Baffin is putting its best, booted foot forward with a new campaign that renews its commitment to helping people face anything a Canadian winter can throw at them.
The new campaign, “Extreme Cold,” is similar in style to its “Made for All Seasons” 40th anniversary campaign launched late in 2019 – both developed by creative agency Elemental.
It features clean cuts of chilly, winter scenes and people conquering the snowy landscape – all while wearing Baffin gear, of course – under a voiceover of a William Wilfred Campbell poem, “How One Winter Came in the Lake Region.”
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The spot plays into an overarching strategy by the brand, says Mark Hubner, Baffin’s SVP of brand and strategy.
“One of the things that we have done over the last couple of years is refocus and renew our commitment to being cold experts,” he explains. “We have, in past years, endeavored to provide footwear and apparel for other seasons – shoulder seasons, peripheral activities and opportunities – but we came to realize there’s still such a huge market and opportunity in cold climate.”
“We believe businesses perform best when they’re focused and stick to their core.”
Baffin is hoping to strike a chord with Canadians by leaning in to what is a universal experience for all of them, no matter where they live or what other factors are in play.
“So much of the lifestyle across Canada is living in the cold and experiencing the winter. We don’t really have a choice,” says Hubner. “The winter and the cold unites us. It’s a common denominator across the entire population.”
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The new campaign was not the only work Baffin had in store for Canadians this winter. It had also developed marketing to air around the IIHF World Junior Championship, which was canceled early into the tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That campaign was intended to be an “opening act” that complimented the core “Extreme Cold” messaging.
“The cancellation of the World Juniors was unfortunate for us,” says Hubner, but the company wasn’t “looking at this as a one-off,” which allowed it to continue with its bigger campaign plans.
Still, Baffin has remained in touch with Hockey Canada to “pivot our partnership and still bring value to both organizations.”
The “Extreme Cold” campaign will run through March, airing primarily through OLV.
