Living Off the Wall for VANS

American lifestyle brand VANS has launched a global Living Off the Wall campaign that aims to connect with young people interested in action sports, music, art and street culture through documentary films.The year-long campaign will run until the end of this year, with ads placed in-store, on digital platforms and out-of-home media.  Events have also been organised as part of the campaign.The documentaries explore the lives of ordinary people such as a 14-year-old from East Los Angeles who loves going to shows, two Californian boys who are getting a head start in rock and roll and a young black man in Russia who wants to build a community around pit-biking.In the Hong Kong and mainland Chinese contexts, director Leong Zhang has produced two films for the brand.Documentary film about Hong Kong drummer Kevin Li:Another documentary featuring mainland Chinese skateboarder Wang Guohua:The campaign is all about self-expression."As told through the lens of a documentary producer, these stories bring the creative individuals to life," Nick Street, marketing director of VANS Asia-Pacific said."Kevin is a popular local Hong Kong character that personifies what living off the wall means. Not only are our consumers familiar with him as a personality but he speaks very honestly about his motivations."The documentary about the drummer even shows him going through the pain of getting a new tattoo.[gallery link="file" ids="58356,58388,58355"]An image of the tattooing process was even used in a static ad.The YouTube videos are showcased in a dedicated mini-site and the brand's global video content hub to accumulate page views in set locations.Street said, "The reason why we opted to show the content on hubs is because we are telling a much deeper story and want to encourage the consumer to find out more about what 'off the wall' stands for.  The campaign is not a 30-second commercial that screams 'Buy this!'"Instead of promoting a specific product line, the campaign is about building a sassy brand image."We allowed the subjects of the documentaries to wear their own products.  We did not want to influence the outcome of the stories by forcing anything and let the content and emotional connections speak for themselves," Street said.For example, the documentary about Wang wastes no time in showcasing his amazing moves on the street.[gallery link="file" ids="58361,58362,58358"]In terms of customer engagement, the brand is running a competition where users who submitting the most creative images are rewarded with a free product from the brand.A second competition, only available in mainland China, encourages aspiring film directors to pitch an idea for a documentary film.  Winners will receive funding for producing the film and the help of a team of experts.