Camera Brand Leica’s First Global Campaign in a Decade Celebrates the Power of Photography

Photographs have the power to communicate layers of meaning instantaneously, and they play an important role in documenting the world around us by helping us to make sense of it all.

Pictures capture pleasure, sorrow, anger and fear —and make a record of our most fun, absurd, and memorable moments.

With its first global ad campaign in a decade, 150-year-old German camera brand Leica pays homage to the power of images to “document the beauty and poetry of the world;” capture pivotal moments of history, and lay bare the fragility of our human condition.

The print and online campaign, by TBWA\Paris and titled “The World Deserves Witnesses,” presents images as “precious eyewitness accounts” of global and intimate events.

It positions camera photography as a tonic to the edited and airbrushed photos of smartphone culture.

Running in 15 markets worldwide, the print element of the campaign individually showcases a series of six arresting images taken by photographers, with those images and a further 24 more featuring in a short video narrated by American photographer Joel Meyerowitz, which honors the power of photography.

Meyerowitz said he “had goose bumps down my arms and along my ribs when I first saw the video,” which you can watch below:

I’m extremely happy with the result or our new campaign. I think that the new campaign—and we at Leica do this only every 10 years or so—reflects beautifully our photographic, artistic, and humanistic approach,” said Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, chairman of the supervisory board and majority shareholder of Leica Camera AG.

CREDITS:
Director Global Marketing and Communication, Andrea Pacella
Global Director Brand, Partnerships & Accessories: Jérôme Auzanneau
TBWA\Paris: Renaud Berthe, Matthéo Pressmar, Alexandre Stachowiak
Executive Creative Directors: Benjamin Marchal & Faustin Claverie
Associate Creative Director: Philippe Rachel
Associate Creative Director: Carl Härborg
Art Purchase: Elise Kubler, Isabelle Jaubert
Legal: Caroline Paillard
Postproduction: Eléonore Girard
Sound Production: \Else
Composer: Niccolò Pacella
Head of Music and Sound: Olivier Lefebvre
Sound Director: Fabrice Pouvreau
Sound Engineer: Alexandre Robieux
Photographers:
Emily Garthwaite /Institute
Kai Wiedenhöfer
Sarah G. Ascough
Stephen Vanasco
Chris Suspect
Véronique De Viguerie
Justin Mott
Gabriele Micalizzi
Eolo Perfido
Craig Semetko
Jonathan Eden-Drummond
Christian Werner
Godong/ Getty Images
Hulton-Deutsch Collection/ Getty Images
Dotan Saguy
Brian Otieno
Joel Meyerowitz
Pierre Belhassen
Matt Stuart
Bree Garcia
Bruce Gilden / Magnum
Frédéric Lanoizelé
Richard Tsong-Taatarii
Damir Sagolj
Jasper Doest
Joshua Buana
Sylvestre Dedise
Lutz Müller
Emil Gataullin