEO of M.J. Bale, Matt Jensen, says looking good is a struggle when you live in one of the hottest countries in the world, with many men sacrificing style to stay comfortable.
“With this campaign, we wanted to show gents no matter how hot the forecast, they can still stay looking smart and feeling cool, so we invited them to feel the difference for themselves in-store. The coolest suit in the hottest change room, it was a perfect fit”.
CREDITS:
TBWA SYDNEY
Chief Creative Officer – Andy DiLallo
Deputy Executive Creative Director – Craig Brooks
Creative Director – Ian Williamson
Senior Art Director – Mark Tallis
Senior Writer – Cameron Dowsett
Producer – Annabel Jewers
Junior Producer – Savannah Anseline
Senior Account Director – Laura Morano
Account Director – Dave Matthews
Planning Director – Joel Pearson
Design Director – Chris Mawson
Design & Animation – Razif Djamaluddin
Design & Animation – Thanh Lu
Animation – Brent Loy
Sound Designer – Beau Silvester
PRODUCTION PARTNERS
Director & Photographer – Patrick Fileti
Music – Song Zu
Composer – Ben Lam (Songzu)
Sound Producer – Jessica Bonney (Songzu)
Activation Director – Richard Bernardo (Avant Garde Events)
Production Fixer Dubai – Abdel Salam
Production Fixer India – Daulat Singh Ranawat
Production Fixer Morocco – Reda Fakhar
ELEVEN
General Manager – Fi Milliken
Account Manager – Jade Barringer
Account Executive – Caitlin Jokovic
M.J. BALE
Founder & CEO – Matt Jensen
General Manager – Shannon Luxford
Marketing & PR Coordinator – Nick Sanders
Head of Visual Communication – Cassandra Thomas
Brand Editor-In-Chief – Jonathan Lobban
Brand Experience Manager – Jaime Fernandes
