Never Hide 2008 Advertising Campaign: Ray-Ban Goes Black and White
NEVER HIDE, Ray-Ban's most iconic advertising campaign, was launched by the TBWACHIATDAY agency in March 2007 and aimed at creating videos and photographs of consumers that they were to upload to the brand's website.
But by 2008, Ray-Ban had switched to the Californian advertising firm Cutwater, and as they say, it all took off! Viral videos, photos, concerts, albums, and much more started being produced for the benefit of the world’s best eyewear brand.
While enjoying today’s interesting and unusual Ray-Ban ads from Cutwater, it’s worth remembering how their collaboration started. It all began with print ads, the main idea of which was to show that the shapes of the brand’s models (specifically, the aviators) could be found in everyday objects.
A purely black-and-white palette was chosen for the posters, perfectly highlighting the details and contours of the images. Equally important are the objects chosen to demonstrate the omnipresence of Ray-Ban: with the exception of the skull (though it's still "rock"), all objects are music-related. These include audio cassettes, guitar tuning pegs, and a boombox.
We believe the choice of such images is no accident. Once again (recall the ad with the concert fan or the collaboration with Johnny Marr), Ray-Ban's love for rock musicians and their work is emphasized.
What’s equally interesting is that this poster series was not the last time the idea of the aviator’s natural teardrop shape was explored. The Cutwater ad agency revisited the concept in 2012, when renowned photographer Lars Topelmann shot a series of images depicting objects identical in shape to aviators (such as a woman's breasts, bicycle wheels, or smoke rings).
Such are these restless Ray-Bans, year after year showcasing incredible creativity and cementing their leadership. But we already know that, don’t we?