Timberland’s new ad agency, Leagas Delaney, has told the company that its promotion of environmental causes is distracting from its products, the Wall Street Journal reports. After seeing revenues decline six percent to $210 million on lower sales in the U.S. compared with last year, Timberland is ready to listen, looking to boost revenues by piggybacking a new campaign on the Olympics.
Timberland has never run a TV ad during such a high-profile event and is spending $30 million on air time for its new ad campaign “Podium,” and two follow-up ads.
“Podium,” shows a man clad in Timberland attire running, jumping, then hurdling through a forest to a mountain peak, as though on a winners' podium. A new slogan follows: “Take it All On,” replacing the previous slogan: “Make it Better.”
But if WSJ is correct and Timberland is really ready to pull the plug on environmental causes, it's doing a good job of hiding it. The company is branding itself as being socially conscious on YouTube as part of a new marketing campaign, Earthkeeper, with a goal of recruiting one million people to become part of an online network designed to inspire environmental change.
