This Brilliant Woolmark Company Ad is Set in a Dystopian Synthetic World

For the first time in over seven years, The Woolmark Company, the global authority on wool, is launching a global consumer awareness campaign to educate a new generation of consumers on the performance benefits of Australian Merino wool, focusing on breathable wool performance and athleisure wear.

The athleisure/active-wear market is the fastest growing sector of the $1.7 trillion global textile business, and 90% of the world’s wool apparel is produced in Australia.

The campaign takes aim at the global tensions around our new obsession with synthetics and seeks to remind people that Merino wool’s natural qualities - breathability, odour control, moisture management - make it the original performance fibre.

The centrepiece of the campaign is a film that tells the story of a synthetic world that has forgotten how to live naturally. Instead of embracing natural fabrics, its people wear artificial, unbreathable clothing made from the coats of a strange new breed of synthetic sheep. Frustrated with this stifling, fake world, the story’s heroine seeks out the natural world hiding just beyond the smoggy horizon.

The film will launch across New York, San Francisco, London, Shanghai and Tokyo and will be supported by large format and street OOH in all but one of these metro cities. 

Activations will include influencer-led fitness classes and Merino wool capsule collection launches from brand partners including P.E. Nation and Erin Snow highlighting ‘breathability.’

“A new generation of consumers are now expecting more from their purchases and Merino wool’s combined performance properties and eco-credentials are primed to meet this expectation. Our global campaign reminds consumers of wool's natural benefits which cannot be matched by any other fibre,” said Stuart McCullough, MD of The Woolmark Company. 

“‘Live and Breathe is a big platform idea that can inspire innovation and communication for years to come,” added Andy DiLallo CCO TBWA\Sydney.

“It’s not often we have the opportunity to produce global campaigns based in Sydney, we are very proud that we will play a part in promoting Australian Merino wool to a new generation of global consumers,” said Paul Bradbury, CEO, TBWA\Australia.

‘Live&Breathe’ aims to educate a lost generation on the technical performance benefits of Australian Merino wool. The rapid growth in demand for technical textiles has significantly boosted wool’s prominence in the sportswear industry. Millennials and Gen Ys are demanding not only a fibre that performs, but one that has green credentials. There are 60K woolgrowers in Australia, and 90% of the world’s apparel wool is produced in Australia. In 2018 the Australian wool industry is a $4.3 billion industry.