Special’s “Summer Never Sleeps” film for Kathmandu named in Best of the Year by Vimeo

Vimeo has released its coveted global ‘Best of the Year’ selection for 2022, naming Kathmandu’s “Summer Never Sleeps”.

The elite list features just 10 branded and 10 unbranded films, from the content on offer from Vimeo’s 300 million monthly users.

As stated on Vimeo’s Best of the Year page, “Our community of creators make millions of videos each year. Of those, hundreds are chosen by our curators as Staff Picks. But only a few Staff Picks stand out as the year’s best.”

The badge of recognition is a huge honour for Special and Kathmandu, to be ranked alongside recent years’ winners like Apple, Burberry, Nike and Libresse for its campaign, Womb Stories. And has been warmly welcomed by the film’s director, Scoundrel’s Daniel Warwick, as the best acknowledgement he’s ever received.

Says Special CEO & CCO Tony Bradbourne, “The Summer Never Sleeps campaign has attracted a huge amount of attention globally, and has been a huge success for Kathmandu. To be handpicked from the millions of films created each year says a lot about how unique, standout and beautifully crafted the idea is. Oh and a killer soundtrack helps.”

The film’s kooky and original approach to storytelling was obviously a hit with Vimeo’s curators – “From the first gritty guitar licks of Brazilian musician Tom Zé's song ‘Jimmy Renda-se,’ this commercial for New Zealand outdoor brand Kathmandu doesn't sleep. Sneaky swims, smokey entrances, and spirited singing all go down rhythmically to the old-school rock n' roll beat, and you wonder, does it get any more fun than this? The answer: not really. It isn't easy to find commercials this playful, creative, goofy, or artfully rhythmic that land solidly on their feet. There are so many colorful ideas packed into this piece that it makes us want to high-five the Kathmandu marketing team for letting the film crew's imaginations stretch this far out into an alternate universe.”

Special ECD, Lisa Fedyszyn says, “Vimeo staff said they want to high-five the Kathmandu marketing team, and they should. The team has always been passionate and hungry to create work that is entertaining, unique and ‘Out There,’ that displays the transformative nature of the outdoors.”

Kathmandu Head of Global Brand Campaigns, Michaela Clark says, “As the Number 1 outdoor brand in Australia and New Zealand we play a meaningful role in summer and we’re on a mission to get as many people ‘out there’ in nature as possible. We’re thrilled to have continued our work with Special New Zealand who helps us tell our story so innovatively, creatively and passionately.