Forsman & Bodenfors, the Swedish agency acquired by MDC Partners this June, launched a new campaign for luxury design brand Georg Jensen, celebrating five women who have risen to the top of their respective fields in service of the message that “You Can Never Be Too Much You.”
Film director Susanne Bier, chef Dominique Crenn, stand-up comedian Sarah Kendall, boxer Cecilia Brækhus and Iranian motocross rider Behnaz Shafei all appear in the ad. It opens with the line “You’ll always be too much of something to someone.” Each woman is then introduced with a criticism they have had to brush aside over the course of their career, such as “too ambitious,” “too strong” and “too loud.” The spot concludes, “if you round your edges, you lose your edge.”
The idea, of course, is that you can’t let such criticisms define you or impact how you set about achieving your goals. It’s one of the more interesting takes on the femvertising approach we’ve seen in that it addresses a real problem in a positive, but not hokey, way. It’s also very well shot and handles the pacing between its subjects well. The spot isn’t as successful, perhaps, at tying the brand to the message. There’s an implication that Georg Jensen, like the accomplished women in the ad, stands for ignoring such criticism in pursuit of independence and excellence. It also ties their success and prestige to the brand. Maybe that’s enough.