What do you get when you combine a beautiful model, a high-speed camera, an exotic location and a good soundtrack…every fashion film you have ever watched. As Matthew Frost’s spoof ‘Fashion Film’ highlights, a lot of fashion films are a cliché. But as we all know, high production values are no longer enough to sell clothes. The world of fashion has recently discovered the power of imaginative storytelling.
Narrative led videos with very little to do with fashion are now subtly selling you clothes and concentrating on delivering a memorable brand message. And when done right it can work wonders for your brand awareness. We’ve seen it in sports retail for years; Nike, Adidas and Under Armour are undoubtedly the most powerful storytellers in the sports retail world. More and more brands are making an emotional connection with their customers and instead of alienating them with unattainable and very unrealistic scenes, they’re creating content that their customers can’t get enough of. If you know your brand and understand your audience, it’s the easiest way to be seen and prompt a positive brand response. Here are some of our favourites...
Kenzo World - The New Fragrance
Christmas saw many big names break into the world of storytelling where the fashion took the backseat and the story took the lead. The sedate world of perfume ads was screaming for a refresh so Spike Jonze made a perfume ad with most engaging ads we have had this year. And there wasn’t a perfume bottle in sight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABz2m0olmPg
Burberry - Tale of Thomas Burberry
Featuring a star studded cast and the story of the Burberry heritage, this solid piece of story-telling offers an inspiring glimpse into the vision and spirit of the Burberry brand. It was certainly a tale worth telling and provided the perfect ingredients for a great piece of storytelling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D5IZtDCS5c
H&M - Come Together
Directed by Wes Anderson and starring Adrien Brody, this festive short got our attention. And it’s not the first time Wes has paired with a fashion brand. He directed a Prada ad in 2013, where the only Prada product in the 8 minute video was a yellow jumpsuit. Using Wes Anderson to target the indie movie lovers is a pretty smart move for fashion brands trying to stand out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpmqTg7iDPE
Lacoste – Timeless, the film
Fashion, trains and storytelling seems to be a trend in itself, Lacoste’s latest CGI must-see ‘Timeless, the Film’ is a story of an epic journey and love at first sight with Max Richter providing the soundtrack.
Shows that brands really are embracing the world of storytelling and moving away from the campaigns that we are all so familiar with.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6O6G_hq6P8
Missoni - Eight ways to get rid of hiccups
It’s a risky one, but many fashion brands are playing around with humour in their videos in an attempt to inject some personality into their brands. The high fashion Italian label Missoni have been using video to make its famous look more accessible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoFS7-5Q_Qw
Vogue video
The fashion magazine’s video channel was one of the first to champion storytelling with their range of short narrative films, documentaries and episodic content. They’re not scared about weaving humour and real behind the scenes narrative to show that fashion actually has a personality.
Vogue - Carey Mulligan Knows the Secret to Being a True New Yorker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5BWseBIu80&t=9s
One of our greatest strengths at Aspect is our deep-rooted understanding of story-telling. We can help you create a memorable brand identity that your customers will associate and engage with.
Find out more: http://www.aspectfilmandvideo.co.uk/services/emotional-storytelling/
