Columbia Sportswear’s First Brand Refresh in a Decade Scales New Heights

Let’s get real: outdoor advertising can feel quite same-y. It’s all about experiencing the beauty of nature on one end and competing with yourself on the other. Recently, Columbia Sportswear caused a stir when it departed – boldly – from both ends of the spectrum, towards humour and irreverence, with help from its agency adam&eveDDB. Romain Cancilleri-Michy, senior brand marketing manager Europe, notes that the refresh isn’t a new frontier but a return to how the brand operated tonally in the ‘80s and ‘90s when customers first fell in love with it. “By leaning into chaos, bizarreness, and a touch of risqué humour, Columbia is setting itself apart from competitors and reimagining what the outdoor media landscape can be,” says Romain.

​‘Engineered For Whatever'marks Columbia’s first major brand refresh in a decade. Behind the decision was an idea “to return to more humorous, unconventional brand communication” sourced from a “desire to embrace the raw, unpredictable nature of the outdoors,” says Romain. Doing the same thing as everyone else didn’t feel right in this moment, instead the brand channelled “the bold, irreverent spirit that defined Columbia in the ’80s and ’90s, with campaigns like 'One Tough Mother’. 'Engineered for Whatever' revives that tone, using exaggerated product tests and playful storytelling to prove our gear’s toughness while making the outdoors feel both rugged and relatable,” he adds.

The outdoor category is often filled with serene, picture-perfect campaigns and Columbia’s new (though really – old) tone leans into and embraces the chaos head on. For Romain, it made sense because “it is just the reality of the outdoors.” He continues, “We all know ‘Instagram versus reality’, there is a ‘brand campaign versus reality’ too. Most of the outdoor brands – including us – are depicting the outdoors as pristine, beautiful and perfect. Reality can be quite different. This campaign showcases that Columbia’s gear is built for whatever mother nature throws at you. Columbia has always believed that the outdoors should be fun even in spite of its imperfections. This new campaign is our way of bringing that spirit back.”

Humour and unpredictability are not what most people expect from an outdoor brand. Balancing irreverence, authenticity, and Columbia’s legacy was a concern, especially across markets. “Our challenge for Europe is to bring this tone of voice to a Spanish, a French or Czech audience without losing the strength of the brand platform. We have engaged a transcreation process with sister agencies of adam&eveDDB in France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic, and we have extended the work of adam&eveDDB for the specific UK and Irish markets.” The campaign has a strong copy component and Romain adds that it was “an exciting challenge for the creative team, when usually words come after image.”

While the Henry-Alex Rubin-directed film certainly caught a lot of eyes thanks to its thrilling, high-octane scenes and bold tone, the campaign rollout didn’t end there. A London activation in a secret underground testing facility brought the 'Engineered For Whatever' ethos to life in an experiential way. “It is another challenge, how can you bring the true outdoors conditions to demonstrate the benefit of our technologies in the heart of a lively city in a short period of time?” Romain asks. In the past, the brand used different displays (“like a FLIR thermal camera to show the body heat”) to explain and communicate its Omni-Heat Infinity technology (“as we can’t send people to the moon”) or an arm band with its cooling technology, Omni-Freeze Zero. “It was natural to us to challenge ourselves in creating a lab testing facility in London with simple, efficient and fun demonstrations,” he adds. “As you never know what can happen outdoors.”

Columbia set adam&eveDDB a brief to “re-ignite the Columbia brand by getting back to what made it successful in the first place: irreverent, funny advertising. There was a lot of great work in the past (like the awesome and funny ‘One Tough Mother’ campaign starring brand founder Gert Boyle) that was genuinely surprising and bold, even by today’s standards. So the bar was high,” he says.
“The solution was born out of a brand truth,” Romain continues, “Columbia designs and tests all the gear to ensure it can withstand the worst possible outdoor scenarios, so customers know it won’t let them down when it’s needed most. Other brands like to paint nature as this glorious, pristine place that fills your soul when it’s quite unpredictable and can even be dangerous sometimes.”

In a landscape where many outdoor brands play it safe, Columbia’s new voice sets it apart – not just creatively, but commercially and culturally. “The 'Engineered for Whatever' campaign is a direct reflection of Columbia’s commitment to innovation and performance. As part of our broader ‘Accelerate’ growth strategy, the campaign highlights the advanced technologies behind our gear through bold, irreverent demonstrations that prove its ability to withstand extreme conditions. By showcasing our products in unpredictable, real-world scenarios, we’re reinforcing Columbia’s reputation for innovation while engaging a younger, more diverse audience and driving brand consideration across key channels.”

Looking ahead, Columbia is set to continue on the chaos-fuelled marketing mission, using this momentum and sentiment to fire future campaigns, including three new spots showcasing “absurd scenarios, which highlight the science-backed credibility of our products,” says Romain. “For example, one of the spots showcases the durability of our ROC Utility Pants by tying them together to dangle someone over crocodiles, two others prove the warmth of our Omni-Heat™ Infinity tech by strapping someone to a snowplow and putting someone into a human size snowball that rolls down a hill. And that barely scratches the surface of where we’ll be taking this campaign.”

Audiences got a taste of this approach on Halloween when Columbia and adam&eveDDB launched the ‘Death Wishes’ social activation. It showcased the durability of Columbia’s products, especially the Powderkeg II Remastered Interchange jacket which saw an influencer dressed as the Grim Reaper “chatting to fans on a livestream about the limited-edition jacket, saying ‘Columbia makes its gear so tough it could outlive you’,” says Romain.

By looking to past successes, Columbia’s refresh proves that brands and agencies don’t always have to keep chasing new. What’s worked before can work again especially if it gives brands a distinctiveness in a category too afraid to scale new heights and wanting to make their presence boldly known.