A fantastic new advertisement for French fashion brand Jules is aiming to redefine what masculinity looks like, thanks to the work of one of Belgium’s top independent agency, Air.
In 2018, Air won the budget of the French menswear brand Jules (Mulliez Group), after a competition that pitched them against two Paris agencies, Buzzman and Fred & Farid.
The brand and the agency spent some time thinking about a radical change in positioning, and making Jules’s commitment to a better world the cornerstone of its identity and its marketing strategy.
This is not about being woke or green washing, Air said. Jules is walking the talk.
“The goal is nothing less than zero waste, high-quality, sustainable fashion that is built to last,” the agency said in a statement.
“The ambition is to create a movement of men who are aware, positive, sensitive and ready to bring about change, including when it comes to their masculinity. All this can be summed up in the new 3-word brand signature: ‘Men In Progress’.”
To launch its message in a loud and clear way, Jules chose to go back on television. Directed by the French duo Julien & Quentin—who directed the flow of Puma that was seen 15 million times last year—and produced by Hamlet, the one-minute spot tackles major male stereotypes and deconstructs them shot after shot to end up articulating the notion of ‘men in progress’.
Emotional, vegetarian, aware of the environment but nonetheless supportive and in love.
“Basically,” Jules marketing director Benoît Latron said, “this offbeat spot is aimed at all the men of today ready to join us in changing men’s fashion and changing attitudes.”
For Air CCD Arnaud Bailly, “it was a remarkable experience. I have rarely seen a customer in this sector and of this size—more than 500 stores in some fifteen countries—show so much creativity, both in their communication and in their stores, their product and even their choice of agency: Belgians!”
But the story doesn’t end here. After their opening salvo, Jules plans to enlarge the debate by joining forces with Ben Névert, the famous YouTuber from France and creator of ‘Entre Mecs’.
The project includes a series of short videos in which a bunch of friends talk about different subjects relating to masculinity, such as ‘being a good guy’, ‘flirting’, ‘breakups’
Credits for ‘Men in Progress’ include the following:
Client: JULES
Contacts: Benoit Latron, Karine Siebenhuner, Maud Grienti
Agency: AIR
CD: AIR Creative Council
Creation: Arnaud Bailly, Karel De Mulder, Romain Félix, John Benois,
Special thanks to: Charlotte Keup, Pauline Héraly, Bérengère Lurquin, Anastasia Bousson, Chantal Gillet, Renaud Goossens, Dominique Ruys, Jason Felstead, Thomas Landeloos
Movie production agency: HAMLET
Director: Julien & Quentin
VFX and post-production: divide.tv
Sound production company: Sonhouse
VO FR: Krisy/@de.la.fuentes
Music: Quentin Garabedian
