STUDIO: Imagination
ROLE: Head of Creative
Ford and Filson had collaborated once before — the 2020 Wildland Fire Rig, a one-off concept honoring wildland firefighters. Six years later, the two American originals were ready to make it official with the first-ever production Bronco Filson, and they needed a launch worthy of both badges.
We took the reveal to the source. Deep in Washington's Cascade Mountains, on the banks of the Cle Elum River, we built the Summit Outpost — a full Bronco Filson basecamp designed in the aesthetic of Filson's retail world. Every scenic detail was executed with creators in mind: the camp was designed to be captured, built around an aesthetic with wide reach across creator audiences, so every frame shot on site extended the launch far beyond the guest list. Press and creators moved through a camp of living craft — a live chainsaw artist, a Filson re-waxing workshop, a handmade knife maker, fly fishing demonstrations on the river. Then came the moment. Inside the reveal tent, a full-wall projection carried the reveal film to its peak — and as it hit, the back wall vanished in a kabuki drop and the first-ever Bronco Filson drove in with the river and mountains behind it. No screen could compete with the real backdrop, so we didn't ask one to. A global livestream on Ford's YouTube channel carried the reveal to the world.
The launch wasn't a moment, it was an ecosystem. A limited-edition Bronco x Filson apparel collection dropped the next day, followed by a multi-city Bronco Filson Tour beginning in July. Earned media landed everywhere from Kelley Blue Book and Robb Report to Fox Business and Automotive News — where one columnist was inspired enough to call for Lincoln to build its own luxury off-roader. When your reveal starts shaping the industry conversation, you know it worked.