Dive Brief:

• Apparel brand Wrangler kicked off its first global advertising campaign promoting its clothing line, according to a press release shared with Marketing Dive. The "Wear With Abandon" campaign showcases a modern country look and "the cowboy spirit," and includes cross-channel outreach in the U.S. The ads will run in print, digital, radio, broadcast and video.
• The effort was created with Mother New York, the brand's global agency of record, and debuted on TV on Sept. 7. It will be adapted for local and regional markets around the world later this fall, Jenni Broyles, Wrangler VP and general manager of North America, said in the announcement.
• The video component was shot by filmmaker and screenwriter Michael Lawrence and is a series starring several characters including a cowboy and other adventurous risk-takers. The videos ask the featured people to define the "moment before" they had decided to take a chance on something.

Dive Insight:

Wrangler's "Wear With Abandon" campaign looks to expand its country-western roots — like the rodeo rider featured in the brand's digital video — to other adventurous consumers who also have "the cowboy spirit." The brand's first global multichannel campaign could help expand the potential demographic of people that wear Wrangler jeans.

The campaign comes as interest in cowboy culture and the so-called "yeehaw agenda" is at a new high for millennial and Gen Z consumers. To capitalize on this interest, Wrangler in May debuted a mobile scanning tool that activated an experience based on "Old Town Road," the popular crossover country/hip-hop song by rapper Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus. When mobile users visited the WranglerOnMyBooty.com microsite, they were asked to scan the back pocket of their Wrangler jeans to unlock a behind-the-scenes look at the filming of the song's music video.

The brand hired its new agency Mother New York earlier this year, and the "Wear With Abandon" campaign is the first work from the collaboration. Previously, Wrangler worked with agency Toth+Co for 19 years, and this new effort appears to take the brand in a new direction. Broyles told Ad Age that Wrangler was "looking for an agency to help drive strategic thought-partnership, execute first-in-class, emotionally compelling creative, and help us build out-of-the-box ideas to drive brand equity."

In parent company VF Corp's figures for the year to March 30, Wrangler sales were up 1%, MarketWatch reported. The new campaign shows the company's commitment to boosting these sales metrics, especially during back-to-school season and ahead of the holidays.