Charli xcx and Converse Say 'Fuck the Holiday Season' with MOX
Step aside Brat summer – Brat winter is here.
Two icons have come together for Converse’s 2024 holiday campaign starring Charli xcx, launching today. Captured in a pair of her own Chucks, the 365 party girl rebelliously shreds greetings cards to the tune of her hit single, ‘Von dutch’. It’s a Brat Christmas battle cry that gives a festive “fuck you” to tired traditions and stifling expectations of what the holidays ought to look like.
The 15” film and series of stills were provocatively curated by creative agency MOX, and shot by director and photographer, Sharna Osborne. They’ll be running across OOH, online, social, and digital channels, recruiting Brats from far and wide to unleash their ‘it girl’ energy this xcxmas.
To get the behind the scenes scoop, LBB’s Zara Naseer sat down with MOX’s senior art director on the project, Vilde Tobiassen.
LBB> What was the brief from Converse for this holiday campaign and how did you initially approach it?
Vilde> The brief from Converse was essentially ‘Fuck the Season’. We thought: how could we make a Christmas campaign that is out of the ordinary, not following the traditional scripts? We approached this with a mischievous point of view, moving away from the preconceived expectations. We landed on an overarching idea - ‘night b4 xcxmas’. Under this lens we started thinking of what Charli would be doing the night before xcxmas, which led us to collaborating with director Sharna Osborne and coming up with the final idea and actions for the campaign.
LBB> What does a Brat holiday season look like? And how did you embody that spirit of rebellion in the campaign and its making?
Vilde> Chaotic energy triumphs in the Brat holiday season. It is all about not having to embrace traditions, doing things the way that you want to and not the way others expect you to. We wanted to channel Charli’s rebellious spirit through her actions in the film, shredding traditional Christmas cards whilst staring down the camera – a simple action which juxtaposes the old-school Christmassy set behind her.
LBB> How did you blend Converse’s and Charli xcx's brand identity in a way that feels authentic?
Vilde> Charli and Converse already felt like a natural fit – Charli even wore her own day-to-day Chucks on the shoot, making it feel extra authentic as she already has that connection to the brand.
LBB> How closely did you collaborate with Charli xcx? What did she bring to the campaign and what was the experience of working with her like?
Vilde> Charli was involved in the creative process and had oversight over everything that we put forward, from the director to the setting. Working with Charli was a great experience, she has a clear vision for how she wants to be perceived by the world. On set she was collaborative and had an aura of expertise and patience. And of course, looked insanely good doing absolutely anything.
LBB> Why was Sharna Osborne chosen to direct the campaign? What qualities did she bring to the project?
Vilde> Sharna was chosen by Charli as someone she wanted to collaborate with. We’ve given Charli freedom to suggest a director/photographer as we wanted the campaign to be as authentic to her as possible. And so, when Charli chose Sharna, we were super excited as they both felt like the two missing pieces of the same puzzle fitting the campaign perfectly.
Her muted tones, mischievous style and slightly gritty VHS world felt like a visual tool to continue telling the ‘fuck the season’ story.
Sharna brought a great energy to the project – she had an array of ideas and worked closely with us to bring the campaign to life in a short amount of time in her iconic style. With a clear vision of the world she wanted the project to exist in, it was great to work with her on set and in the pre-production stage, honing the art direction together.
