In underwear through Bern
Diary entry from May 9, 2023
Today we want to create our new videos for the deodorant cream. We know that the attention span of a social media user is less than 2 seconds. Wow, that's not long! That's why we came up with something daring.
This was a difficult decision for us to overcome, as we were moving from the familiar into the unknown.
To attract the attention of users in the first few seconds, a man in his underwear stands in Bern and rubs our deodorant cream into his skin…
09:02 Arrival of the crew
It is a pleasantly warm May morning when we gather at Bern train station. A diverse group of creatives and adventurers - the crew behind this somewhat daring project. Among them is Cyrill, our brave amateur model, ready to throw himself into the unknown.
09:07 Brefing with coffee and croissants
We exchange our thoughts over a cup of coffee and a delicious croissant. We know that we are a small fish in the big deodorant ocean. That's why we want to be brave and make our voices heard.
We ask Cyrill: "Are you aware that you're about to walk through the middle of town wearing only your underwear?" We want one thing above all: to stand out 😊. We achieve this by breaking expectations and tearing people out of their everyday routine with something unexpected."
09:34 Everything okay, Cyrill?
But why does Cyrill do this at all? His answer impresses us: "If I can choose between two lives in which I have done this or not, then I choose the life in which I have done this." What a beautiful attitude.
Admittedly, we are a little nervous. Will everything go according to our expectations? What could happen? How will we behave if...?
But enough of the words - we are ready. Let's go.
Setting up and the big start
09:52 am
Our first filming location is Bern train station. Under the canopy - in the middle of the crowd. The tension is building. Fäbu sets up the camera. Reto is watching. Yannick gets into position. Meret supports the model, Cornelia looks after the material. The big moment has arrived: Cyrill enters the stage.
Roll the film – what happened next nobody could have guessed
09:56 am
So now he's standing there. Our man in his underwear with our deodorant cream. Looks of surprise, surprised passers-by and suddenly...this other man.
It feels like we've only been filming for 30 seconds and we're in the middle of an unpleasant scene. That wasn't what we planned.
09:59 Appearance of the Bern city police
Police officers on their morning rounds notice this loud man. What happens now? We don't speak to each other, we just exchange uncertain glances. We didn't expect that our plan could end after the first five minutes.
We explain our plan to the police officers. After a short conversation, a smile and a shrug of the shoulders - everything is fine. We haven't done anything wrong and are allowed to continue our day of filming. The police officers simply recommend that we continue filming our videos somewhere else.
10:08 No sooner said than done - relocation to new location
We laugh as much as we can and move on. Our destination: Bern's old town. We breathe a sigh of relief and know that we have a story to tell that won't be easily forgotten
Self-talk and selfies
10:22 am
City visitors, tourists, pedestrians...everyone turns around. Their faces reflect the unanswered questions: What on earth is this man in his underwear doing? They stop and watch us. Some smile, others shake their heads in disbelief, while still others show clear surprise.
Location Kirchenfeld Bridge
10:41 am
We have great values that we would like to share with the world, but somehow we lack the special "transport charm" to really stand out. So we thought: why not take matters into our own hands and present our values right in the middle of the Kirchenfeld Bridge?
Final picture of the crew
11:13 am
So, the clips are in the can. Before we wrap it up, we don't want to miss the opportunity to reveal our cinematic crew to the camera once again...
Maybe Hollywood will call! 🎬
THANK YOU VERY MUCH
At this point we would like to thank everyone who made this day possible. Cyrill, our brave model. Fäbu, the talented cameraman. Yannick, the attentive photographer and last but not least our organizers, helpers and supervisors Meret, Reto and Cornelia.
We hope you enjoyed reading it as much as we did on this May day.