• by Tanya Gazdik , October 8, 2020

Duluth Trading Co is launching a lower-priced men’s basics clothing line and a campaign to go along with it. 

Duluth’s longtime agency of record, Planet Propaganda, was tasked with naming, branding and promoting the line, coined 40 Grit. 

The premise of 40 Grit is intentionally simple and functional clothing for workers’ most basic needs. The tagline for the campaign is “Simple. On Purpose.”

Retail signage, social and online ads and catalog shots include humorously subtle messaging to promote each product, like “Pants. For Legs.“ and “Clothes. For Wearing.”

Duluth will also run a series of brand videos introducing the new line to customers and product-focused videos driving home the “built basic’” yet quality aspects of 40 Grit. A collection of the work can be seen here.

The brand, which was in development before the pandemic hit, was designed to better serve a growing customer base, the majority of whom have remained on the job and hard at work in recent months. 

Items include cargo pants, tees, jeans, flannels and henleys.

40 Grit will be launching online, via catalog and in the 65 retail locations across the country currently open to the public.

The brand name comes from sandpaper, in which the lower the grit, the greater the grind, says Ricker Schlecht, senior vice president of product development and creative, Duluth Trading.

“This simple jobsite tool is inexpensive and yet finds its way next to nearly every handcrafted project on the planet,” Schlecht says in a release. “Like its namesake, 40 Grit, is a celebration of simple workwear in its finest form.”