R.M. Williams promotes its signature boot The Craftsman in new campaign via Special Group
Special Group has announced that the agency is now working with iconic Australian brand R.M. Williams and will this week launch a campaign to promote R.M. Williams’ signature boot, The Craftsman.
A business founded and made famous by the original Craftsman boot that RM himself designed back in 1932 (and is still made by hand today, down in Adelaide), the brand has earned respect for its authenticity, durability and Australian heritage.
Says Dave Bowman, creative partner, Special Group: “It’s a real privilege to work with this great team as they embark on plans to secure a future for R.M. that is as great as its past.”
Says Martin Rippon, chief marketing officer of R.M. Williams: “The guys at Special have been a great fit for us. Modern day craftsmen, their passion and energy is infectious. While the ad campaign is the most visible part of the work to date, they’ve been delivering design projects across all aspects of the business at a voracious pace. We still haven’t had time for lunch.”
One of Australia’s most iconic products, the R.M. Williams’ Craftsman boot, will be the sole focus of a new directional campaign from the brand to honour the legacy of one of Australia’s best craftsmen. The campaign, “A Life’s Work”, runs in outdoor and print media across Australia.
Says Rippon: “The R.M. Williams Craftsman boot is one of the most iconic Australian products that has stood the test of time. It’s unique construction, created from one piece of leather with the care and craftsmanship from the Boot Room Team in Adelaide, results in a high quality leather boot that is both incredibly hard wearing and has a classic design allowing the boot to be adaptable from the work shed to urban chic street style.”
The campaign line, “A Life’s Work”, was inspired not only by the generations of boot makers in Adelaide and R.M. himself, but also taken from the way the boots are respected and worn by Australians.
Says Rippon: “A pair of R.M. Williams Craftsman boots, well-looked after, can literally last you a lifetime. Customers talk about them being “built forever” and “an investment” – sentiments we have reflected in this campaign.”
Creative Agency: Special Group
Photographer: Chris Searl
Typographer: Luca Lonescu
15 Comments
Very impressed
Great start Marty!!!!
I’m now 50 years old and my Craftsman Boots were given to me as a 21st present. They’ve been resoled twice and the elastic in the sides hang loose, and there’s as many marks and lines in the leather as there are on my face. But that’s where I think this campaign works, my boots and I have had a life together and I’ll be wearing them for a long time to come. Nice work, and nicely not over-done. Not sure why it’s a campaign aimed at women, or if these are only two of more executions?
it’s hardly timberland….
Average to boot.
Very nice
These are rubbish.
“shoes leave a footprint. boots leave a legacy'”
ffs
To me, this campaign is an example of a campaign not understanding fashion advertising. All this needs is a great product image that symbolises the soul of the brand, with ‘R.M.Williams Est. 1932 Australia’ writ large across the ad. All the other copy is superfluous. ‘Shoes leave a footprint. Boots leave a legacy. Craftsman boots. A life’s work’ etc etc is just too much and simply unnecessary. And the product shots here lack any sense of history, soul, emotion. Perhaps the reason there’s so much copy is because the images say so little. New boots don’t have a history – they don’t have a story – and a big part of RM’s appeal is the well-worn and weathered appearance of their footwear is the very best symbol of ‘A life’s work’. The result is a campaign without any emotional content for a brand that is full of it.
“These are rubbish.
“shoes leave a footprint. boots leave a legacy'”
ffs”
He said as he slipped his socked foot back into his comfortable pair of crocs and backed the Range Rover out of the driveway….
I guess that’s what I liked about these compared to the R.M. that is in my head.
In my head it’s cowboys and the bull horn logo.
And fashion advertising is so image focused at least these give it some substance.
Can’t just rely on being around for a long time to sell something to your point of the established thing. It would just talk to those it already talks to by doing that.
Bowman – are you gonna have that shorts and boots themed party now?
+1
Straight after seeing the main ad, I searched ‘RM Williams boots’ on eBay.
Nice work guys. Nic
“so much copy”
There’s one headline, one tagline and a logo.
Hardly copy heavy.
Poser.
just plain boring and lazy
For some reason, both these ads hit me at an emotional level. I noticed the posters when I walked past my local RM Williams store and I HAD to stop and take them in. Yes indeed. I am a 54 year old woman and my first pair of boots were purchased when I was 21 (birthday gift!) – unfortunately they were stolen (Ti Tree Roadhouse NT) so another pair purchased. LOVE THEM!! Not only have they worked hard, they have walked the streets of London and New York. And they always get commented on. Thank you and well done.