Zalando Captures the Values of Polish Gen Z for Latest Campaign
Zalando, Europe’s leading fashion and lifestyle platform, introduces the continuation of the global campaign 'Here to stay'. The activation 'Image of Generation Z' presents five polish representatives of Generation Z. Through their deliberate actions and daily activities they represent values such as inclusivity, diversity, body positivity, sustainability and equality.
The campaign introduces five extraordinary figures from Generation Z to a wider audience. The actions of young activists, who create mostly on the Internet, are often downplayed while their voice is not heard. Zalando has decided to empower their voices and help them reach the public traditionally, but also unconventionally: by capturing the heroes of the campaign in very special portraits, painted by artist Justyna Grodecka - a representative of Generation Z herself.
Physical images don’t fade away - they stay forever. Just like the values held by these young activists. Paintings were used in an OOH campaign, as well as in five murals created in three cities in Poland: Warsaw, Gdynia and Cracow.
The Hero video, directed by Mikołaj Sadowski, tells the story of these five exceptional people. Each of them represents a different value, taking a stand on an important issue and communicating their point of view to the world:
Kacper Kruz is a representative of the body-positivity movement. He’s an Internet content creator and model, who inspires plus-size people to make their dreams come true. He proves that fashion has no size, and love for our body is a supreme value.
Ewelina Antonowicz represents sustainability. At age 22, she became coordinator of the polish department of Fashion Revolution - the largest international organisation dealing with the problems of the fashion world.
Ogi Ugonoh is an ambassador of diversity. She believes that education is the key to fight against racism. That’s why she promotes diversity and supports initiatives such as #dontcallmemurzyn (Murzyn being the N-word in polish) and #czarnejestpolskie (Black is Polish).
Bartosz Kloch, who was born without legs, became a representative of inclusivity. As he says, for most of his life he was ashamed of his disability and avoided the gaze of other people, until he decided to create his image on his own terms and painted his legs red to make them even more eye-catching. Now Bartek shares his life on Tik Tok. His mission is to give courage to people with disabilities.
The voice of the LGBTQIA+ community is Kacper Potępski, a transgender influencer active locally and on social media. He took part in organising a fundraiser to secure chest binders for transgender people, and was one of the faces of the Campaign Against Homophobia #JestemPrzeciwkoTransfobii (I am against transphobia).
The author of the portraits - Justyna Grodecka, studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. She received several prestigious scholarships. In her art, she explores autobiographical themes and relates to social issues. As she says, she refers to “the three real branches of government, which are resentment, patriarchy and superstition”.
“Our new campaign is a celebration of values which are the foundation of the Zalando, especially diversity and inclusiveness.” says Dawid Pożoga, Zalando Regional Lead PL/CZ. “The stories of real people and the values they hold are a huge inspiration for us. It allows us to nurture a relationship with our polish customers from Generation Z and to understand them better”, he adds.
The campaign 'Image of Generation Z' was created in cooperation with the 180heartbeats + JUNG v. MATT agency, and will be published in Zalando's social media channels, on the profiles of the campaign heroes, OOH, online channels, as well as the support of PR activities. Icon Agency and Lettly Agency are responsible for influencer marketing and F25 production house for video production. Ola Walków is the author of the photos, while Mindshare media house is responsible for media buying.
