Fashion brand Lacoste believes that “Life is a Beautiful Sport,” showing that taking risks is simply wonderful. It is then when the #CrocodileInside us comes out. Central to this concept stands the company’s “Crocodile Inside” campaign, which, unlike its predecessors, features a less romanticized love story. During this week’s #ThrowBrandThursday column, we are going to focus on a stubborn couple and their possible breakup (and other love stories imagined by Lacoste).
Created by agency BETC, the campaign features comedians Oulaya Amamra and Kevin Azaïs playing the roles of two love partners who are intensely arguing about something. As the fight escalates, the environment degrades to the point where the two are separated by a huge crack formed in the floor — a symbol of their separation, which seems inevitable between the two. Once they realize that they have let anger replace rationality, they decide to return to each other.
Directed by MEGAFORCE, the short film’s action is intensified by Edit Piaf’s “L’Hymne à l’amour” song, reinforcing the idea that not even a destroyed world can keep two lovers apart, as they will “sing a hymn to love.” Speaking about this cinematic moment, Co-President and CCO of BETC and head of the Havas Creative Council, Stéphane Xiberras, says: “This film is like a little excerpt of a feature film and it perfectly reflects the phrase ‘life is a beautiful sport’, because in sport, as in life, you can’t win without confrontation.”
The film was widely applauded, stated Le Figaro. Yet, some critics called for more decency, pointing out the dramas that had happened in France around that time.
Crocodile Inside’s predecessor is titled “Timeless” and comprises 80 years in a 90-second-video “capsule.” The short video tells the romantic story of a man who follows a woman on a train, played by Damien Chapelle and Dorcas Coppin. Each scene features a different era, yet, one thing is omnipresent: the polo shirt.
The project has been produced by Wanda for BETC and directed by Seb Edwards. The film is a beautiful ode to René Lacoste, a French tennis player and creator of the eponymous brand, who, inspired by a friend who was wearing a polo shirt, had the “practical idea” of designing one of its own.
In the “Timeless” video, director Edwards wanted to reiterate the success of his previous campaign for Lacoste, “The Big Leap.” Created under the same mantra, “Life is a Beautiful Sport,” the ad is about courage and taking risks in life. It is also a story about love but told from a bold point of view. The video shows a man about to make a decision. While he is all “go for it,” his mind generates a scenario in which he seems to be in danger. The award-winning film stars Paul Hamy and Anna Brewster.
Credits:
Client: Lacoste
Agency: BETC
Campaign: Crocodile Inside
Chief Creative Director: Rémi Babinet
Creative Directors: Aurélie Scalabre, Olivier Aumard, Damien Bellon
Copywriter: Olivier Aumard
Art Director: Aurélie Scalabre
Assistant Art Director: Jessica Fecteau
Account Managers: Bertille Toledano, Gaëlle Gicqueau, Fanny Buisseret
Strategy: Philippe Martin-Davies
Director: MEGAFORCE
Dop: Bradford Young
Production: Iconoclast
Post-production: Time Based Arts
Campaign: Timeless
Agency: BETC
Production: Wanda
Director: Seb Edwards
VFX Supervisor: Stéphane Allender
VFX Producer: Christophe Huchet, Xavier Questel
Lead CG (Paris): Vincent Coni
3D Team: Adam Tinning, André Monteiro, Jonathan Carrier, Olivier Lukaszczyk
Flame: Stéphane Allender, Angus Wilson
Coordination VFX: Nicolas Huguet
Datalab: Nicolas Daniel, Pauline Royo, Jonathan Cayssials
Editor: Léa Latassa
Campaign: The Big Leap
Agency: BETC
Agency Producer: David Green
Art Director: Damien Bellon
Copywriter: Gabrielle Attia
Creative Director: Antoine Choque
Director: Seb Edwards
Executive Creative Director: Rémi Babinet
Production Company: Wanda Productions
Sound Design: Schmooze
Special Effects: MPC
Account Handler: Brune Failliot, Matthieu Kuster, Bertille Toledano