Baby, Don't Lie!
[Authentic] Creative Direction for Osprey Packs
I was playing with color grades today after seeing some really beautiful film work from the incredible Rena Effendi. I’m not going to pretend that this grade is anything akin to the beautiful, natural film dynamics of her story about chasing her father’s butterfly in Azerbaijan - but the cyan highlights in my National Geographic issue inspired some of this look ;)
Hunting around for some imagery to grade, I settled on sharing this selection from a project I did both Creative Direction and Photography on for Osprey Packs, Inc. with writer and cyclist Grace Anderson. Here's a look under the creative hood:
CHALLENGE
Osprey was launching a new bicycle frame bag series called “Escapist”. To support their launch and connect with customers, they needed compelling, and authentic content to position themselves in what was, for them, a totally new segment.
OBJECTIVE
Position the Escapist bags as a legitimate tool for adventure within the growing segment of bikepacking.
APPROACH
Create an aspirational entry point for customers to engage with the product. Wrap this in a food + travel story with an actionable itinerary.
Foodies and cyclists alike could find their way into this story, and by extension, position Osprey in their minds as a part of that aspirational experience.
PRODUCTION
I developed an advertorial storyline and associated social content based on #FoodTourism and partnered with existing businesses (foodie hot spots and products) that already had SEO buzz around their brands (some win-win cross-marketing).
Grace and I shortlisted key destinations that added context to our story and could be linked together by bike from HWY 101 out to the wild sonomacoast.
Working with Grace was great - I love her willingness to be vulnerable and messy!
EXECUTION
In keeping with the authentic storytelling, the art direction for photography was intentionally gritty, leaning on an immersive, docu-style aesthetic. For the camera work, this meant leveraging natural light and story moments that brought attention to the product without compromising the integrity of the narrative.
Grace and I traveled to each location in sequence, where she interviewed the chefs and business owners while I setup photography that nested Osprey inside the story.
Creative Director + Photographer: Kaare "Cory" Iverson
Writer: Grace Anderson
Fixer: Julian Arreguin