Ad of the Day: Visit Iceland woos lockdowners with promise of adventure and upcycled boots
Visit Iceland has thrown a bucket of frozen fjord water over us all and shocked us into a long, lost wanderlust with its latest ad campaign ‘Looks Like You Need An Adventure’. The work from M&C Saatchi Group and SS+K takes The Drum’s Ad of the Day for nailing the insight and the execution.
In partnership with Peel Iceland, the campaign is turning your lockdown sweatpants into boots – or more accurately, the first 100 visitors who book a spot at the pop-up shop in Reykjavik will have their old, tired sweatpants transformed by hand by Icelandic designer Ýr Jóhannsdóttir into a pair of bespoke hiking boots, with any remaining fabric becoming the bag in which to carry them home.
A 90-second music video showcases the boots in their sweaty glory, with Icelandic artist Cell7 showcasing the island’s beauty spots.
The upcycle drive is accompanied by digital activity on Snapchat, where an AR filter will turn shoes into Sweatpants Boots and transport the user to different regions of Iceland.
Camila Gurgel, senior creative at M&C Saatchi London, said she recorded a lo-fi version of the song with creative partner Ieva Paulina to help sell the idea. “Our client was immediately on board (despite our doubtful vocals).”
She added: “Iceland is everything we’ve been craving in the past year. And sweatpants are a symbol of lockdown life, sameness and boredom – all the things we want to leave behind when we can travel again. So we found a way to celebrate this breakout moment by turning sweatpants into the ultimate symbol of exploration and discovery: hiking boots.”