The Crocodile Spirit of Lacoste

Aurélie and Olivier> After the last campaign that celebrated the timeless elegance of the Lacoste polos with a film showing a love story across the decades, we wanted to get back to something more rooted in the everyday life, in reality. After having stood the test of time, it was time for the Lacoste elegance to stand the test of life. 

The Lacoste elegance exceeds a purely stylistic dimension; it is a way of life: being elegant in every situation, even in adversity. This was the challenge that our client wanted to highlight with the new campaign. 

Aurélie and Olivier> At first glance, it might seem similar to both The Big Leap and Timeless, in the sense that the film features a couple. This time however, it’s less of a happy, overly romantic love story - instead we witness a destructive fight and a couple on the verge of tearing itself apart. Their home as a symbol of their love literally falls apart and crumbles around them as the heated argument escalates. We wanted the film to have a raw emotional feeling to it and we’re sure more people will recognise themselves in this than the previous films. 

Aurélie and Olivier> The first challenge was to continue the Lacoste saga while still renewing it.

Then, once the client had bought into the idea and the script, we threw ourselves into an ambitious production project. On paper, everything made sense but once we actually had to create and imagine the different parts of the building falling into pieces it was a different story.

Aurélie and Olivier> We didn’t really have any specific references or films to guide us. Our main concern was that we didn’t want the film to turn into some sort of big showy action movie. We really wanted to stay focused on the couple and their feelings throughout the different phases of their argument. At first, anger. Then the fear of losing everything and finally the decision to come back to each other. 

Throughout the production process we were careful to maintain a good balance between the couple and the destruction of the building which is like our third character. 

Aurélie and Olivier> We had never worked with Megaforce before but we had followed what they do for a long time and waited for the perfect project to team up on.

Some of their multi-awarded campaigns, like Nothing Beats a Londoner, are a testament to the sort of freshness and top-class mastering of special effects that we needed for this film. They were 100% committed for months, all the way until the final post production details that were made in London.

Aurélie and Olivier> One of the most memorable moments for us was the final scene. After seven days of intense and very demanding filming, Kevin Azais and Oulaya Amamra found the strength to create a superb moment of emotion, it really felt like time stood still when they nailed it. 

Jonathan, Olivier and Fanny> The biggest moments were the ones attesting the engagement from the brand and the support from the public audience. 

The fashion show at the Paris Fashion Week: it’s a key moment for Lacoste and they dedicated the last 10 looks to the 10 threatened species. After months of work to develop this partnership and this campaign, it was good to see it take shape and to witness its immediate success. 

Another big moment was when Lacoste received a letter from the Mexican government, thanking them for highlighting the Vaquita, a threatened species Mexico is acting to help conserve. 

IUCN [the International Union for Conservation of Nature] also noticed public donations were multiplied by four after the campaign which was a strong indicator of the awareness and support the partnership got. 

 

Jonathan, Olivier and Fanny> The crocodile is one of the most famous logos in the world, the absolute emblem of Lacoste, arousing the desirability and passion among the brand's fans. Moreover, this animal has survived over centuries so it felt right to involve the crocodile in the protection of more threatened species. 

In 2018, we decided to do it in the most significant way possible for Lacoste: changing their legacy product, the polo, and replacing the iconic embroidered crocodile with threatened species. In 2019, we’re going one step further and we involve Lacoste retail for the partnership and the awareness to get even closer to the people. 

 

Jonathan, Olivier and Fanny> The first collaboration allowed IUCN to initiate a conservation programme for the Burmese roofed turtle which was one of the most threatened species we had selected with IUCN’s expertise. The project focuses on recruiting juvenile turtles into the wild population both by introducing captive-bred turtles and by protecting and incubating eggs laid by the remaining wild female turtles. Early success has already been achieved, as 46 little hatchlings were born and more are expected in the following weeks. With so few remaining in the wild this is an important milestone for the conservation efforts of the Burmese Roofed Turtle. 

Jonathan, Olivier and Fanny> The campaign was received very positively internationally, even in countries where the polos were not sold. It reinforced Lacoste perception as a committed brand, willing to act beyond their usual business. 

In 2018, all polos were sold out in 24 hours. In 2019, the campaign got the same amazing support both online and in-store. It demonstrates the positive perception the partnership and its creative expression receives from a very wide audience.

Jonathan, Olivier and Fanny> This year, we decided to go one step further by involving Lacoste retail. On May 22nd, for the International Day for Biological Diversity, the crocodile did not leave the polos only but every square foot of 10 key stores around the world. 

During 24 hours, the 10 selected stores became ‘crocodile-free’ in order to each put the spotlight on one specific species. The polos for each species were only available for sale in their dedicated store. All profits from these stores supported IUCN’s Save our Species conservation programme. 

 

Jonathan, Olivier and Fanny> The emblem of the crocodile is at the heart of both campaigns: it embodies the brand value of tenacity, its creativity put at the service of elegance, its absolute freedom. The crocodile inspired René Lacoste more than 30 years ago and remains a source of inspiration to take the brand further.