Mammut, DEPT call out mountainwear misuse with playful rescue campaign

Swiss mountaineering brand Mammut has launched Mountainwear Rescue, a campaign created with DEPT® that positions the company as the defender of technical gear against its misuse in city environments. The campaign expands on the brand’s earlier Not a Streetwear Brand push, which challenged outdoor rivals leaning into fashion-led gorpcore.

With cultural momentum shifting away from gorpcore, Mountainwear Rescue introduces a fictional rescue division tasked not with saving climbers, but with liberating mountainwear from urban captivity and returning it to its natural setting.

Calling out mountainwear misuse

Nic Brandenberger, Chief Marketing Officer, Mammut: "This tongue-in-cheek campaign raises awareness of mountainwear misuse, encouraging people to use their Mammut gear as intended: on a mountain in the great outdoors. Our engineers carefully craft products for mountain conditions, not coffee shops or shopping malls. So, we put together a team of rangers to rescue our products from the concrete jungle and return them to their natural habitat in the mountains."

DEPT® drew on community insights showing a growing appetite for authenticity, with more consumers voicing frustration at outdoor gear being worn casually in urban settings.

Bel Moretti, Creative Director, DEPT®: "It’s no secret that a lot of our most highly technical mountain gear sees more city streets than snowy peaks, and our audience was starting to notice. So with Mammut’s unwavering dedication to everything above the treeline, it was the perfect opportunity to build on the momentum and call out Mountainwear Rescue, a playful campaign that pleads against misuse. Speaking to our bigger mission but not taking itself too seriously."

Campaign execution

The hero film adopts a lo-fi, multi-footage style emulating CCTV, dash cams, and doorbell recordings. The footage depicts Mammut officers handing out notices to urban wearers and reclaiming gear, playing humorously on the "rescue" narrative.

Bel Moretti, Creative Director, DEPT®: "We’re blending authenticity, confidence, and the authority of our role as a mountainwear brand with the playful humour of clothes literally being rescued. It’s a knowing, playful wink to show our audience that mountainwear belongs in the mountains, concluding with a punchline as an open invitation for all to use our gear as intended."

Mammut and DEPT® have worked together since 2023, allowing continuity from Not a Streetwear Brand through to the launch of Mountainwear Rescue. The campaign went live on September 8 across social platforms in the DACH region, the US, and the UK, with further activations planned.

www.mammut.com

www.deptagency.com

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