art direction, design
Founded in Germany as a small engineering shop in the 1920s, Braun grew to be a legendary global brand driven by the modern industrial design movement and the incomparable Dieter Rams. By 2015, Braun's products were still known for their design and innovation but lacked empathy, and grooming trends in the US were moving toward cheap and accessible, not premium and expensive.
In desperate need of a refresh, the brand used their NFL partnership in 2014 to snag Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl winning quarterback Russell Wilson as their US spokesman and launched the Face Greatness campaign, which led to unexpected growth despite a shrinking category. We kicked off year two of that campaign finding the Seahawks back in the Super Bowl for the second straight year, and created buzz with a social media blitz that included a countdown to the big game as well as live-tweeting throughout the game.
Then our playoff-bearded spokesman threw an interception from the 1-yard line with 26 seconds to play in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, and from that moment of loss was born the narrative for year two of the campaign.
"Shaving isn't about looking good, it's about feeling that you're at your best." That was the simple insight that underpinned our seemingly routine moment in the mirror every morning, where men like Russell Wilson visualize the man they want to be and "face greatness with Braun confidence." Focusing on that ritualistic human moment to start your day, purposeful and disciplined, let us set the authentic tone we needed.
My primary role was the evolution of the tone from year one to two of the Face Greatness campaign – from hyper-stylized and tough to cinematic and beautiful. Our drive wasn’t to capture confidence with a “cool” look, but to embody the soul underneath each confident moment by displaying Russell’s authentic emotions and personality. Developing this tone and translating it to 4 different photo shoots, several versions of a TV commercial, and social media strategy was a challenging and invaluable learning experience.
We tabbed award-winning director Henry Lu for the commercial, whose knack for documentary filmmaking and ability to get compelling performances from real people fit perfectly with our tone. The video below is the director's cut, which never made it to market but it captures the heart of the Face Greatness campaign beautifully.
The video below also never made it to market, but was cut together by my copywriting partner. The tone of this cut best represented our creative vision for this piece. Scoring Russell's words of promise with a soulful gospel track from Leon Bridges, we felt like it would have cut through the endless machismo that surrounds the NFL.
Below are the final cuts for the :60s extended version (online only) and :30s version that aired on NFL Network nationwide. The music for these are original scores we helped develop.
My biggest takeaway from this whole experience was getting to work with so many ultra-talented, charismatic people throughout the whole process and having them inspire and push me in different ways. Endless thanks to:
