• by Karl Greenberg , October 27, 2014

The North Face is launching its biggest-ever marketing campaign, central to which is a cause-marketing program with the U.S. Department of the Interior around conservation of public lands, with a $250,000 donation to the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps. 

The effort includes a TV spot featuring Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land” by two-time Grammy nominee My Morning Jacket. The song is on iTunes, and the band will donate half of each download fee to the organization. 

The spot, which launched on YouTube on Monday, shows people — The North Face global athlete team members and enthusiasts — doing high-action endeavors like rock climbing, skiing, kayaking, sailing, mountain climbing and hiking. The company says the ad debuts on NBC Sunday Night Football on Nov. 9 and runs through the end of December on a range of channels including NBC, ESPN, USA Network, and Comedy Central. There are also digital and social efforts across Hulu, YouTube, ESPN, Vice, Facebook and others, starting Nov. 10.

The promote the campaign, North Face has a taxi cruising New York City streets with a #SeeForYourself sign. If someone grabs it, they get a message suggesting they nix all cell calls, cancel meetings and let the cab take them on an adventure. Assuming the rider is up for that, the cab will ferry him, her, or them to one of three "secret locations" outside the city where The North Face athletes will take them on an excursion, "in some of New York State’s wildest places," per the company.

The three-month brand campaign also has a native content element via a partnership with Outside. The co-branded section is about 50 places to explore across the U.S. A consumer-content component encourages people to contribute photos of themselves at the featured spots and share using #seeforyourself.

A customized "North Face Experience" trailer will visit retailers, with a promotion dangling gear and discounts on merchandise.