There was a business imperative for marketing to set the brand up for success in the critical Q4 sales quarter. As a premium brand in the competitive winter sports apparel category, The North Face needs to continually prove its value and relevance to meet sales goals.

Our marketing task was to make a powerful cultural statement around the role of exploration during isolated, divisive and unsettled times, and that was before a global pandemic had the world on lock-down.

In spring of the 2020, as we kicked-off development no one had any idea what would be valuable and relevant in fall of 2020. There were so many antagonists standing in the way of exploration: fear, isolation, inequity, environmental protection roll-backs, mental health, financial insecurity we challenged ourselves to focus: What statement feels most authentic and true to The North Face brand – not just the current zeitgeist?

The “Reset Normal” creative idea is a global call to action to improve equity in exploration for the benefit of all of us. “Reset Normal” is also a global initiative backed by a $7M donation from The North Face led by celebrity activists Lena Waithe and Jimmy Chin with the goal of making equity and access to exploration normal for everyone.

The Reset Normal anthem film represents the resilience of human will through exploration and empowers people to take control of the change they want to see and emerge from today’s crises stronger than ever.

Importantly “Reset Normal” is more than a film, it is a campaign for all of us to pledge to make real change through personal exploration. Supporting content, actions, and initiatives from The North Face ambassadors and athletes around the world were catalyzed by the “Reset Normal” call to action.

The film opens on the challenges and setbacks The North Face athletes continually face and push past as they pledge to Never Stop Exploring.

The North Face Global Ambassador Lena Waithe explains that every hardship and challenge they have faced is nothing compared to the complicated, divisive, and chaotic state of the world we are face today.

Lena goes on to explain the importance of not just recognizing what needs to change, but standing up and doing your part to make a change from “normal” and creating a better place for everyone.

The visuals and VO are punctuated by the track “My Way” by Aloe Blacc