The North Face - See For Yourself - (2014) 3:20 (USA)

North Face, the outdoor clothing and equipment manufacturer wants to remind city-dwellers that adventure is out there. In this experiential activation piece, a NY cab gives commuters a choice – continue on the way to work, or drop everything and go on ‘epic outdoor adventure’.

It’s an interesting idea. We are led to compare the bustle of inner-city life with the opportunities awarded by the great affront of wild nature. Perhaps we are being asked to juxtapose our repetitive everyday routines with the call of spontaneous abandon.

I think the concept could have been pushed a bit further, to echo something I’m always being told. It would have been fun to see one of these young, fit, attractive, twenty-somethings go up in a plane to experience zero-gravity, swim with sharks or be randomly deposited on a street corner in Fallujah. I guess they wanted to keep it believable.

On the subject of realism – who thinks these are actors? One just happens to be a model, but that’s totally normal, right? I honestly don’t know, and more importantly, I don’t know if I care anymore.

Assuming these aren’t actors, we can at least entertain the possibility that the participants were all selected, screened and chosen ahead of schedule? If this was my campaign I wouldn’t leave anything to blind luck, lest of all randomly picking people up off the street.
As always, answers on a postcard – please address it to Adland Comments Section, PO Box Right Below This Article.

Credits to follow.