A brand reading
Diesel.
Outlaw Provocation as posture.
Diesel’s ‘Be Stupid’ campaign in 2010 inverted the Outlaw on itself: smart was the new conformity. The ads were billboards-as-manifestos, refusing to explain themselves. The refusal is the brand.
The reading.
Outlaw with a Jester counterweight, expressed.
- Character
- Outlaw
- Drive
- Freedom, change, justice, independence, revenge.
- Fear
- Captivity, conformity, complacency, subjection, dependence.
- Strategy
- Act as an agent of change, and let people break with convention.
- Counterweight
- Jester
- Opportunity
- Denim sold aspiration. The provocateur lane was open.
- Diagnostic
- Expressed
The Outlaw as provocation. Diesel runs billboards that refuse to explain themselves, and the refusal is the brand. The Jester counterweight keeps the provocation playful.
Famous spot
Be Stupid, 2010