Canada Goose is getting an assist from the NBA to push a limited collection, part of a self-expression positioning that the brand has been utilizing throughout its partnership with the league.
The collection, designed by New York’s Salehe Bembury, includes a four-piece unisex capsule of a parka, fleece, vest and bib, designed for layering and mixing-and-matching. Each has an exclusive co-branded Canada Goose and Salehe Bembury tonal disc and label featuring the designer’s signature thumbprint motif and the NBA logo.
The capsule collection is the focal point of the latest phases of the brand’s “Play in the Open” campaign, built around a stop motion animated spot, with a Salehe Bembury figure on a ridgetop in the Canadian Rockies, a fishing shack on a frozen alpine lake and a basketball court on a remote hillside.
Penny Brook, CMO for Canada Goose, tells strategy that “Play in the Open” celebrates Canada Goose’s ethos of expressing oneself freely and without judgement.
“[It’s] a call to action for consumers to get outside and explore, discover, and play,” she adds. “Both [Salehe and Canada Goose] brands intersect on the belief that products not only have the power to enable, but motivate consumers to get outside and connect with nature.”
Last year, Canada Goose supported its new NBA partnership around the notion of self-expression via TV and a TikTok basketball trick challenge.
This year, TV and digital elements are built around delivering the campaign message, while social media aims to drive product awareness and bring users closer to the collection. The campaign also came to life at NBA Crossover in Cleveland during All-Star Weekend on Sunday, via a life-size recreation of the fishing shack scene from the spot.
Going forward, “Play in the Open” is being promoted through retail windows and in-store displays that pay homage to one of the scenes from the stop-motion animation. The campaign video is also being played on digital screens at select Canada Goose retail stores, as well as shared on Canada Goose’s social channels and website.
OOH wild postings in Toronto, New York and LA further connect consumers to the campaign. Placements include a QR code to learn more about the collection, and to give fans a chance to own one of the limited-edition ‘Salehe Bembury Hand-Painted Figures’ signed by Bembury.
Salehe Bembury (left) with Cleveland Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley
Brook says the collection embodies 90’s NBA style and freedom of expression which comes through in the designer’s playful interpretation of Canada Goose styles. It’s a collection designed for everyone, she maintains, but targets NBA fans, adding that the partnership with the league has opened the door to new design partners and further interpretations of the brand.
The Canada Goose and Salehe Bembury campaign that was conceptualized by the two brands, directed by Foster Huntington with support from Brooklyn-based Doubleday & Cartwright as the creative partner. Initiative supported the media buy globally.
