Stance Inc. in San Clemente launched a series of videos to promote its inaugural collection of men’s underwear, “Wildly Comfortable, and Comfortably Wild.”
The spots, posted on its YouTube channel, showcase various product features, including “Butter Blend” fabric with bacteriostatic properties that help lessen odor; “Feather Seam” stitching that reduces chafing; and antiroll and moisture-wicking “Core-Flex” waistbands.
The character explaining all of this? Mister Mitch, a Mister Rogers impersonator. He comes in saying, “Hey there, neighbors,” hangs his robe in the closet by the door, and proceeds to talk to the audience in his Stance undies.
A couple of shorter videos are truer to the collection’s wild-streak name—one shows a guy standing in his underwear as sharks swim around him, while another charms a snake while stopping to tie his shoe.
Stance, a sock brand, will close the year with an estimated $180 million in revenue.
20/20 Vision
DITA Inc. in Aliso Viejo marked its 20th anniversary with the launch of the limited-edition “Decade-Two” eyewear collection.
The glasses feature 18-karat plated gold aviator frames with “a mesh metal bridge and drill mount two-base lenses.” The collection is manufactured in Japan in “320 separate productions steps over 8 months,” and each retails for $1,000.
“Throughout the last decade, DITA has significantly grown to an international level,” company officials said in a statement. “To celebrate our growth, we traveled around the world to capture DITA street style in action.”
DITA, which was co-founded by Laguna Beach natives John Juniper and Jeff Solorio, recently acquired the Christian Roth luxury brand.
Its designers are working on two new brands, according to news reports—a high-end line launching next year followed by a lower-priced brand in the next couple of years.
The company has three retail boutiques, including locations at Fashion Island and in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City.
Saving Memories
Western Digital’s new ads for its My Cloud personal storage resemble the best of “America’s Funniest Home Videos” show.
A 30-second spot titled “Holidays” has it all: a turkey on fire in the oven, a screaming baby in Santa’s lap, an unwelcome surprise present on Christmas morning. And it works.
“Celebrating with family? See how saving everyone’s pics and videos to My Cloud can make sharing the holidays painless,” the company says in the commentary section of its YouTube channel.
New Work in New Mexico
Newport Beach-based agency 160over90 is working on a four-year, $1.5 million marketing effort aimed at increasing enrollment at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque; elevate its “relevance and reputation,” and “build pride and loyalty among students, faculty, staff, alumni and supporters.”
The agency, which also has the University of California-Los Angeles as its client, was selected through a competitive bidding process that included eight firms.
The first phase of the rebranding includes research, interviews, on-campus observation and competitive analysis. The second phase will focus on brand strategy development, including “definition of target audience and success criteria, and developing a creative brief.” Development of brand concepts will take place in phase three, and phase four will include the building of assets and a brand rollout plan (see related story on UCI, page 1).
Bits & Pieces
Cheri Quigley recently left Oakley Inc. in Foothill Ranch to join Costa Mesa-based financial services company Payoff Inc. as public relations director. … Irvine-based AutoAlert, a data mining and trade-cycle management platform, acquired customer experience management system MotoFuze LLC in Kansas City for an undisclosed amount. MotoFuze Chief Executive Mike Dullea and co-founder Tom Walls were appointed AutoAlert’s chief sales and marketing officer and chief technology officer, respectively. …Irvine-based Solarflare appointed John Graham as vice president of marketing. … NextVR Inc. in Laguna Beach selected New York-based Burson-Marsteller as its public relations agency of record.
