Macpac’s new ad campaign raises brand awareness in Australian market

As New Zealand-born outdoor gear brand Macpac turns 50 this year, the company said the campaign will help the brand break further into the Australian market.

Macpac's new "precarious" ad campaign.

A calm attitude helps three hikers navigate a serious calamity, as they are depicted hanging from a cliff in a new ad campaign for Macpac.

The ad opens as one hiker drops his mobile device, quashing hope of a call for help. Meanwhile, his fellow cliffhangers keep their cool.

“Well this is a bit precarious,” the middle hiker comments, as two of the characters each hold on to a sleeve of a Macpac jacket.

A quiet drama ensues in the 45-second clip. When help does eventually arrive in the form of a fellow traveller, rather than step in to save the hikers from their predicament, in a calm voice, she also astutely observes: “This is a bit precarious”.

As New Zealand-born outdoor gear brand Macpac turns 50 this year, the company said the campaign will help the brand break further into the Australian market.

“Well, who knew that a simple product demonstration could be so fun to watch, and tell you so much about a brand?” said acting general manager of marketing at Macpac, Maria Glass.

A still from Macpac's new ad campaign.

“The outdoor category has strong conventions to break away from – beautiful landscapes, inspirational quotes, wholesome activities – so our challenge was to find some distinctiveness for the brand and ensure people remember Macpac when they come to buy in the outdoor category.”

The campaign builds upon the “Weather anything” brand platform developed by creative agency The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song in 2020, which creative director Hugh Gurney said was designed with long-term storytelling in mind.

“We‘ve only really scratched the surface of what the platform let’s Macpac do and say, but we’re all very confident we can continue to make advertising people actually look forward to,” he said of this campaign.

Australia is still an emerging market for Macpac according to the brand, however after “biding our time”, Ms Glass said now was the right time to launch the platform to a wider audience.

“The platform has huge breadth and scope to talk to functional product proofs, as well as the broader emotional pull – that Macpac gives you the confidence to take on anything in the outdoors,” said Ms Glass.

“We’re speaking to a broad audience through our marketing, with a heartland focus on adventurers who enjoy really pushing themselves in the outdoors – we’re a heritage Kiwi brand after all, and the outdoors is in our DNA.”

Ant Keogh, chief creative officer at The Monkeys said: “I just love that on one hand, it‘s a straightforward product. But it’s surrounded by this great entertainment and great characters that keep you watching.”

Using dry, dialogue-driven comedy, Mr Gurney said the team took inspiration from Flight of the Conchords and the work of acclaimed filmmaker, Taika Waititi.

The performances of the cast add to its impact, according to Mr Keogh, which came under the direction of New Zealand-born director Damien Shatford from production company The Sweetshop.

Creative director Joe Sibley, also from The Monkeys said: “Macpac isn‘t as known here in Australia as it is in New Zealand, so we needed to create advertising that was broad reaching, let us establish a fresh and distinctive tone for the brand and most importantly, create something people both enjoy and remember.”

“We also chose TV as we were essentially dramatising a basic product demonstration, which works exceptionally well in film, where you can easily tell people a story.”

While the ad is set in a landscape for experienced hikers, the ad’s creators said the intended audience includes both intrepid explorers and those who prefer to enjoy outdoor pursuits closer to home.

“We want our audience to know they‘ve bought the best gear so they feel empowered to take on the outdoors,” said Mr Sibley. “Even if most people will be wearing it to the park to walk their Labradors, wearing Macpac might just inspire them to push themselves a little further into the great outdoors.”

The campaign has been placed on traditional and integrated channels including TV, outdoor, social, online and in-store. Macpac said it is also in the process of exploring how the idea may be used for offshoot retail campaigns in the future.