The brand and agency collaborated closely on “Don’t Go Gently” with the aim of redefining the category and making it more inclusive, while leaning into a distinctive cinematic style. The work, representing the biggest marketing push to date for Tecovas, means to speak to boundary pushers and others who aren’t afraid to make waves and get noticed, like the commercials’ memorable stars.
Rode hard, hung up wet
In casting the campaign’s unapologetically bold characters, the team wanted “folks who look like they’ve lived a little hard and fast maybe,” Watkins said. “We looked for people who didn’t feel like someone you would see in a commercial. People who felt like real people with distinct, interesting features.”
That was true even for cameos like Moe, the shoe attendant in “How She Rolls,” where the actor looked like “a guy who’d worked in a bowling alley for 20 years, and was over it,” Watkins said.
Creatives chose the locations with similar goals in mind, shunning the polished in favor of something worn, weathered and timeless.
“Stains on the ceilings, chips in the paint—the less perfect, the better,” Watkins said. “Even in post, we intentionally kept some grit and texture in the spaces instead of covering them up.”
Soundtracks were carefully selected, with an assist from Good Ear Music Supervision, to appeal to fans beyond the country genre. And the director, actor-writer-comedian Kate Hollowell, brought a mix of experience, including music videos for pop star Katy Perry.
The full 60-second hero ads will be distributed on the brand’s social channels. Cut-downs will air across a range of broadcast, streaming and digital platforms such as Food Network, Bravo, CW, Paramount+, Peacock, Discovery+, Hulu and YouTube TV.
Additional social content will fan out across TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. Print will run nationally, and out of home ads will appear in Austin.
CREDITS:
Client: Tecovas
Chief Marketing Officer: Gillian Kennedy
Executive Creative Director: Brian Jordan
Senior Design Director: Craig Denham
Senior Creative Producer: Mary Beth Pellegrino
Agency: Preacher
Chief Creative Officer: Rob Baird
Chief Executive Officer: Krystle Loyland
Chief Strategy Officer: Seth Gaffney
Creative Director: Marcus Brown
Creative Director: Zach Watkins
Group Brand Director: Kristen Meade
Junior Brand Manager: Grant Howard
Copywriter: India Allen
Art Director: Caroline Jinks
Associate Strategy Director: Madelyn Wigle
Executive Producer: Stacey Higgins
Senior Producer: Kasia Olczak
Production Coordinator: Aggie Ryan