Advertising from Switzerland becomes fashionable

The Zurich agency Neutral has been working for the traditional brand Pringle of Scotland for three years. Working very closely with the Managing Director, the creatives from Langstrasse have been able to develop the Scots from a somewhat old-fashioned "knitwear store" into a trendy label in the lifestyle and ready-to-wear sector.

The story began with a job for Puma. Here, too, an old sports brand was to be transformed into a premium lifestyle brand. There was a pitch with English and American agencies. In the end, the winner was Neutral from Switzerland. When Brand Manager Benoit Duverger moved from Puma to Pringle as Director of Global Communications, he took Neutral with him. Since then, Michelle Nicol and Rudolph Schürmann's agency has been involved in the development of product lines and store architecture. And Benoit Duverger has since been promoted to Managing Director. He sums up the collaboration: "Working with the Neutral agency means having a clear focus on content for strategic brand development. This has paid off in the past and continues to do so today for the Puma and Pringle brands. Because no one needs brands without content in 2012."

"As a boring brand in the highlands of Scotland, you never make it into the big fashion magazines with your collection. So you need an attractive hook. We launched editions with artists and institutions and then presented them at suitable events and shows," says Schürmann, explaining the strategy. In this way, an old brand suddenly became cool. Neutral also produces coolness for Bally, here with the BallyLove collection, which is designed by an artist and launched with Art Basel and Art Basel Miami Beach.

Today, Pringle of Scotland is considered the iconic label from the heart of the cashmere industry in Scotland. Since its foundation in 1815, Pringle has revolutionized the fashion industry with the finest cashmere and unprecedented cuts. Since then, technical progress in particular has enabled the fashion house to weave the luxurious fabrics using new manufacturing processes and turn them into innovative outerwear. The fashion designers at Pringle are also considered the forefathers of the twin set. "However, the traditional brand had outlived its life cycle," analyzes Schürmann.

Since then, the Neutral agency has continued to position Pringle in its communications as a traditional Scottish brand - but with new content based on traditional values. For example, the Scottish Oscar winner Tilda Swinton was recruited as a testimonial. Another particularly creative move was the launch of "195 Collaborations" - a series of artist products in collaboration with the Serpentine Gallery. Following the London event and further presentations in Milan, Berlin, Miami and New York, the "195 Collaborations" collection was picked up by leading retailers around the world.

Pringle's current owner family comes from Hong Kong. Many successful Asians meet at Art Basel Miami Beach. Neutral is a partner there and subsequently built a pop-up store with Zurich architects Andreas Fuhrimann and Gabrielle Hächler. "Many fashion brands stage themselves at Art Basel Miami Beach. The PR impact is huge. Then the sales start."

New image films play an important role in Neutral's work for Pringle every year. For the fall/winter 2011 men's collection, Neutral made a film with Zurich artist and cult photographer Walter Pfeiffer. Director Ryan McGinley was responsible for an earlier image film created by Neutral. The premiere of the film marked Pringle's return to London Fashion Week in 2009 after a five-year absence.

Neutral's latest work was the only Swiss entry to win a gold trophy at ADC Europe in 2011. Glasgow-based artist David Shrigley was invited by Neutral and Pringle to create a corporate film. The film artist was chosen because Michelle Nicol had already worked with him years ago as an illustrator "when he was still completely unknown". The premiere of this film took place in January 2011 as part of the Menswear Show in Milan. Shrigley already created the famous Pringle Twinset for the London Fashion Week poster campaign in 2010. The witty drawings have since been used for a T-shirt collection. One of these drawings has even found its way onto the cover of the British magazine Elle. The shirts were launched at the Vogue Fashion Night Out in London. The motifs have also been incorporated into special shop window concepts for retail partners Colette in Paris, Corso Como in Milan and Murkudis in Berlin.

Andreas Panzeri