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C R R E A D E R S ' P A N E L BELOW, TOPS TWO POSTERS FROM DIESEL'S NEW

BE STUPIDCAMPAIGN, CREATED BYANOMALY.

PHOTOGRAPHY: CHRIS BUCK, MELODIEMCDANIEL

AND KRISTIN VLCARL. STYLIST: LESLIE LESSING.

BKLOW, BOTTOM: THE BE STUPID WEBSITE NT

D IESC]. COM H OPES TO REC RU I TL

ST UPID PEOPI E'

FORA FUTURE PART OF THE CAMPAIGN

of it is really appropriate; as an arts

centre, I imagine it's constantly

moving. So the identity reflects that.

O L L I E : A l s o , yo u have to think about

what works within the Center itself,

like the colours representing different

areas like dance or music.

K A T E : Yes, if it's not used for signage,

then itshould he. Idon't know if I'd

want a tattoo of the logo on my arm,

like they had at the launch party, but

the people of Philadelphia must be

really proud of the work.

Diesel: Be Stupid campaign

Posters and website

Anomaly

T

he new Dieselcampaign,

Be Stup id, proved to be

very divisive on the C R

Blog. It's by Anomaly and

features posters of people,

essentially, being stupid: going for a'heart' rather than 'head' attitude to

living, where 'smart' is seen as stuffy

and risk-averse. Some bloggers

suggested itwasa continuation of the

classic Diesel campaigns of old, others

that it just perpetuates the idea of

dumbing d o w n . What did you think of

this celebration of stupidity?

O L L I E ; Diesel'sheritage is with the

KesselsKramer agency and that's what

this campaign feels like. They used to

create these silly ideas and then

photograph them - like having groups

protesting about the most stupid

things. 1 don't mind that the message

is fun at all; when it's grey and

freezing it makes you smile as you

walk past it. A l s o , it's not too serious,

which is good fora fashion brand.

K A T E : As a consumer I don't know if

it works. What's the relevance?1wasn't

sure what Be Stupid was implying: be

stupid and buy Diesel jeans?

OL L IE : It's the idea of never thinking

that you're wrong; you have to let these

ideas out, then you can do great stuff.

J O H N : It's spontaneity. Th e first one I

saw was really funny; a girl sitting

backwards on a guy 's shoulders, with

eyes on her bum. But some are more

contrived, they're not 'pure' acts of

being stupid. I like the fee ling of the

pictures, they have an old-school 80s

feel to them.

K A T E : Actually, 1 think the

photography is pretty awful.

O L L I E : There's not enough of a

handmade, spontaneous aesthetic to

it. Maybe if they were shot more off-

angle or something? T h e y ' re not

'rcaiistic* e n o u g h , in that sense.

J O H N : They look like the kind of

things that they would 'hope' that

people email to friends.

K A T E : Yes, it's very orchestrated.

O L L I E : T h e y ' re looking to encourage

people to make 'heart' decisions, not

'head' ones, sensible ones.

K A T E : I think the problem is the word

'stupid'. It's too simplistic. Iassociate

it wit h people just being idiots. I

wouldn't think, 'I' ll be braver today,

I'll take some risks '. That wasn't clear.

Th e Diesel brand is really strong, itlooks and feels like Diesel, but I'm not

sure of the message.

C R : Is celebrating stupidity just a joke

here, or is the implication in the

message something that we should

take more seriously?

K A T E : They 've got so much power

with a campaign like this, they're a

massive company and so there's a

responsibility to consider.

O L L I E : They ' re trying to get people to

'break free*. Perhaps 'stupid" doesn't

necessarily convey that, for people to

do something outside of their comfort

zone. But from the client side, it's quite

a brave thing for Diesel to do. 1 mean,

who else could you sell that idea to?

It's true to the heritage.

K A T E ; Diesel's ecological ly-sty led

campaign was like that - 'embracing

the coming problems'. But remember

the Wrangler We Are Animals ads

with Ryan M cG in ley's amazing photo

graphy? It's a shame that this Diesel

campaign wasn't sl ightly better honed,

O L L I E : Th e problem is that it's stuck

in the middle. It needs to shift to either

h a ve' you - a nd-your-ma tes -1 a king- a -

picture' type shots, which woul d have

a rough and ready feel, or itall needs

to be much more polished.

SMARTHAVET

REGISTER SIGH IN

COLLECTION URESTYIE ONUN! STORE STORE 1DCAT0H

OF POSSIBILITY

BE STUPID: RECRUITMENT I RE STUPID: C01LECTION

CHECK OUT HOWSTUPID DIESEL IS

' J R 11

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D I E S E L ^

PID COUfcnOKS UHSTVLE ONLINE STORE STOHELOCATOR

THE WORLD IS FUU Of

SMARTPEOPLE

BE

STUPID.

BESTUPID: MCRUIT ME NT BESTUPIO: COLLECTION

AKWUaTimD? WILL

M H

I T ' S S T U C K I N

T H E M I D D L E .I T N E E D S T O

E I T H E R H A V EA R O U G H A N D

R E A D Y F E E L , OR

B E M U C H M O R EP O L I S H E DO L L I E

Stuff W e Really Like

Self-promotional book

Music

The final project is from

design studio Music in

Manchester. It's their

ow n 78 5 page book, Stuff

W e Really Like, based on

a list that tiiey began on their website.

It's a self-promotional project but,

unusually, doesn't contain any of their

ow n design work, instead implying

more about the studio's attitudes and

interests. What's your initial reaction

to su ch a sizeable tome w h ich , to look

at, must have been quite an investment?

J O H N : It's a great object and it's well

made. When a lot of the things that we

like to look at are on our laptops, you

really appreciate getting a book.

O L L I E : ' The C h u p a C h u p s logo wa s

designed by Salvador Dali', it says

here! That for me is worth all the

work. It's such a random collection.

53 T CREATIVE REVIEW | MARCH 2010

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COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

TITLE: Diesel: Be Stupid campaign

SOURCE: Creat Rev 30 no3 Mr 2010

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