Aldo taps into the joy of youth in brand reboot
Working with agency Combo, the historic footwear and clothing brand has undergone a major refresh, including a new campaign that hopes to reconnect it to the youth of today
Global fashion brand Aldo has unveiled a new campaign aimed at encouraging young people to embrace their formative years and all of the scary, exciting moments that define them. Created in collaboration with New York-based agency Combo, Try Every Thing marks a new chapter in the brand’s history.
Founded in Canada in 1972, Aldo has, according to Combo partner Greg Matson, a strong legacy of disruption: “The brand was born in the counter-culture of the 70s, owned the malls in the 80s, fought AIDS in the 90s, [and] made skinny jeans sexier in the 2000s,” he says. “But (and this is true for every legacy brand) no matter what you‘ve done in the past, you must redefine yourself for the next generation. Behind the scenes, Aldo’s design teams had been researching and rethinking product with a focus on the realities of young people’s everyday needs.”
Off the back of this work, Aldo reached out to the team at Combo to reimagine the brand’s visual language, looking for something that could “more accurately reflect their core products and audiences”. In turn, the designers developed a new look and feel for the brand that hopes to speak to younger generations.
Along with the new brand positioning, guidelines, and marketing strategy, Combo came up with Try Every Thing, a campaign that will roll out across various platforms and include creator partnerships and immersive experiences.
The tagline is rooted in a focus on key youth experiences, from “first jobs and fresh starts” to “personal breakthroughs”. Matson explains: “This new rallying cry was all about discovery, courage and confidence in new situations. All the ideas, language and design came from this belief.”
The evolution required the brand to let go of some of the “old rules” of its branding. “For a big global brand, change can be risky because there’s so much to consider (and fuck up), but this newly enshrined philosophy was all about experimenting and giving something new a go,” says Matson. “Moving into a new art direction that was looser, lived in, and more inspired by how young people are creating today.”
Reflecting on how he sees this brand reboot evolving over time, Matson is ambitious: “I can see this going hard into educational content, inspiring trips to new countries, helping with job interviews, helping with dating, using stores to test drive new hobbies, grants for young creatives – basically, Aldo being a catalyst for courage and using marketing as a way to prompt a generation to leave their comfort zone.
“The same way Nike unlocks the athlete in all of us, I can see Aldo bringing that extra bit of confidence when you’re about to do something new. I think that’s an honourable role for a brand to play in someone’s life.”
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