COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR – BROTHERS
Client: Columbia Sportswear / Agency: Sockeye Portland OR / President: Andy Fraser / ECD: Peter Metz / EP: Ryan Crisman / Producer: Jennifer Moore / CD: Lonnie Anderson / Copywriters: Jim and Danny Lewin / Production Co: Sockeye Portland OR / EP: Ryan Crisman / Producer: Jennifer Moore / Director Manny Bernardez / DOP: Kevin Fletcher / Editor: Wil Magnes / VFX: Hive / Colorist: Ricart & Co / Sound Mix: Digital One
Sometimes the clearest product stories are told without saying a word.
Brothers was designed to speak to a global audience—wordlessly, universally, and with just enough slapstick mayhem to land a very clear point: Columbia’s Insect Blocker fabric isn’t just apparel. It’s defense.
With no dialogue and only minimal supers, the story hinges on physical performance and pacing. One brother, Peter, moves through the scene with complete calm, protected head-to-toe by Columbia’s bug-repellent shirt. The other, Andy, becomes a walking cautionary tale: under siege by insects, setting his foot on fire, and taking down the entire camp in the process.
Behind the comedy is a product story rooted in real tech. Insect Blocker fabric is woven with built-in repellent, designed to keep bugs off your skin and out of your camping trip. The challenge was to make that benefit land without a word. Let the shirt do the talking.
The campaign ran globally across digital, broadcast, and retail, making a wide-reaching push to introduce Columbia’s novel bug-repellent technology to summer shoppers. The result: lifted awareness, boosted sales, and one brother who probably still hasn’t forgiven the other.