Gore-Tex: Tested for Life by AKQA

WL Gore and Associates, makers of Gore-Tex, takes viewers inside the real-life stories of extreme athletes to show the resilience of the athletes and its products. The ‘Tested for Life’ campaign, by AKQA, shows mountaineer Tamara Lunger and freeride skier Greg Hill being tested to their limits.

The two athlete videos are the first in the campaign, which has enlisted athletes, influencers and brand ambassadors, and the stories take people into the tense moments of the action.

Hill’s video shows him trying to free ski a peak 18,000 feet up in Pakistan. With a mix of body-camera and crewed footage, we see that Hill starts an avalanche, which buries him and injures him. Through his recovery, he overcomes his physical and mental trauma, finally returning to the place and conquering his fears.

Lunger’s video chronicles her trying to climb one of the world’s highest peaks in winter, only to be turned away by the weather 250 feet from the top. She later conquers a Siberian peak, becoming the first woman to do so in winter. Both videos end with the tag: “We test to the limits because life tests to the limits.

Future videos will feature mountaineers Robert Jasper and Hirotaka Takeuchi and world class runner Daniel Jung, while the city photographer Jennifer Bin – famed for her images of skyscrapers and rooftops – appears to put performance apparel to the test in two urban and lifestyle stories. Throughout each story, viewers follow the athletes through their difficult and sometimes life-threatening pursuits, to show how all Gore-Tex products are designed and engineered to withstand the extremes.

A hero video displays Gore-Tex products being toughly tested in the lab, while footage from the other videos is interspersed, accompanied by the same tag.