Betabrand

Betabrand Poo Emoji Shirt

June 5, 2018 by Jason Van Horn Leave a Comment

Betabrand is known for a slapstick approach to content creation and storytelling, so when it came to coming up with how to present a shirt literally covered with poop emojis, the brainstorming session consisted of all sorts of lowbrow concepts. One of them consisted of photoshopping studio photos of a model being flushed down a toilet.

Tired of rampant potty humor and I proposed a presentation that was almost a complete 180: let the product serve as the humorous element and do something not at all expected. Instead, we would model the mood in the style of a tv novella or soap opera to create the narrative.

It took some convincing, but the concept paid off, as the internet took the queues provided and ran with as the major blogs picked up the story. (Julie at BuzzFeed, you get me) The launch proved successful, inspiring a number of follow up products. Although some ‘photochop’ cheese was added to the gallery after the fact, it remains as some of the favorite work I did for Betabrand during my tenure.

Select Web Coverage:

Buzzfeed — This is the Classiest Poop Shirt You’ll Ever Wear

Gizmodo — This Poop Emoji Shirt is Crap

CNet — Poop Emoji button-up shirt makes your wardrobe stink

AdWeek — Betabrand’s Latest Stunt: The Poop Emoji Shirt

The Guardian — The Poo Shirt (or the rise of emoji fashion)

The Verge — Here’s that poop emoji button up shirt you always wanted

Thrillist — This Poop Emoji Button Up Shirt Smells Like Sucess

Daily News — Smiling poop emoji shirt, matching sneakers a hit with online shoppers

Collaborative Marketing: Betabrand x Torker

May 10, 2018 by Jason Van Horn Leave a Comment

As a consumer direct, online Clothing Company, Betabrand generally doesn’t invest marketing dollars into print advertising. In my efforts to promote the Bike to Work Collection line of commuter focused apparel, I was always seeking to create opportunities for Brand Collaboration in order to expand market reach and brand awareness.

A conversation with some of the marketing team at Accel North America at the Sea Otter Classic Bike Festival led to an ongoing conversation.

As we were regularly photographing images for the collection, a partnership was proposed: working in collaboration with the art director with the Torker Bikes Brand, my team and I would produce lifestyle photography that incorporated Torker Bikes to create a library of assets for both brands, then co-promote the brands in different channels, extending brand reach for both brands.

Bosky x Betabrand: Wood Sunglasses Product Launch

June 9, 2016 by Jason Van Horn Leave a Comment

Case Study: Photography & Creative Direction

Bosky Optics is an Oregon-based company that creates sunglasses and snow goggles with natural and recycled materials. For this collaboration between Bosky and Betabrand we had less than a week to come up with a plan for creative direction and execute it.

The concept we came up with? Wood models wearing wood sunglasses! This was a fun concept to run with. To execute it, we had a make-up artist paint our models, then enhanced the photos in post-production.

For this launch, I took an active role in creative direction, scouted locations, and did the studio and location photography with the assistance of our stylist/ photo producer Megan. Our graphic designers helped with post-production and retouching of the wood mannequin effects.

Betabrand STL Tyvek Windshell

January 7, 2016 by Jason Van Horn Leave a Comment

During my tenure at Betabrand, I rarely had time to scout locations for shoots as our release schedule moved extremely quickly. Because of that, we scheduled shoots based model availability and the time of day to capitalize on natural lighting conditions. If we needed a specific setting, I’d use Google Maps to plan locations.

I was looking forward to shooting the STL Tyvek Windshell; during our creative meeting I was given a mood board and a few locations were suggested as possibilities. Fortunately, I managed to get out on my bike to visit the site a few days in advance to find the time the lighting would be optimal. The extra bit of preparation resulted in a great set of images and when we were launching the product, we a lot of great visual assets to work with.

You can view the Betabrand STL Tyvek Windshell at Betabrand.com.

Betabrand Disco Tuxedo

September 25, 2012 by jasonvh Leave a Comment

It takes a special occasion (for most) to don a tuxedo, much less a tux made from disco ball fabric. It also takes a rockstar personality to head out in public head-to- toe ensconced in the shiny material, as it’s guarantied to get the stare down from everyone passing by, which is why I recruited Bill Boles for the job.

Our plan was to find a location (still is actually) where wearing a tuxedo would be appropriate and the symphony sounded like a great plan. Since they were putting on a free show at the Justin Hermin Plaza, we headed down to see what kind of photographic opportunities awaited us.

Turns out it was a pretty casual affair, with a few hundred people sitting cross-legged in the plaza, so we ended up shying away from the event. Fortunately we managed to get a few cool images on the water front- space and rockets have been on ongoing theme for the Disco Collection, and while my favorite photos often don’t make the site, I was really happy with this one.

I didn’t have a light stand with me and started by hand holding my speedlight off camera left. Fortunately Bill’s brother happened along and was able to play the role of VAL. (voice activated light stand). Camera: 7D, 10-22mm F4 Lens.

Check it out on Betabrand.com