• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, October 4, 2013

In an effort to increase awareness for its Lucy activewear line, VF has skipped the predictable sweat shots in favor of something more ethereal: A motion-activated forest of 10,000 twinkling lights, set along Boston’s Charles River.

Lucy, which competes with better-known names such as Lululemon and The Gap’s Athleta, “came to us with a brand awareness problem,” Chris Lange, co-founder and creative co-chair of Mono, the agency that created the campaign, tells Marketing Daily. “Its competitors all focus on motivation. They tell women to work out more, or work out harder.”

In contrast, he says Lucy’s customers don’t need to be motivated. “She is already out there exercising. So we wanted to think of something that turned the campaign idea of transforming everyday movement into a kind of gift for her. We wanted the light forest to remind her of that magical moment in her run or workout where everything is just clicking and she feels fully in the zone.”

The light forest, which is expected to move to other cities and is also featured in windows at some of its 57 retail stores, “is meant to be the physical representation of the beautiful, joyful feeling she gets when she works out.”

The installation uses sensors to respond to individual activity, lighting up the esplanade and creating the illusion that people moving through it are giving off ripples of light. In addition to the lights, each mounted on a bamboo rod, the installation also uses motion-activated sounds, from ambient noises to wildlife. 

It’s the first major branded campaign from Lucy, and also involves fitness events, with local experts hosting free activities through the lights, including group runs, boot camp classes, and yoga classes. The effort also includes a website where users can posts photos and video.