Who is Kevin Love?

How does this represent “Excellence in Engagement”?

We launched the collection and revealed this new side of Kevin Love as a fully integrated campaign across digital, social, PR and retail. Kevin’s adventurous world came to life through three films, deployed across digital and social, which introduced the world to the friends Kevin keeps and the collection Kevin designed.

The story was extended with a rich experience on Complex.com, and through strategically faked “click-bait”-like links which revealed more unexpected sides of Kevin Love. Finally, it all came together across physical and digital retail within both BR stores and on bananarepublic.com, where shoppers and fans alike could go deeper in the stories and learn more about the collection.

With unexpected stories and non-traditional mediums, we redefined how an Athlete-led campaign can come to life.

Objective:

Banana Republic is a premier destination for modern menswear with product that is designed for a life with “No Boundaries”. Recognizing that men now get their fashion inspiration from many sources—with the stadium tunnel being the new runway—Banana Republic’s objective was to take their established, multi-year brand partnership with Kevin Love to the next level with BR x KLove collaboration.

The strategy is the opposite of using an elite athlete as a glorified model—it’s to engage the athlete as a co-creator and deliver the storytelling in a way that provides “access” to the athlete by engaging the consumer with something they don’t already know.

Together the partnership is designed to inspire a new generation of millennial men to express their personal style in a way that is relevant to their lives. Through this collaboration, the Brand also wanted to demonstrate innovation in its product and in its marketing, with a digitally disruptive approach to engaging consumers.

Strategy & Execution:

To celebrate this premier collection and the bold “No Boundaries” spirit of the Brand, the integrated marketing campaign answered the question of “Who is Kevin Love?” by revealing the unexpected side of Kevin Love and the adventures that inspired his collection.

As sports fans, we love to know more about our heroes beyond the court. However, with the direct connection of social media and the proliferation of sports coverage, there’s not much mystery left in the lives of famous athletes. Except maybe Kevin Love. Most know him as an All Star forward, an NBA World Champion and an Olympic Gold Medalist. But that’s likely where most fans’ knowledge stops.

We wanted to solve that mystery in a creative way—through fantastical stories inspired by Kevin’s real off-the-court life, but elevated to hyperbolic heights. Did you know Kevin Love can out-ski Lindsey Vonn? I bet you didn’t. Did you know Kevin spends his off-season in the Studio with Questlove?

The concept showcased Kevin as an “International Man of Mystery” in an integrated, 360-degree campaign, with a bonus innovation in fake “click-bait”-like links that creatively revealed more about Kevin’s off-court life

Production

• Banana Republic
• R/GA
• Human
• Lime Studios
• White House

Credits

Len Peltier
VP, Creative Director
Banana Republic

Sammi Needham
VP, Executive Creative Director
R/GA

Zack McDonald
Creative Director
R/GA

Daan Van Dam
Associate Creative Director
R/GA

Damian Fitzgerald
Creative Director
R/GA

Matt Heck
Creative Director
R/GA

Sam Levy
Group Account Director
R/GA

Harry Peacham
Strategy Director
R/GA

Claire Badhams
Executive Producer
R/GA

Sean Kile
Producer
R/GA

Karena Dacker
Producer
R/GA

Phil Pinto
Director
Phil Pinto