You can say a lot with a few four-letter words. No, we’re not talking about those four-letter words – we’re talking about the ones used in “Four Letters,” YETI’s new ad campaign.

Broadening YETI’s audience

Although YETI products are generally associated with outdoor activities, they are not meant exclusively for the outdoors – a fact that YETI’s latest campaign is intentionally highlighting. With the help of ad agency Wieden + Kennedy Portland, the brand recently launched its “Four Letters” campaign, designed to show how YETI can help people pursue their favorite hobbies, wherever they may take them.

Derek Szynal, the executive creative director of Wieden + Kennedy Portland, recently discussed the campaign:

“Maybe YETI [isn’t] just for people who love the outdoors: It’s actually for people who are just irrationally committed to something. Their product and brand was already resonating with audiences outside of that initial outdoor space, and we just wanted to do everything we could to articulate why.”

The inspiration behind the Four Letters campaign

As original as it is fun, the “Four Letters” campaign brilliantly encapsulates YETI’s “bull-simple” philosophy to keep “only what is essential.” Central to the campaign is a minute-long anthem film created to celebrate people and the activities that they are “irrationally committed” to. The short but effective promo utilizes both found and ambassador-shot footage overlaid with four-letter words that coincide with the action taking place in the video – such as: “RACE,” “HUNT,” and “DIVE,” in YETI’s iconic typeface. The commercial was posted to YouTube with the caption, “If you live for it, we’re here for it.”

Seamlessly blended together by a “metronomic soundtrack,” every featured activity encapsulates one thing: passion. Szynal also commented:

“We… wanted to have a narrative that explained what it feels like to be taken over by a passion, and then the creative challenge was telling that story with only four-letter words as simply and concisely as possible, similar to how YETI would build something for its audience. Our job was trying to make sure that it didn’t go off the rails and that there was still a coherent narrative that existed in the anthem that gave the campaign the opportunity to express itself in different ways moving forward.”

In addition to promoting the 60-second spot online, YETI has posted short-form “Four Letters” content to its social media channels and offered exclusive giveaways relating to the campaign, and will also be running ads on billboards near major sporting events.