Tecovas Is for the Wild at Heart in First National Campaign

An old-school neighborhood haunt called the Picwood Bowl is more than a little rough around the edges, which is just fine by the Diamondback Donnas. It’s league night and Donna, the leader of the pack, is about to get her game on.

She’s no ordinary hobbyist though, decked out in fire-red cowboy boots to match her rose-inlaid bowling ball. And the way she attacks the lane? She’s poetry in motion, with a dance-like-everyone’s-watching attitude.

The colorful character stars in a 60-second spot for Tecovas, a maker of Western wear and boots that is kicking off its first-ever national campaign with new agency of record Preacher.

The ad, “How She Rolls,” initially premiered during the well-watched CMT Country Music Awards on CBS Sunday night. Also part of that high-profile media buy was a captivating companion piece called “Check Em Out,” featuring a lanky cowboy on a two-stepping trip through a grocery store.

Both spots, music-driven and dialogue-free, are intended to feel like they were “plucked from a feature film that may or may not have been made by the Coen brothers,” according to Zach Watkins, creative director at Preacher.

Under the new tagline “Don’t Go Gently,” the campaign aims to introduce Tecovas to the uninitiated while keeping the faithful top of mind.

Once upon a time in the west

Executives at the young company—based in Austin, Texas with $200 million in sales—want to open up the formerly niche and potentially intimidating category to the broadest possible audience. 

“We believe that time-honed and time-honored Western ideals should be accessible to everyone,” Gillian Kennedy, chief marketing officer at Tecovas, told Adweek. “Nobody should check your ‘cowboy card’ at the door.”

Tecovas, which launched in 2015 as a direct-to-consumer brand, has been experimenting with “more emotive stories” and a “more editorial” approach, Watkins said.

Preacher won the account in November 2022, with Watkins saying the process centered on “chemistry, capabilities and convictions that made us feel like we were choosing each other.”

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

Business Affairs: Miiko Martin

Production Company: Mrs. Wright

Executive Producer: Jacki Calleiro

Director: Kate Hollowell
Line Producer: Jona Ward

DP: Jordan Black
Choreographer: Kat Burns
Stylist: Donna Lisa
Production Designer: Gina Caravan

Casting: Good People Casting

Edit House: Cabin
Head of Production: Lisa Barnable
Senior Post Producer: Zack Herpy
Editor: Scott Butzer
Assistant Editor: Lawrence Ng

Music: Good Ear Music Supervision (GEMS)

Mix: Dusty Albertz
Finish House: SHAPE + LIGHT
Executive Producer: Scott Boyajan
Senior VFX/Finishing Producer: Arielle Weir

Color House: Company3
Colorist: Sofie Friis Borup

Music Tracks:

“Queen Bee” by Dane Sturgeon (How She Rolls)
“You Make Me Feel So Good” by Clarence Nelson (Check Em’ Out)