Moody marketing

Brands have always wanted to be closely associated with certain emotions. Coca-Cola owns ‘happiness’, whilst Airbnb is built on a less tangible, but no less powerful, sense of belonging. The common denominator in these mood affiliations is always a warm, fuzzy, feel-good vibe. Until now, that is.

In typical Scandinavian style, outerwear brand Stutterheim is taking the path less travelled with a visual identity built around ‘melancholy’. Best known for its minimalist rubberised cotton jackets, Stutterheim is keen to turn rainy days into moments for introspection and mind wandering. ‘In order to be creative you need to be able to feel blue at times, so we made the connection between melancholy and creativity,’ explains brand co-founder Johan Loman. Stutterheim is achieving this connection through a wide-reaching social media campaign, where people can submit their moody pictures, as well as through commissioned campaign imagery.

The Big Picture: in the Polarity Paradox, consumers are looking for extreme experiences, and this includes emotional highs and lows. What they feel is less important than simply feeling something.