Whether you are a professional or everyday athlete, Oakley understands that the road to success is long, hard won and riddled with sacrifice.
The committed put everything else to the wayside in the name of their sport - vindicating this obsession is at the core of Oakley’s DNA.
Why then, was their tagline ‘One Obsession’ not resonating with their audience, when it describes their commitment to innovation and devotion to athletes like no other two words possibly could?
Obsession separates the sublime from the subpar, it drives blind ambition and feeds great success, but the humble majority view it through a more negative lens of shame, ridicule and rejection.
For Oakley’s message to be heard, it had to sound more relatable, to celebrate all kinds of obsession, not just the kind that leads to absolute victory.
To ignite the obsessive in everyone, we started by saying it was OK to be obsessed in the first place.
We had to normalise obsession.
During the Winter Olympics, we released a series of short, tongue in cheek vignettes that showed how an athlete’s obsession can affect their personal lives. Then, the following Spring, came the showpiece of the campaign - a rousing 2min film with an original soundtrack that eulogised the sacrifices made by athletes every day, telling them that whatever they do, it’s OK in the name of obsession.
The lyrics were written for the pitch and transformed effortlessly into song by jazz singer Krystle Warren. Michael Lawrence’s epic but intimate portrayal of life and sport in conflict, and Caron & de Maeyer’s unforgettable score, crowned a truly unique variation on the fatigued manifesto format.
We supported the film with placements online, in print and in-store that reminded everyday athletes it was OK to lose face, show some skin or sneak out early.
‘It’s OK’ was an excuse to work harder or a reason to chill out; a self-propagating validation for the obsessed, everywhere.
It’s OK had over 55.3 billion impressions during the Olympic period, driving a 21% increase in traffic to oakley.com.
The campaign was named Google Best in Class of 2018 and picked up a host of prestigious awards including Cannes Lions and D&AD Pencils.
The original soundtrack resonated so highly with audiences that Oakley later released it on Spotify.
Some even said they were obsessed.
