In this weeks Our-Take: Columbia stitches legacy into outerwear, Moncler gets cosy with the classics, Hyundai serves up solitude and The Ordinary schools the beauty world in real science.
A TESTAMENT TO DURABILITY
Most brands talk about durability. Columbia just made it legally binding.
Their new campaign, “Engineered for Whatever,” turns the simple act of stitching into a storytelling masterstroke – literally sewing a Last Will & Outerwear Testament inside select jackets. Each one includes tongue-in-cheek legalese about passing your beloved coat to the next generation, capped off with lines like, “The jacket is waterproof, but it’s not idiot-proof.”
It’s peak dark humour meets product proof. Created by adam&eveDDB, the campaign stretches Columbia’s durability claim to the absurd, and that’s exactly why it works. When performance wear is an arms race of Gore-Tex and buzzwords, Columbia wins by leaning into wit, not weather reports.
The insight here? Longevity has become an emotional trigger. In a culture obsessed with fast fashion and disposability, brands that champion forever products don’t just sell utility, they sell legacy. The stitched-in will reframes outerwear from something you buy for the season to something you pass on.
It’s clever, culturally fluent marketing that transforms a feature into folklore, and proves that sometimes the best sustainability story isn’t written on a hang tag, it’s written into the lining.
Old Friends, Warm Jackets,
Smart Marketing
Moncler just pulled off the cinematic equivalent of a warm hug by reuniting Al Pacino and Robert De Niro for its Warmer Together campaign. Forget AI or Gen Z influencers, this is pure, old-school charisma.
The concept is simple but genius: two icons who’ve spent decades side by side proving that real warmth comes from connection. There’s nostalgia baked into every frame, you can almost smell the whisky and hear the “one last job” chat.
Moncler is leveraging its product, selling warm insulator jackets but connecting it to audiences by portraying the warmth that comes from emotional insulation. The brand uses timeless friendship to make fashion feel human again. Al Pacino and De Niro might not be influencers, but they’ve influenced generations. And with this campaign, Moncler reminds us that the coolest thing you can be this winter is… you guessed it, warmer together.
HYUN-DINE
Hyundai UK launched a clever pop-up Backseat Bites, reflecting how culture and consumption are evolving. Inspired by South Korea’s trending celebration of eating alone (Honbap), the activation taps into a wider generational shift: solitude as self-expression. This becomes especially true for Gen Z and Gen Alpha, for whom doing things solo doesn’t necessarily mean being antisocial. Instead, it’s an act of autonomy, independence and empowerment, a sort of finding comfort in your own company rather than the need to perform for others.
By transforming its compact INSTER EV into a one-car restaurant, Hyundai captures this mindset perfectly. The car’s small scale becomes a personal, mobile space designed for experience, not extravagance. It’s a creative inversion of the usual spectacle, proving that intimacy can be as impactful as scale. What’s powerful here isn’t just the execution, but the cultural awareness behind it. Hyundai isn’t pushing product, it’s joining a conversation about how we live and connect today. In an era of constant noise, Backseat Bites turns down the volume. It’s a reminder that innovation doesn’t always mean bigger, louder, or more digital. Sometimes, it’s about intimacy and finding the small moments that resonate in a fast-scrolling world.
The Ordinary’s Chemical Reaction
The Ordinary is giving the beauty industry a serious lesson in chemistry. In their latest campaign, The Periodic Fable, the cult skincare brand reimagines the traditional periodic table, swapping each scientific element for beauty buzzwords like “Age-Defying,” “Pore-Erasing,” and “Instant Youth.” The campaign was launched to communicate a simple, awareness-focused message – much of what passes for skincare innovation is really marketing dressed up as science.
The campaign’s eerie, dystopian film nails it, skincare devotees caught in an endless loop of rubbing, rolling, freezing, and scrubbing. It’s a brutal metaphor for an industry stuck on repeat, overpromising miracles and underdelivering results. We’ve all seen it: creators pushing 10-step routines on TikTok in the relentless pursuit of “glow.” The Ordinary’s message? Strip it back. Skincare doesn’t need spectacle, just simple science. The Periodic Fable builds on the brand’s broader platform, The Truth Should Be Ordinary, which aims to strip away pseudoscience and empower consumers through transparency and authenticity. And honestly, The Ordinary’s blunt honesty feels like both rebellion and relief. While most beauty brands sell fantasy, The Ordinary sells facts, and that’s their real luxury. In an industry hooked on “miracles,” it’s refreshing to see a brand remind us that good science doesn’t need sparkle, just real substance and solid facts.