Why is every brand suddenly showing us how the marketing is made?
Prada is introducing us to the animators behind its holiday campaign. Oribe commissioned a mosaic artist for its gift packaging and wants us to see the work come together. And when people wondered whether Gohar World’s dancing-table campaign for ASICS was AI, the brand shared how it was actually made.
No fast fashion, and no fast marketing either.
The fashion houses have always understood provenance. Who made the bag, where the leather came from, how someone learned the technique, why that particular workshop has been doing it for generations. Knowing those things becomes part of how we understand the value of what we’re buying.
Now that same thinking is moving into the marketing itself. The sketches, the materials, the people whose expert technique are becoming part of the campaign. We get to see the decisions that happened before the finished image appeared.
Prada’s current holiday campaign, Drawing Prada: Animated by Hand, combines live-action photography by Glen Luchford with illustrated winter worlds led by animator John Pomeroy. His credits include The Land Before Time and Pocahontas, so if the whole thing produces a very specific childhood feeling, there’s a reason.
And Prada released footage of the animators talking about their work, drawing with pencil and paper, and coming back together after years at different studios to make this project. You’re watching people whose work you probably loved before you ever knew their names explain how they do it.
Suddenly I have questions about the mice.
Your shampoo now comes with an artist’s materials list.
Oribe’s holiday collaboration with French mosaic artist Mathilde Herrero includes raw stone, Venetian smalti, and gold glass pastes. The work draws on the brand’s Goddess emblem, Oribe Canales’s love of gold, and his koi tattoos, across five gift sets.
That’s quite a lot of context for a box of hair products. And as someone who has spent a decent portion of her career in beauty, I very much appreciate it. Because holiday beauty packaging can become its own little blur. Beautiful box, beautiful ribbon, limited edition, please buy before December 24. There are only so many ways to tell someone that shampoo would make a lovely gift.
Here, you can follow the references into the work. There’s a person interpreting the brand’s history through a medium she knows intimately. You learn why those images belong on that particular box. And once you know that, you look at it differently.
Earlier this year, Hermès brought illustrator Linda Merad’s work into its Venture Beyond world. Her process involved physical drawings, digital color, and animation developed with Quentin Klein. The illustrations grew into a larger story across the brand’s website.
I love that you can follow a particular person’s way of seeing into something as ordinary as navigating a website. Someone had to decide what a Hermès underwater world would look like. Which creatures belonged there. How they moved. How a product could become part of the scene.
These choices give us a much fuller picture of the brand’s taste than the finished image alone.
And yes, the table was real.
Gohar World’s ASICS campaign featured a table with human legs dancing underneath it. Some viewers questioned whether the imagery was AI, prompting the brand to clarify the production and subsequently share bts footage.
You make a dancing table, and the internet asks for proof.
But knowing that someone figured out how to physically make that happen adds to the pleasure of watching it. As a lover of whimsical and weird creative ideas, I start imagining the conversations, the construction, the person trying it on. Someone had this ridiculous idea, and a group of people worked out how to do it.
I think that’s part of why making-of footage can be so satisfying. You get to see the ingenuity.
Think about a photographer building a strange little arrangement to get the right reflection. Or a set designer explaining how they created an entire room that only exists from one camera angle. You’ve already seen the result, but now you’re appreciating a whole other set of skills.
The work gets better the longer you look at it.
And when so much imagery passes through our feeds without requiring much of us, giving people another reason to look feels like a pretty good use of content.
Luxury has always cared where things came from.
We’re accustomed to brands explaining the origins of an object and asking us to appreciate the expertise behind it. The workshop, a particular leather, and the person who did the stitching.
Now that attention is extending into the creative itself.
Who drew this? Who photographed it? Where did the idea come from? Why did they choose to make it that way?
🧠 Smart Girl Opportunities
01. BUILDING IN THE WHITE SPACE — WEST HOLLYWOOD
Thursday, November 12 | 6:30–8:30 p.m. PT | The Outset
This Thursday, I’m joining Cerato Fragrances co-founders Libby Gray and Stephanie Diamond for an evening with angel investors, moderated by Kathryn Paves.
We’re talking about building brands where beauty meets wellbeing, and the opportunities we see in categories we know very well.
If you’re an angel investor, angel curious, or interested in emerging beauty brands, I’d love to see you there.
And if someone in your circle should be in the room, send this their way.
02. SOCIAL STUDIO — NYC
Monday, November 16 | 10 a.m.–1:30 p.m. ET | Downtown Manhattan
After Plan. Pitch. Cult., we wanted another excuse to get everyone together. So Oui, We Studio, Planoly, and Bento are taking over a downtown Manhattan photo studio for a morning of headshots, content shooting, coffee, and very good company.
If your headshot is from a few jobs or haircuts ago, this is your moment.
The $150 Headshot Session includes a reserved ten-minute session with our portrait photographer and studio access for the whole morning. You’ll choose your session time after registering.
Or grab a $25 Studio Pass, bring your outfits, products, and props, and use the space to shoot your own content and B-roll. Both tickets include coffee and light bites.
Come see your Plan. Pitch. Cult. friends, or come meet the people you missed. Registration requires approval, and the exact address is shared after you register.
We’re also giving away one Headshot Session and three Studio Passes on Instagram. Follow @planoly, @ouiwegirl, and @onbento for entry details.
More Ways to Work With Oui, We Studio
Fractional CBO — Brand Direction: Think of the studio team as your brand sherpa: we know where you're going, how to get there, and we make sure nothing goes out misaligned. Monthly strategy call, updated content plan, and a brand strategy document — all built on the Cult Brand Blueprint™ framework. Our next opening for this work is September.
The Content Studio Brand strategy from me. Content from my Studio team, created and delivered to you each month — ready to post. Photo-forward or video-forward, depending on where your brand lives and what we decide you need.
→ Let us know you're interested here, and we'll set up time to chat.
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