FIVE STAR / BRAND CAMPAIGN
EMPOWERING STUDENTS TO SHOW THEIR WORK
In late 2019, our team at Publicis Hawkeye (now Razorfish) was briefed by Five Star to develop a brand campaign for the upcoming back-to-school season—a 10-week period in which 80% of their sales occurred. The campaign would need to lean into their differentiators (strength and durability), while not ignoring that laptops were the new norm for note-taking.
Working within these confines, we identified an insight: whether in business, sports, or the classroom, the best ideas and most memorable moments aren’t one-off instances. They’re the result of countless hours spent gritting through the work.
This insight lead to our idea—a rally cry to not just celebrate the final result, but all the work that got you there. Of course, this resilient-centric campaign took on a whole new meaning for us as our production timeline moved into March 2020. Now, instead of locking directors and finalizing boards, we had to adjust our strategy and pivot to a more COVID-friendly creative production, while still working within our concept and meeting rigid, predetermined deadlines.
Role:
Strategy
Copywriting
Creative Direction
Voice Direction
Show Your Work
To start, we developed a concept summary, moodboard, and manifesto to ground the work and set the tone for the campaign.
Do not confuse someone’s finished product for your first draft.
Because success is not made of stress-free or highlights-only moments.
It’s made by muddling through the messy middle.
By gritting through the process.
By embracing all the spills, rips, tears, doodles, and mistakes that got you here.
Those are the badges of honor.
Proving that you’ve not only made it through, but that you’re on the path to something great.
Facing Remote Realities
Because shooting anything (especially a new TV spot) in March-April 2020 was a non-starter, our team pivoted to create a campaign that paired some existing footage with new VO and product-focused shots. Due to COVID health mandates, the new footage was shot in a warehouse by a single photographer and his stylist—and directed entirely remotely by myself and an art director.
Unsure if kids would go back to school in the fall or continue with remote-first education, we also proactively developed assets that would speak to the potential reality of a student continuing to learn entirely from home.
While we wanted to connect with students, we knew parents were the ones pulling the purse strings when it came to back-to-school shopping. By leaning into the parallels between our product and their kids’ resilience, we told a story of strength and durability, which would also equate to dollars saved in the long-run.
Team
Executive Creative Director: Janet Barker-Evans
Executive Producer: Sally Edger McGuin
Account: Lauren Alexander, Brynn Geraghty
Featured Work
Senior Art Director: Daniel Vaneps
Video: Publicis Production