Escape with Easy Rider
Advico Y&R shows the way away from the daily grind with ads and posters for their new client Harley-Davidson.
A lot has changed since the three brothers Harley and Arthur Davidson designed the first model of their motorcycles in 1903. The design, the technology and also the riders. But one thing has remained the same over the decades: the special feeling of riding towards the horizon on a Harley-Davidson.
In the campaign designed by AY&R, the traditional US brand focuses precisely on this feeling. The two subjects realized are aimed specifically at the target group of "sleeping licenses". These are mostly men who obtained a driver's license for large motorcycles at a young age and drove for a while, but then stopped because of family and career - advertisers, for example, but also lawyers, doctors and the many businessmen who are under constant stress.
Years later, these people feel a growing need to upgrade their everyday lives and afford something in return. "Harley-Davidson invites them all to take a seat, start the engine and experience a ride that makes you forget everything for a while," says CD Christian Bobst, explaining the idea behind the campaign. He was on location when the subjects were realized in New York by top Swiss photographer Stephan Schacher. The landscape photos come from the archive of Stephan Schacher, who has long enjoyed traveling the USA on his Harley.
Y&R also wanted to evoke that American feeling with the nightmare images in the rear-view mirror. Christian Bobst and Stephan Schacher finally found the desired cubical office in New York "with a little help" from a few friends in the film business. Jim Jarmush also had a styled scene shot on the 25th floor of a skyscraper at 1 State Street. Nicole Kidman was in front of the camera in this office for "The Interpreter". For the photos for the Harley campaign, however, the creative team from Gockhausen wanted to focus more on "real life people". Bobst found them through a casting on Craigslist.org.
Harley-Davidson Switzerland works with various agencies on a project-by-project basis. AY&R's campaign is aimed less at everyday bikers and more at the special target group of "escapees". For this reason, it was also important for the idea to be implemented in America. "After all, the product is based in the USA and reflects this American dream for many people," says Bobst.
Andreas Panzeri
In the campaign designed by AY&R, the traditional US brand focuses precisely on this feeling. The two subjects realized are aimed specifically at the target group of "sleeping licenses". These are mostly men who obtained a driver's license for large motorcycles at a young age and drove for a while, but then stopped because of family and career - advertisers, for example, but also lawyers, doctors and the many businessmen who are under constant stress.
Years later, these people feel a growing need to upgrade their everyday lives and afford something in return. "Harley-Davidson invites them all to take a seat, start the engine and experience a ride that makes you forget everything for a while," says CD Christian Bobst, explaining the idea behind the campaign. He was on location when the subjects were realized in New York by top Swiss photographer Stephan Schacher. The landscape photos come from the archive of Stephan Schacher, who has long enjoyed traveling the USA on his Harley.
Y&R also wanted to evoke that American feeling with the nightmare images in the rear-view mirror. Christian Bobst and Stephan Schacher finally found the desired cubical office in New York "with a little help" from a few friends in the film business. Jim Jarmush also had a styled scene shot on the 25th floor of a skyscraper at 1 State Street. Nicole Kidman was in front of the camera in this office for "The Interpreter". For the photos for the Harley campaign, however, the creative team from Gockhausen wanted to focus more on "real life people". Bobst found them through a casting on Craigslist.org.
Harley-Davidson Switzerland works with various agencies on a project-by-project basis. AY&R's campaign is aimed less at everyday bikers and more at the special target group of "escapees". For this reason, it was also important for the idea to be implemented in America. "After all, the product is based in the USA and reflects this American dream for many people," says Bobst.
Andreas Panzeri
