The North Face / Creative Campaign / 4 weeks
Inspire the next generation of female explorers by showing how women have always made their mark in the outdoors.
Nuts & Bolts
The North Face Asked Us…
To come up with a creative concept that would inspire the next generation of female explorers in the outdoors.
To express a fresh, modern, and more inclusive point of view.
We Got to Work…
Studying the history of women in the outdoors.
Reading blog posts written by current female explorers.
Pouring through survey results of contemporary outdoors-women, using data about their behaviors, attitudes, and experiences to bring our audience to life.
In the End…
We created a campaign that celebrated the women — past and present — who have forged the way for the next generation of women in the outdoors.
We entered our campaign in the One Club’s annual “The Young Ones” competition.
The Historical Context
Historically, the outdoors was seen as man’s domain.
463
The number of years separating the first recorded mountain climb by a man and the first recorded mountain climb by a woman.
Since nobody bothered to record this pioneer’s first name, history only knows her as Miss Parminter.
19th
The century when doctors invented a health condition called “bicycle face” to discourage women from cycling.
Today, we’d call it concentration.
0
The number of men to accompany Miriam O’Brien Underhill and Alice Damesme on their “man-less climb” of the Grépon in 1929.
When mountaineer Étienne Bruhl heard about their feat, he lamented, “The Grépon has disappeared. Now that it has been done by two women alone, no self-respecting man can undertake it. A pity, too, because it used to be a very good climb.”
2005
The year the president of the International Ski Federation defended the Olympic ban against ski jumping because it “seem[ed] not to be appropriate for ladies from a medical point of view”.
Female ski jumpers would not be able to compete at the Olympic level for another nine years.
The Brief
Insight
Based on a survey of 2,100 women in Outside
Despite feminist gains, it is easy to feel like men still dominate everything: from business to politics to sports. However, the natural world cannot be genuinely owned by any race, gender, or creed. We realized there was a perception problem. Men dominated the outdoors for so long, it started to seem like they owned that too. In reality, generations of adventurous women have made their mark in the outdoors.
You just don’t know their names.
Strategy
Overlooked no longer.
Concept
It never was a man’s world.
The Audience
The Emerging Explorer
The Emerging Explorer has always been a bit on the adventurous side and is not afraid of trying something new. She spent a great deal of time outside as a child, hiking with her parents and camping with her Girl Scout troop. If asked, she’d call herself a hobbyist, rather than a hardcore enthusiast.
How do we spot her?
A few notes on the Emerging Explorer.
The Creative
Videos
These videos will appear on the North Face’s website, owned social media channels, and on Youtube.
Out of Home
Product Drops
As part of the campaign, The North Face will launch limited edition products that are named after the women featured in this campaign. The athletes will help to design the products and, as with traditional sponsorships, the athletes (or their estates) will be compensated for the use of their name.
