The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2023–2024
Macpac proves gear toughness as relaxed hikers dangle over a cliff — a D&AD winner
Macpac proved its gear could 'weather anything' by filming a trio of hikers hanging over a cliff with only a Macpac item between them and death.
Macpac
What it had to solve
Macpac, a New Zealand outdoor brand, wanted to showcase that it makes New Zealand's toughest, most durable outdoor gear. Durability is every outdoor brand's claim, so the challenge was making the proof land.
How it works
Macpac is a New Zealand outdoor brand, and its goal was to showcase that it makes the country's toughest, most durable outdoor gear. Durability is a claim every outdoor brand makes, so the challenge was making the proof feel real.
The 'Weather Anything' film answered with mortal stakes: a trio of hikers dangling from a cliff, with only a Macpac item between them and certain death.
What made the spot work was the tone. The hikers keep their relaxed kiwi nature, almost too relaxed for the situation — a calm the film credits to the item's high craftsmanship. The contrast between real peril and casual trust did the selling.
The film is preserved in the D&AD awards archive, where the work is listed among Film and Writing for Advertising winners for the 2024 awards; the page records no separate view or sales figures.
Why it lands
- Real peril gives the durability claim stakes an audience can feel: failure would be fatal, so the gear visibly cannot fail.
- Relaxed kiwi humour made the extreme scenario believable instead of corporate — confidence so casual it can only come from trust.
- Showing, not telling, let the craftsmanship speak through behaviour rather than through spec sheets.
- One clear image of a product standing between people and death made the point travel in seconds.
What it did
The spot is preserved in the D&AD awards archive, where the work is listed among Film and Writing for Advertising winners for the 2024 awards; the archive page records no separate view or sales figures.
What you can take
Product proof works when the audience feels the stakes: put the gear in a situation where failure is unthinkable, then show a confidence so casual it can only come from trust.
Since then
Weather Anything put Macpac's durability claim into a single frame: three hikers hanging over a cliff, relaxed because the Macpac item between them and certain death is built to hold. The work was made by The Monkeys Melbourne, part of Accenture Song, and is preserved in the D&AD awards archive, listed among Film and Writing for Advertising winners for the 2024 awards; no separate view or sales figures are recorded. For the brand, the value was the idea itself — durability shown through the confidence of the people trusting the gear, not through a spec sheet.
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