Creativity: it’s the not-so-secret ingredient that helps turn any marketing campaign from so-so to great. And there is no shortage of fashion brands around these days that serve as excellent case studies for its magic.
The task of being innovative with how you present your fashion brand across various ads channels may seem intimidating. So, let’s cite just a few that should get you thinking.
Colourful Standard
Image source: Colourful Standard
Colourful Standard asserts front-and-centre that it is all about sustainability, with its range of wardrobe essentials focusing on organic cotton and recycled wool clothing. This is most definitely not a brand that tolerates ‘disposability’, instead being aimed at mindful shoppers.
And just in case its other communications aren’t driving that point home, the brand makes use of Instagram Stories that detail such aspects as its recycled materials, organic cottons and dyes. Beautiful photography blends with well-written copy to tell the brand’s narrative across multiple easily digestible Stories.
Monki
Image source: Monki
Monki, too, looks well beyond its bottom line with its creative fashion ads – in some cases, helping us all to feel more ‘at one’ with our bottoms. This was communicated loud and clear through its “no filter” campaign, which incorporated unretouched imagery of a diverse range of models wearing the brand’s lingerie sets, in an emphatic “yes” to body positivity.
Acknowledging that no brand is complete without the audiences that interact with it, Monki also encouraged customers and influencers to wax lyrical about their own relationships with their bodies. The undeniable visual impact of Monki’s campaign was further ensured by beautiful colour schemes, fonts and other design elements.
Pangaia
Image source: Pangia on Instagram, video one, two and three
There’s nothing wrong with having a sense of fun in how you promote your fashion brand, especially at a time when many of us need the relief that comes with a bit of silliness. The sustainable cotton brand Pangaia clearly applied that lesson with one of its recent social media campaigns centring on its activewear made using castor beans, eucalyptus, seaweed and zero plastic.
As you might expect, there’s a serious point to it all – giving the planet “a breather”, as Pangaia themselves put it. But the nod to the ‘80s Jane Fonda workout aesthetic, incorporated into the highly engaging format that is 2020s social media videos… well, that’s a touch of genius if you ask us.
& Other Stories
Image Source: & Other Stories
& Other Stories is another brand that constantly generates new and interesting creative fashion ads to encourage customer engagement.
One such method of theirs has been to include little games on their Instagram such as “This or That?”, whereby they present the viewer with two product options from their store and invite them to vote for – and indeed, shop for – their favourite.
Gucci
Image source: Gucci on Instagram
The Florence-based fashion house is far from merely synonymous with prestige, exclusivity and heritage – it has also long been a highly creative and compelling storyteller through film and photography.
This was no less the case for the campaign marking the brand’s century, Gucci 100. The campaign reminds us just how far we – and the brand – have come, journeying through 20th and 21st-century music genres from jazz and psychedelic rock to Japanese punk, disco, hip hop and afrobeat.
And of course, the campaign makes sound use of models performing in jaw-dropping Gucci outfits – perfectly condensing the essence and aesthetic of the brand.
Virón World
Image source: Viron World
The sustainable food brand communicates its ecological ethos through its widespread deployment of the colour green, as well as by using regular people instead of models in its photography, as part of an all-round youthful, edgy and contemporary vibe.
Virón turns food waste into boots and old rubber soles into sneakers, and it’s fair to say that its creative fashion ads – also embracing bold graphics and typography – convey this resourceful philosophy in an interesting and relatable way.
Jacquemus
Image Source: Jacquemus
There’s always a lot of inventiveness on display with the Jacquemus brand’s promotion of its latest products. This is a company that knows how to grab attention with its images that experiment with different compositions and colour combinations, as well as unusual outdoor backdrops, aided by its collaborations with artists.
If you wish to set out a nonconformist feel with your fashion brand, it’s well worth keeping an eye on how Jacquemus presents each new product launch. One recent collection, for instance, saw it create a series of monochrome photographs showcasing a wide range of vibrant items.
Stüssy
Image source: Stüssy
Founded in the early ‘80s and strongly embracing a raw and old-school ‘90s aesthetic, the Californian skatewear brand shows with its advertising campaigns that it is perfectly possible to look back to look forward. Indeed, it is constantly seeking out new ways to present its products across photography, video and mixed media.
One recent Stüssy campaign, for example, involved the use of photographic collages to help bring out a feeling of nostalgia and longing. It is a manner of advertising that is at once old, new and creative, while playing to the Stüssy ethos of being very much by surfers and skaters, for surfers and skaters.
Are you thinking ‘out of the box’ yet?
As you can see from the examples we’ve cited from the above brands, coming up with compelling ideas for creative fashion ads doesn’t have to be as daunting a process as you might imagine.
Nonetheless, to get results, it does help to keep in mind certain principles. These include not trying to artificially restrict yourself to just one form of advertising, as well as not hesitating to be fun and playful. There’s also plentiful scope to draw upon the inspiration past decades, other cultures, and different locations can bring you.
All in all, we would advise you to aim to create a sense of newness with your ads, without forgetting the aesthetic and other elements that give your fashion brand its defining direction.
Contact the Underwaterpistol team today, and we can soon discuss and get to work with you on devising the creative fashion ads and other solutions that best deliver for your brand.
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