MERRELL

Feel Your World

Problem: The barefoot running movement was exploding, but most brands were treating it as a product feature. Merrell wanted more than a shoe launch. They wanted a campaign that made people feel something before they ever laced up.

Solution: Feel Your World. A rally cry built on the science of barefoot running and the emotion behind it. When your foot connects directly with the ground, every nerve fires. Every surface tells a story. The campaign took that physical truth and turned it into an invitation to reconnect with the outdoors entirely.

How: Won through a competitive pitch. The creative spanned film, print, and digital, anchored by a series of stereographic projection visuals. Surreal, immersive 360-degree worlds built around every terrain type a runner or hiker might explore. The visuals did what the shoes promised. They made you feel the surface before your foot ever touched it.

CLIENT: Merrell

AGENCY: Hill Holliday

CCO: Lance Jensen

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Jim Hagar

SENIOR ART DIRECTION & DESIGN: Tony Frusciante & James Adame

PHOTOGRAPHY: Tony Frusciante

SENIOR COPYWRITER: Chris Jacobs

VIDEO DIRECTOR & PRODUCTION: Bruce Gibbs

M-Connect Series logo with a large orange circle containing a white letter 'M' and the words 'Connect Series' in gray and orange text.
A pair of Merrell Barefoot minimalist running shoes with black, grey, and green colors placed on a large rock formation in a canyon landscape during sunset, with a bird flying nearby.
A creative advertisement for Merrell barefoot shoes, featuring a mini world with iconic London landmarks like Big Ben and a London eye, and a pair of blue Merrell shoes floating above the cityscape.
A tropical island with lush greenery, waterfalls, and palm trees, featuring a large black and yellow Merrell Barefoot shoe in the foreground and a smaller shoe on a hillside, with a waterfall cascading down the rocks.
Homepage of Merrell outdoor and hiking footwear and apparel website featuring a smiling woman in a blue shirt with a green backpack, various hiking shoes, boots, and outdoor activity tips.
Screenshot of Merrell outdoor gear e-commerce homepage featuring a man running outdoors, various shoes, and outdoor accessories, with navigation menus and promotional banners.
Display booth for Merrell M Connect series shoes with shoeboxes on shelves, a mannequin wearing a blue T-shirt and baseball cap, and people browsing.
Facebook page for Merrell showcasing outdoor hiking shoes with a mountain and rocky landscape in the background.
Pair of athletic shoes, one red and gray on the left with a nature scene in the background, and one black and yellow on the right with a cityscape background, both with Merrell branding and outdoor themed tags.
A person in an orange shirt and black shorts walking on a bridge over a body of water, with a cloudy sky above.
A tall waterfall flowing down a rocky cliff surrounded by green trees in a dense forest.
Person standing on a mountain peak with arms outstretched, cloudy sky in the background, and text that reads 'Mountains make me feel' and a website link.
View of a city skyline from a bridge with a walkway, a runner in an orange shirt, and trees below. Overcast sky.
A hiker with a backpack walking along a trail next to a waterfall in a lush forest.
Scenic view of a river or large lake surrounded by forested mountains, with trees in the foreground and cloudy sky.
Man jogging on a riverside walkway during a sunset, with city skyscrapers and a partly cloudy sky in the background.
A woman in a red jacket and black pants, carrying a red backpack, stands near a waterfall in a lush forest surrounded by green leaves and ferns.
A person running on a dirt trail through a dense forest with tall trees and lush green foliage.
A person with blonde curly hair, wearing a pink jacket, gray shorts, and a black backpack, hiking uphill on a forested trail.
A digital globe showing a landscape scene with water, rocks, trees, and mountains, with a pair of black and yellow Merrell barefoot hiking shoes on top.
Morning sunlight filtering through tall evergreen trees in a forest, with rays of light illuminating the mist that settles among the trees.

MERRELL

Built to be Used

Problem: Footwear advertising always shows the shoe at its best. Clean. Fresh out of the box. Untouched. For a boot built to take a beating, that felt like a lie.

Solution: Built to Be Used. A campaign that flipped the script entirely. The more destroyed your Merrells looked, the better. Scuffs, mud, worn leather, and blown-out soles weren't damage. They were proof. Every mark on the boot was a mile earned.

How: Campaign spanning print, digital, and social. We invited Merrell owners to share their most beat-up boots and the stories behind them. Volcanic mud. The Inca Trail. State lines. Backyard trails. User-generated content turned into a living archive of miles, and the most worn-in boots became the heroes of the campaign.

CLIENT: Merrell

AGENCY: Hill Holliday

CCO: Lance Jensen

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Jim Hagar

SENIOR ART DIRECTION: Tony Frusciante

GRAPHIC DESIGN: Tony Frusciante

SENIOR COPYWRITER: Chris Jacobs

Craft chalkboard sign with mountain illustration, displaying the message 'Built to Be Used' in white chalk on black background.
A black and white illustration of a city skyline with tall buildings above a shield-shaped emblem that reads 'Built to Be Used'.
A black and white hand-drawn illustration of a badge with the text 'Built to be Used' inside a shield-shaped border.
Hand-drawn illustration with the words "Built to be Used" inside a badge or emblem, featuring decorative lines and design elements.
A drawn illustration with a Merrell hiking boot at the center, surrounded by handwritten text and doodles about outdoor adventures, nature, and the durability of the footwear, including the phrases "Long live the last pair" and "Built to be used."
A pair of worn-out Merrell hiking shoes on a white background, with a memorial note and the Merrell logo.
Collage of outdoor activities, including a pair of used flip-flops, two men wearing race bibs and athletic gear, a sunset over water, people sitting on sand, a woman in a bikini inside a beach hut, and a close-up of two pairs of feet wearing sandals on grass, with the text 'Built to be Used' and hashtag #merrell.
Screenshot of Merrell website featuring a distressed leather hiking boot, with the logo 'Built to be Used' and navigation links for women, men, kids, collections, barefoot, about us, and a background scene of a river and forest.
A webpage featuring a Merrell hiking shoe with pink, blue, and gray colors. The page has a yellow background with black mountainous graphics and text about Merrell's origins and history.
The storefront of a Merrell store with outdoor footwear and apparel advertisements, including a large graphic with the text "Built to Be Used" and a window display promoting outdoor activities with phrases like "Here's to the next pair" and "Long live the last pair."
A clear plastic cube-shaped collector's display case with an image of a worn running shoe and dirt on it, along with the Merrell logo and the text, "Here's to the next pair. Long live the last pair."
Map overlaid with large orange text reading "Built to Be Used," advertising Merrell.
A collage of four outdoor and travel-related photos with a central Merrell logo overlay that says 'Built to be Used.' The photos include a person walking on a subway platform, a person standing on a snowy ground, a group of people on a sunset hike, and a person kayaking on a river. The hashtag '#merrell' appears at the bottom.
A white bus decorated with black handwritten text and drawings. It features a message celebrating long-lasting footwear, with a drawing of a hiking boot, angel wings, a halo, and a dashed line representing a journey. The bus also displays the Merrell logo and hashtag.
Top view of a teal and gray running shoe with the inside in view, displaying a 'RUN ME' logo and a city skyline graphic.