Eastern Mountain Sports has a chuckle about its past woes in irreverent campaign from Slap Global

Most retailers with troubled pasts prefer to look squarely to the future when making a comeback. But Eastern Mountain Sports is taking the opposite approach—referencing its string of store closures in the mid-2010s while assuring customers it didn’t go out of business back then. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs In the spot below, part of a campaign launching Tuesday from agency Slap Global, a real EMS store employee named Cai Siemski (who works at the Albany, New York, location) talks about those closures—amusingly suggesting they happened unexpectedly while some of the EMS staff were off on a long hike. The New England retailer did indeed close dozens of stores in 2017 and 2018, after then-owner Eastern Outfitters filed for bankruptcy. But in 2022, EMS was acquired by GoDigital Media Group, which has been opening new locations since then. “From the start, the Slap team really knew the insouciance, humor and honesty of our founders [Alan McDonough and Roger Furst] would be our north star, so it was always a given that we’d have to embrace our past—even store closures,” Craig Greiwe, chief strategy officer and president of marketing at GoDigital Media Group, told Ad Age. “They had closed a lot of stores and ‘I thought you guys were closed’ came up a lot in research,” added Gerry Graf, co-founder and chief creative officer of Slap Global. “So we wanted to address it in a way only EMS would. Go right at it, have a little fun, and hold a national ‘We’re Not Closing’ sale.” That sale is happening Oct. 20-22, when all EMS stores will be offering 20-70% off apparel and hard goods. Of course, the campaign, themed “The Eastern Mountain Way,” is plenty forward-looking as well. It focuses on “our bright future—new product innovation, opening at least 20% more stores in the next 12 months, and prices that don’t require an investment banker’s salary to afford a vest,” said Greiwe. “If we’re asking folks to go on a new journey with us, then they deserve our founders’ vision and honesty, and our best work. ‘The Eastern Mountain Way’ campaign is exactly that.” A second spot, starring Marlborough, Massachusetts employee Shannon Walkden, also references EMS founders, but in a similarly lighthearted way. Walkden talks about the kind of jackets you’ll find in EMS’s new ’67 product line—and just as important, what you won’t find. Graf said the playful tone came directly from the agency’s research into the brand, including digging into its archives. “It comes from people we met at EMS, from the founders, from the 1970s catalogs we pored through,” he said. “We also found some old HR onboarding videos from the ’80s that are beautifully irreverent. From the very beginning back in ’67, there has always been a mixture of a love of the outdoors and this beautiful irreverence.” Ad Age Creativity Bookmark our section covering the best in brand creativity every day Read more here “The Eastern Mountain Sports brand has always been clear—irreverent, relatable, embracing of anyone and any adventure,” Greiwe said. “Along the years, somehow that got lost in the mud and rain and snow that often deluge New England. We’re so grateful that Gerry and his team went on an incredible expedition across the Appalachians to help rediscover what we have always stood for, and brought it to life with a modern sensibility.” The chain is also developing a series of ads with talking zippers, such as the one below. EMS said this is its first major marketing campaign “in decades.” It will include other offbeat elements—such as placing application drop boxes for new hires at the remote Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire, and hosting an #OptAnywhereAnytime Black Friday Campout at select stores on Nov. 24. (The event’s name is a reference to REI’s famous #OptOutide campaign.) The overall goals are to remind consumers EMS is alive and well, and to emphasize its commitment to making the outdoors accessible to all. “For too long, gatekeepers have transformed exploring the outdoors into an elite activity that requires $400 vests—and it has to stop,” said Kerry Muricchio, executive VP and general merchandise manager at Eastern Mountain Sports. “With the launch of ‘The Eastern Mountain Way’ campaign, EMS is reminding Americans that the outdoors is meant to be enjoyed by everyone, everywhere.” EMS has stores in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs

Eastern Mountain Sports has a chuckle about its past woes in irreverent campaign from Slap Global

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