Title	UNFORGETTABLE DENIM
Brand	DIESEL
Product/Service	UNFORGETTABLE DENIM
Category	A01. Consumer Goods
Entrant	PUBLICIS ITALY Milan, ITALY
Idea Creation	PUBLICIS ITALY Milan, ITALY
Production	SOMESUCH London, UNITED KINGDOM
Additional Company	SIZZER B.V. Amsterdam, GERMANY

Name	Company	Position
Bruno Bertelli	Publicis Italy	Global CCO Publicis WW
Cristiana Boccassini	Publicis Italy	CCO Publicis Italy
Mihnea Gheorghiu	Publicis Italy	Global Executive Creative Director
Eoin Sherry	Publicis Italy	Global Creative Director
Costanza Rossi	Publicis Italy	Head of Art
Arthur Amorim	Publicis Italy	Associate Creative Director/ Art Director
Dan Arango	Publicis Italy	Associate Creative Director/ Copywriter
Daniele Tesi	Publicis Italy	Art Director
Nicolò Santovincenzo	Publicis Italy	Copywriter
Luca Villa	Publicis Italy	Designer/Art director
Monica Radulescu	Publicis Italy	Strategic Planner
Ilaria Castiglioni	Publicis Italy	Group Account Director
Gonzalo Gutierrez	Publicis Italy	Account Supervisor
Francesca Zazzera	Publicis Italy	Head of TV Production
Erica Lora Lamia	Publicis Italy	Tv Producer
Beatrice Pepe	Publicis Italy	TV Producer
Caterina Collesano	Publicis Italy	Art Buyer
Saraluna Miccichè	Publicis Italy	Social Media Manager
Alessandro Bochicchio	Publicis Italy	Head of Social Client Services and Strategy
PANTERA PANTERA	SOMESUCH & CO LTD X ANONYMOUS CONTENT	Director
Jake Hunter	SOMESUCH & CO LTD X ANONYMOUS CONTENT	Director of photography
Tor Fitzwilliams	SOMESUCH & CO LTD X ANONYMOUS CONTENT	Exec Producer
Michael Bertoldini	Sizzer	Music Supervision
James Greenall	SOMESUCH & CO LTD X ANONYMOUS CONTENT	Producer

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

Unforgettable Denim changed the perception of canceled plans in 2020, turning something to forget into something unforgettable. Through an online and in-store experience, people could personalize the jeans from the new collection with what they didn't do. Events, concerts, trips, all kinds of ceremonies... the only limit was the imagination of the customers. That's how we turned the purchase of the new denim collection into an experience to get a unique item that will be remembered forever.

Background

Diesel is the very definition of a culture brand. Its denim has been a part of popular culture since its inception. A garment so functional that it has been in some of our most unforgettable social experiences. But what do you do when the entire world takes a break? Suddenly, we are all at home in lockdown, wearing sweatpants and watching how our plans get canceled one by one. No wonder the Denim industry fell 19%. Naturally, buying expensive clothing wasn't on anyone's schedule. So, how to sell pricey Italian denim in the year of sweatpants?

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

While everyone was complaining about 2020, Diesel saw an opportunity and created Unforgettable Denim. True to its way of seeing the world from a less serious perspective, Diesel gave a friendly nod to 2020's canceled plans while positioning their durable denim as that unforgettable piece of the most forgettable year. Denim gets better with experience and becomes a sort of wearable record of the times you've had. In what has been a generation-defining year, DIESEL turned its latest Denim collection into a customization experience, inviting people—the world over—to celebrate what they did not do. When life gives you canceled plans, you can turn them into pants.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

What was our audience, the Gen Z doing during the pandemic? For sure, buying premium denim was NOT a priority in the year of sweatpants and zoom calls. Through social listening, we uncovered a new emergent subculture that made light of a failed year. What the bountitude of memes revealed was that culture hadn't disappeared altogether. It simply took another form. As bad as 2020 has been, it was undeniably one that we would remember for a very long time. And this is where we found a role for Diesel. The only way to position the Diesel denim was as that long term pair of jeans, which through creases and fades, ultimately becomes a wearable record of all the times we've experienced. And in a year with not much going on, the Diesel denim would become a cheerful souvenir of the year itself: the infamous yet truly unforgettable 2020.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

To launch Unforgettable Denim, Diesel partnered with various celebrities and influencers, including Evan Mock, Julia Fox, Donte Colley, and many others. Each of them stamped its own 2020 canceled plan on their unique Denim leather tag, introducing the collection on their social channels with online content that joyfully and ironically celebrates what they didn't do in 2020. And it didn't stop there: we also partnered with different major canceled events, like UNTOLD Festival, one of the most renowned music festivals in the world, to create a series of limited-edition denim with their name on them. To make Unforgettable Denim even more relatable, Diesel's e-commerce became a customization experience where people worldwide could personalize their unique pair of jeans with the plan that 2020 canceled.

List the results (30% of vote)

Denim sales rose 49% compared to the previous year, seeing an impact on total sales marked by a 42% increase in overall sales during the campaign. The positive trend also maintained after the campaign ended, while everything else was down vs 2019. These results were achieved in the worst year for fashion in recent history, with overall global sales of premium denim plummeting -19.4% vs 2019, the biggest fall in recent years. Levi's reported a 62% drop in its global revenue and said it would slash about 50% of its workforce. Our media investment was down versus last year. Distribution decreased by almost 60%, with physical stores closed for most of the year. Our campaign travelled organically worldwide and achieved earned media reach of over 700k worth, most coming from social. Diesel e-commerce registered more than 300,000 visits during the campaign period. 82.7% were new visitors.