To celebrate the rebranding of their agency, the principal executives of New York-based Viceroy Creative, formerly known as Mode Design Group, decided to take the bold and unusual approach of going nude in a series of ads.
In an interview with Adweek, they said they were inspired by Stefan Sagmeister and Jessica Walsh’s stunt back in 2012 when they went naked to announce their partnership.
“I remembered when [Stefan Sagmeister and Jessica Walsh’s] S&W campaign came out, everyone in the industry was just like, ‘Naked, name change, cool. Tell me more about that’,” said president David Moritz.
Creative director Gabrielle Rein had been working out to get back in shape after having a baby, and suggested Moritz give it a go. That got him thinking about how to incorporate that into their repositioning strategy.
“And then somewhere it all clicked—underwear models, intense physical training, name change, repositioning, parody Sagmeister Walsh with a twist, take it further, make it funnier in a deadpan way, make it fashion and luxury but self-aware. I tested the idea out on a few people and across the board, everyone loved it,” said Moritz.
To get themselves fit and fab, Mortiz, Rein, chief financial officer Aaron Bearce, and account manager Raegan Gilette worked out with Equinox trainers seven days a week, which included intense cardio sessions and weight training. They also went on a strict diet of largely protein.
According to Rein, there weren’t really any nerves on the day of the shoot as they are a close-knit group, and that things went swimmingly “after that initial disrobe.”
Posing naked while the rest of their clothed co-workers went about their day was expectedly awkward—they required constant touch-ups throughout, including areas like their butts.
Bearce, being more conservative, didn’t strip down and explained he was unsure about it from the start. He eventually assumed the role of a leader directing business next to his naked peers, in a subtle dash of humor.
The ads were shot by photographer Robert Wyatt, who was also behind the ‘Equinox Made Me Do It’ campaign.
Read more about the stunt here. What do you think of it?
[via Adweek, images by Viceroy Creative]