Bonds addresses the ‘turtleneck’ vs ‘crewneck’ debate in ad for universally comfy underwear
Bonds has taken to the men’s locker room in its latest ad.
The topic of circumcision is disguised as locker-room chat between men clothed in turtleneck and crewneck jumpers, with both sides coming to the agreement they are comfy in their undies.
It is the first campaign Clemenger BBDO Melbourne has created for the brand in several years, despite being on Bonds’ agency roster. The agency is currently on the shortlist for Bonds’ creative pitch, alongside Leo Burnett Melbourne which joined Clemenger on the agency roster in 2014 and produced the majority of the brand’s recent work.
Mumbrella understands the new campaign is not indicative of the status of the current pitch.
Kelly McBride, head of marketing at Bonds, said the campaign taps into a universal truth.
“We are always looking for new ways to innovate. The men’s underwear category generally follows tried and tested conventions, so we felt it was time to shake things up. We are highlighting a truth that all men are aware of, but maybe haven’t given due consideration to when it comes to their choice of undies. We hope we’ll get on men’s radars with this cheeky message,” McBride said.
Richard Williams, executive creative director at Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, said the campaign also intends to encourage men to talk more freely about their bodies.
“Approximately 20% of Australian men have crewnecks today, a big change from the 1950’s when roughly 80% of the male population had the ‘chop’. Despite ‘Team Crewneck’ being a rarer breed than ‘Team Turtleneck’, we know both teams have questions and we hope this campaign gets all men talking more freely. You’re welcome,” he said.
The static execution of the campaign
The campaign will appear on sports streaming app Kayo, social media, online and in Bonds stores.
Credits
Client: Bonds
Head of Marketing: Kelly McBride
Marketing Manager: Kedda Ghazarian
Brand Manager: Amanda Varbaro
Creative agency: Clemenger BBDO Melbourne
Production company: Guilty
Producer: Jason Bryne
Director: Tony Rogers
DOP: Joey Knox
Stills Photographer: Christopher Tovo
Post Production: Finish – Sam Coates
Sound: Squeak E Clean
the worst time to loose your mojo is during a pitch.
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Hope it feels good being all snide and clever.
Good luck beating this when you take on Bonds.
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They need to work on their product. step one is killing them by making a better product.
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This is great.
PS – optional sunroof is the way to go, anything less is mutilation!
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Funniest thing I have seen for a long time.
Thank god for Aussie comedy
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This is hilarious.
Thank god, an ad that’s not an earnest manifesto with ‘slice of life’ moments.
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Genital mutilation is no laughing matter — whether the victim happens to be male or female. This ad is deplorably sexist. It normalises violence against male children and babies. It sets back the struggle to end the barbaric practice of non-consensual, non-therapeutic male circumcision.
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