A Decade of MadeBrave
By Steven Hadden on Apr 29, 2022
ECD Steven Hadden reflects on MadeBrave's best work
Well, MadeBrave has been around for ten years, and I’ve been fortunate enough to see most of them. It’s been a fantastic ride building a culture, working with some amazingly talented people, ambitious and courageous clients, and partners, but what has always been at the heart of it all is the work. And so, in looking back on this crazy decade, we decided to pick the ten best projects that exemplify the MadeBrave ethos.
2018
TITLE
First Bus: Bus In A Box
MadeBrave has always played in the field of experiential and large-scale activations, and this is a brilliant example of how an experience-centered approach can really help connect with consumers. Working with First Bus to launch a new fleet of buses, we played on the nostalgia of match box cars. Nostalgia serves an essential psychological function being highly emotive, so we supersized this and boxed it up - quite literally. Turning something very flat and functional, public transport, into something truly spectacular.
2019
TITLE
Bunnahabhain: Discover The Sound Of Islay
With this piece of work, we wanted to deviate from the traditional parameters and formulas associated with whisky advertising. Taking inspiration from the fact that the Bunnahabhain distillery is at the end of the road on a tiny, Scottish island - essentially off-grid, we played with sound, creating something elegant and multi-sensory with layers of meaning.
2019
TITLE
Tennents: Because Life Is Bigger Than Beer
Tennents is an iconic Scottish brand that really knows how to use humour, so we always knew - that despite talking about a serious subject matter, the importance of sustainability, a humorous lens is what would connect the message to Tennents drinkers in an authentic way. Long before brands were talking about it, Tennents had been sustainable - so the authenticity was already there, meaning we could afford to be more playful with the execution. And the unifying idea was a universal one; yes, beer is important, but looking after our planet is even more so.
2020
TITLE
Nestlé Needs Youth: Power of Youth
Nestlé came to us with a very clear ambition; they wanted to help young people develop their skills, to find fulfilling jobs and to create their own businesses. And for this, they needed a digital campaign and creative idea that would resonate. And slap bang in the middle of a pandemic - a time when the challenge for young people was even more acute. With Nestlé blessing, we did something unexpected - we handed the creative control and ‘voice’ over to the young people, resulting in a powerful and illuminating user-generated film.
2021
TITLE
Naked Grouse: Whisky For A New Generation
MadeBrave was briefed by Edrington to help make Naked Grouse’s online presence more bolder, engaging, and simply, to kick things up a notch. So, we designed a campaign focused on piquing the interest of younger, entry level drinkers. We used animation to bring to life the beauty of this golden elixir in a playful and imaginative way, showing that whisky doesn’t have to be intimidating or restrained. This approach extended into social too – we created a suite of content designed to drive engagement and expand sharing opportunities, embody the playfulness of Naked Grouse with interactive stories and stylish lifestyle photography, and inspire a new generation of whisky drinkers along the way.
2021
TITLE
Johnnie Walker Princess Street: Launching The World's Most Inspiring Whisky Experience
This brief was a joy to work on. Johnnie Walker is such a well-defined and confident brand, respected globally – so, the only real challenge here was to do the brand justice. To create something true to Johnnie Walker and its spectacular new home; eight floors of experiential fun in Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh. We captured the energy of the destination beyond the space; through dynamic POV, we created the sense of someone entering the building, traversing through floors, spinning up through the atrium - even diving into a glass and taking the POV of an ice cube.
2021
TITLE
Interpath: Navigate What's Next
Building a brand in just 90 days is a tough call, but what we had on our side was 500 people on the journey with us - the employees coming out of the security of being part of the ‘big four.’ So that’s how we tackled it. We took them on our journey with us, as trusted partners; we used their ambition, energy, experience and community spirit as the very building blocks for the new brand. And from those blocks, Interpath was born. A brand born from a desire to succeed, to stand shoulder to shoulder with others to help them succeed, ultimately to find and take the right path – all of which is captured in the visual identity.
2021
TITLE
Doritos Ketchup+: The Triangle
Doritos is the ultimate snack brand with iconic status. For this launch [limited edition ketchup flavour], we wanted to pack a real punch with content that would sit on a new streaming service - created especially for ketchup lovers. We quickly focused on a character based creative treatment - packed with personality and humour - and played with the ‘fantasy epic’ genre so strongly associated with streaming services, creating ‘The Triangle.’ We commissioned the LA-based comedian Zach Zucker to narrate the piece and help bring our premier-worthy, animated vision to life.
2022
TITLE
Velux: Let Daylight Reimagine Your Workspace
VELUX is synonymous with roof windows, globally. But the brand has ambitions to earn lifestyle status. Beyond product, they want to be associated with daylight, with well-being and with the transformation of space. To do this, and working with their new creative platform, ‘Transforming Spaces,’ we needed to take an ordinary world and then transform it beyond all recognition with the power of daylight - a truly wondrous thing. Starting from the truth, transformation starts with imagination. We elevated the winning formula of before and after, through combining mixed CGI with reality.
2022
TITLE
Tomatin: To What Matters
The heart and soul of any brand that has existed for 125 years cannot be manufactured. And that was the big challenge with this brief. We had to uncover elements of the brand, rather than create anything new. The evolution of the brand had to be based on truth, like any powerful big idea. For Tomatin, a brand who built a community around the distillery, they have always been about more than the whisky. They stand for the things that matter– the truly important things in life: love, family, friendship, and memories. This led us to the simple powerful idea, 'To What Matters.' A call to arms that represents the spiritual DNA of Tomatin; a human belief in what’s truly important in life. This was all brought to life in a hero film telling the story of the deep human connection between a grandad and his granddaughter.
Curious about MadeBrave? Read more!
Related
