KILLER CREATIVE FROM LONDON’S DRUMSHEDS FOR THEIR SS24 CAMPAIGN
The 15,000-capacity ex-industrial events space based in Tottenham, London broke the the mould for traditional seasonal event announcements with a high-concept campaign for Drumsheds SS24 programme.
Directed in collaboration with Broadwick’s Design Director Jack Walmsley and Eoin Glaister (Stink Films) the SS24 creative utilised a cast of bodybuilders for both video and accompanying imagery to draw comparisons between the monumental scale of the venue and the art of bodybuilding.
About the campaign Jack Walmsley, Design Director at Broadwick, said: “We wanted to lean into our reputation for scale and do something weird and wonderful… DRUMSHEDS is not just a music space, it’s one of the largest culture projects London’s ever seen. With tongues firmly in cheek, we wanted to embrace our oversized standing in the industry. It’s important to remind people what it takes to deliver at this scale”.
HOW IT PLAYED OUT…
Drumsheds kicked off the campaign with a series of short, ambiguous teasers across socials. Pulling out elements from the campaign's creative this series of posts started with eggs being blended, alongside the caption BUFFERING…
This was followed by a close-up shot of a chihuahua being stroked with the caption PUMPED, leaving audiences wondering what this all means and guessing some form of reference to Peggy Gou in the comments. Either that or choosing to name the dog Peggy, admittedly I'm still not 100% sure exactly what was happening there.
The final cryptic teaser came in the form of an abstract skin close-up showing a rippling muscle captioned 28.11.23.
Drumsheds then followed these teasers by releasing the concept-driven creative shown in the video above, alongside the tagline BIG IS BEAUTIFUL with information on when the SS24 music programme would be revealed and pre-sale registration.
Further elements of the creative were then used with animated text overlay to announce the SS24 programme, recap the announcement pushing the tagline BIG IS BEAUTIFUL, share further pre-sale information and then announce the general sale.
IF ANYTHING WAS POSSIBLE, HERE’S HOW I’D HAVE BUILT ON THE CONCEPT…
ORIGINAL AUDIO:
With Drumsheds being firmly routed in the world of underground electronic music, working with a musical collaborator to create original audio could have further expanded on the concept theme.
The creative used is perfectly suited for a vocal sample of Arnold Schwarzenegger famous description of ‘zee pump’ from the 1977 documentary ‘Pumping Iron’. Think DJ Borings ‘Winona’ for an audio cue, with a loopable beat suited for socials.
This expands on the theme by drawing further comparisons to the pumping rhythms of electronic music and the pumping sensation of blood drawn into the muscles when exercising.
Again, the tongue would be firmly in the cheek here, but the concept could increase the virality of the campaign.
Possible sample clearances aside, releasing the track onto Spotify with a limited run of white labels for competition giveaways could have added a little extra sauce, especially given the significant impact of white label releases on the musical culture Drumsheds has been founded on.
USG:
Prompting audiences to share videos of their biggest moments at the SS23 event series for a chance to win tickets and merchandise. This provides a perfect opportunity to temporarily hijack the social algorithms as audiences post content from previous experiences at the venue.
GET PUMPED…
Share your biggest moments from SS23 and be in with a chance of winning a limited edition copy of our SS24 white label alongside a pair of tickets to an event of your choice.
@drumsheds for a chance to win.
EVENT VISUALS:
I’d be surprised if the Drumsheds team hadn’t already considered this, but by incorporating visual elements from the campaign shoot into live show visuals, Drumsheds could extend the life of its creative while adding a visual cue to audiences coming full circle. From seeing these elements play out on social media to experiencing them across an awe-inspiring visual display accompanied by a soundtrack from their favourite artist. Visual elements such as the abstract skin close-up posted as teaser content could lend themselves brilliantly to this.
SUMMARY:
The SS24 announcement campaign has to be my favourite event-based campaign of 2023, it breathed some much-needed life into a campaign format that can often seem formulaic and repetitive with obvious content formats and creative themes.
That’s not to say these tried and tested formats don’t work, as in many cases they do, especially when combined with year-round content, a genuinely engaged audience, paid media, plus a solid reputation for delivering high-quality events - that being said, it all feels a bit safe.
The SS24 campaign provided just enough Alchemy. For anyone who’s read advertising icon Rory Sutherlands' classic on the surprising power of ideas that don’t make sense, or in this case, immediate sense - you’ll probably see what’s at play here.
“To be brilliant, you have to be irrational. We are drawn to the beautiful, the extravagant and the absurd.” - Rory Sutherlands