MPG goes (real) big in major awareness push

Who: Activewear company Mondetta Performance Gear (MPG), with Arrivals + Departures for strategy and creative; True Media for media.

What: “Small World, Big Impact,” the first national awareness campaign for the activewear company. It is also Arrivals+Departures’ first major campaign work for the brand since winning the business last year.

When & Where: The national campaign debuted on March 13, running across TV, digital, and out-of-home.

Why: MPG  is a Certified B Corporation that launched in Winnipeg in 2002, but this campaign represents the activewear brand’s first major awareness push, said Arrivals +Departures creative director Anthony Taaffe. “It’s introducing MPG to a wider audience, and start creating the idea that it’s not just another label,” he said.

The “Small World, Big Impact” messaging has been a key part of the company’s ethos since its launch more than 20 years ago. “As we’ve grown over the past few decades we’ve been able to continually expand our philanthropic and social responsibility efforts,” said CEO Ash Modha. “Most recently we’re focused on minimizing the company’s environmental impact.”

How: All of the creative features literally larger-than-life MPG customers as they stroll through various settings, towering over people, trees, etc. The visual concept is paid off by a voiceover stating “It’s the small choices we make, that make a big impact on our world. Out-of-home advertising carries the theme forward with images of people as tall as buildings.

“We wanted to create a slightly bombastic, bold, in-your-face approach to getting the brand out there, and doing something that’s a little over-the-top and a little unexpected,” said Taaffe. “When you talk about companies that really believe in being conscious about the way they go about the work, there’s a tendency to be earnest, and we thought that just because you have those business approaches, doesn’t mean you have to be earnest and boring, so it was coming up with something a little bit fun to engage people, versus going down the expected route.”

And we quote: “This campaign is about personal empowerment. Doing right by people and our planet works best when everyone is on board; we want to inspire people to realize that when we unite our efforts, every personal decision adds to meaningful, powerful, lasting change.” —Ash Modha, CEO, Mondetta Performance Gear

Chris Powell