ON TOP OF THE WORLD OF STYLE
Green Day Star in Spring 2012 Campaign
The latest ad campaign for John Varvatos features Reprise Records’ five-time-GRAMMY® -Award-winning punk rock band Green Day. Longtime collaborator Danny Clinch captured the members perched high above the Manhattan skyline, in scenes that reference Phillippe Petit’s daredevil act in the film Man on Wire and Charles C. Ebbets’ classic 1932 photograph, Construction Workers Lunching on a Crossbeam. It’s also a sly nod to the band’s status at the pinnacle of the music world, and creates an image that is rightfully dramatic and iconic.
Stephen Niedzweicki, creative director of Yard explains, “We were moved by Man on Wire, where a man traverses a tightrope illegally rigged between the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, 110 stories up. It’s portrayed in such an inspiring and beautiful way, but there’s so much danger and rebellion involved. It’s also incredibly rock ‘n’ roll to go to any lengths to have the best view of New York City—and to be so high!”
Green Day is comprised of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool. Widely credited with reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the 90s, and darlings of the early MTV music video craze, the band has endured. They have created anthems that are still played around the world and gone on to conquer Broadway with the 2010 stage adaptation of their album American Idiot.
As an ardent New Yorker, John Varvatos saw this concept as the ideal way to pay tribute to the city, and those who love it. “It’s just the right combination of laid-back and outrageous to perfectly represent the star quality of the band and the only place big enough to hold them.”
“The idea was to portray Green Day as larger than life,” agrees Danny Clinch, “full of the rock‘n’ roll spirit that lives in John’s head and that he translates so well into his line of clothes. We feel like these images really nailed it.”
The latest John Varvatos campaign follows 15 seasons conceived by Yard and photographed by Danny Clinch, all of them underscoring the brand’s affinity for rock ‘n’ roll style-makers. Past collaborators include Franz Ferdinand, Perry Farrell, Cheap Trick, Alice Cooper, Velvet Revolver, Iggy Pop, Chris Cornell, Joe Perry, Ryan Adams, Slash, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant.
Danny Clinch is an acclaimed music photographer and documentary filmmaker who has captured some of the most iconic names in music, including Cash, Springsteen, Dylan and Tupac, just to name a few. The organic feel and texture of his work lets the subjects breathe and the music flow. His work has appeared in such publications as Vanity Fair, Spin, Rolling Stone, GQ, Esquire, the New Yorker and the New York Times Magazine, and his photographs have appeared on hundreds of album covers.
Since its founding in 2002, Yard has conceptualized, art-directed and produced an award-winning range of work in print and television advertising, packaging, editorial and product design. This hybrid creative agency blends the expertise of a style-driven fashion shop with the instincts of a consumer-minded ad agency.
The collection is distributed in freestanding John Varvatos boutiques across the US and online, as well as in better department stores throughout the world. Visit us at www.johnvarvatos.com or join us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/johnvarvatos
http://www.greenday.com/
