Boston Agency to Unveil Simple Ads; Ugg Work Being Developed
BOSTON--Deckers Outdoor Corp. last week named Cohn Godley Norwood agency of record for its Simple and Ugg lines of footwear. The Boston agency had handled those brands on a project basis.
The announcement followed the conclusion of a review for the client's better-known Teva brand, which was awarded to Odiorne Wilde Narraway & Partners in San Francisco [Adweek, June 8].
Cohn Godley initially participated in that review, but agency officials said the shop withdrew before the final round to focus on assignments under way for Simple and Ugg.
Ruth Davis, vice president of marketing at Goleta, Calif.-based Deckers, knew Cohn Godley from a prior marketing job at Reebok International in Stoughton, Mass. While there, she chose the shop to create collateral and print ads for Reebok's Classic line of sneakers. Davis joined Deckers in January, bringing Cohn Godley on board one month later.
"I didn't have a lot of time to get ads turned around and wanted to go to an agency that I knew and trusted," Davis said.
A print campaign for Simple, due to break next month, targets 18-34- year-olds. The ads attempt to poke fun at people who want to make extreme fashion statements. The tagline: "This is why we exist."
In one execution, a woman gazes proudly at her white poodle, which sports a pink bow in its topknot. Another features a child beauty queen wearing a pink sequined pageant dress and standing before an array of trophies, many of which are taller than she is. In a third, a young bride feeds a piece of wedding cake to her liver-spotted elderly husband.
The aim, according to Cohn Godley senior vice president Susan Treacy Smith, is to say, "It's OK to be simple. It's OK to be you."
Ads will break in consumer magazines such as Spin, Allure, Wired, Details and POV, among others. Ugg work, now in development, will debut later this summer.