Mack Weldon Goes Back to Basics with Understated Clothing Campaign

'Humbly Yours' will run throughout June in New York’s subway cars and transit units. Circus Maximus’ campaign stands apart from most male activewear advertising, which tends to be flashy and egocentric. This is the clothing brand’s first-ever OOH work. Circus Maximus won the assignment in February.

“We find ourselves living in this hot-take, generation ME, no-such-thing-as-bad publicity world where being obnoxious is all good as long as you get noticed,” explained Ryan Kutscher, chief creative officer at Circus Maximus. “Mack Weldon is all about getting back to basics — the strong silent type who finds virtue in doing a job right for the sake of doing it right and not attracting undue attention.”

The panels pair simple quotes with wardrobe staples to illustrate the type of advice Mack Weldon might offer men age 30-plus in this era of egomania and selfie-inflated worth. Copy lines include 'You don’t need more basics. Maybe just better basics' (for the Ace Collection), 'Proof that you can be strong and soft at the same time' (polo shirts) and 'We call them essentials, basics, fundamentals. We’ll leave the superlatives to our customers' (boxer shorts).

'It’s not bragging if you can back it up,' reads the copy in one key campaign component, which features a closeup of an unidentified basketball player wearing a pair Airknit Boxer Briefs. 'But it’s not making you any friends either.' It conveys the importance of showing over bragging — and how performance trumps smack talk. As with all ads, the minimalist message links to the Mack Weldon website and carries the 'Humbly, Mack Weldon' tagline.

Mack Weldon is a menswear lifestyle brand that launched in 2011 with a collection of essentials 'designed by you and reinvented by us.' The e-commerce-based brand sells staples such as boxers, T-shirts, socks and sweats designed with the latest comfort- and performance-enhancing technologies.