And the winner is…Wrangler?

This years Press Grand Prix winner at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival was “We Are Animals”, a Wrangler campaign from Paris hot shop Fred & Farid. A stark contrast, to the Wrangler we all grew up with, is what propelled this campaign to the top. Wrangler has always brought to mind images of cowboys, lassos and something our father wears (or at least mine). This campaign basically gives a big “F.U.” to that stereotypical view that has been ingrained into us over the past quarter-century.

This campaign while simple is also simply brilliant in its thinking and execution. If this campaign was to ever roll out around the world, I think it could be a very good thing for Wrangler. Clothes are all about emotions and the way they make you feel. A simple label can say sexy, tough, rich, trendy, rugged, confident or cool. This campaign’s emotion or theme is that at the essence of humans, at the core of our DNA, we are animals and we are primal and we are sexual in nature. Remove all the glitz, the technology and escape to be human again, to be the animals that we are.

The images are models in animal-like poses in nature. Whether it’s the “deer in the headlights” caught by society and normalcy or the “animal by the lake” going for a drink before the noise of humans pollutes the serenity and peace, these images hint, not so subtlety, at our Darwinian roots with three simple words, “We are animals.” Indeed we are.

Is it just another case of “sex sells”? Are you asking yourself “But where’s the product?” and “Where’s the call to action?” Or do you get it? Do you understand that in today’s world, with every ad and tv commercial and radio spot yelling at us to buy this or do this and think this, that an ad like this breaks through the noise and clutter not by making the logo bigger or using bright colors or flashy lights but by being simple and letting the consumer do a little bit of thinking. Sometimes we want to tell the consumer everything in our ads. But sometimes by saying nothing or little at all, we say it all and more. And that can make all the difference in the world. Just ask Fred & Farid.

David Lubars, the president of the Cannes Lions press jury, said the campaign had won because the idea could work globally to change the US-centric view of the Wrangler brand.

"It is a very emotional campaign, you can see how it can go into all kinds of areas," added Lubars. "The theme is we are animals, a very primal, sexual approach. Before the brand was about middle-aged cowboy jeans from America. Now it takes a whole different look overnight."

"It grabbed me by the gut," said Gerry Graf, chief creative officer of Saatchi & Saatchi, New York, and a jury member. "I felt what they wanted me to feel. A simple image and a few ads worked on four or five different levels for me. It changed my image of Wrangler. It's talking about primal urges."

US judge Gerry Graf, the chief creative officer at Saatchi & Saatchi, said the campaign "screams raw sex". "That's what you want when you put on some jeans. That's what I want," Graf added.