Lacoste’s crocodile emblem has been embraced in countries throughout the world. In a way, it connects different cultures. It has transcended time, styles and genres since 1933.  Lacoste and BETC have created a campaign, Crocodiles Play Collective, that highlights this crocodile feature. In their new campaign, The Elegance Of The Collective, seven ambassadors and seven photographers tell one story about being collective – their own.

In Los Angeles, rapper and Lacoste fan A$AP Nast, invites his friends, DJAVAN and Cory, to pose for photographer, Melodie McDaniel. Tattooed on his chest or embroidered on his polo shirts, the performer “always carries the spirit of the crocodile”.

In Berlin, DJ and entrepreneur, Peggy Gou, honours here “closest friends, the family we choose”, captured in film by Vitali Gelwich.

In New York, skater, actor and model, Evan Mock, brings together his brother, sister and a skateboarder friend for an intimate shoot with photographer, Stef Mitchell. They are four people “ambitious and always ready to pursue their dreams”.

In London, Elliot James Kennedy immortalises, young poet, Sonny Hall, and his entourage in a typical London atmosphere. For him, to be collective is to feel “connected”.

In Paris, the historical home of Lacoste, French actresses, Louise Bourgoin and Mélanie Thierry, are photographed with their loved ones by Quentin de Briey and Joshua Woods respectively. Salif Gueye, true to himself, dances in the streets of the French capital with three of his comrade dancers, before the lens of Ilyes Griyeb. For him, his collective is his “family”.

BETC chose J Lloyd, one half of the duo, Jungle, to create the original music for the videos because of his versatility and soulful reputation. To produce the international campaign during a health crisis, BETC and Lacoste oversaw all the shoots (New York, Berlin, Los Angeles, London) remotely from the Magasins Généraux in Pantin.

The campaign was aunched by the seven ambassadors, teased in video on April 19 on their respective social networks and then on April 20 on Lacoste platforms. Crocodiles Play Collective will be visible on billboards at the end of April in France, in May in Russia, Germany and Korea and in June in Spain.

Credits:

Client: Lacoste
Client Managers: Catherine Spindler, Nathalie Beguinot, Julien Scheubel, Mylène Atlan & Caroline Geraud

Agency: BETC
Creative Directors: Aurélie Scalabre & Olivier Aumard
Art Director: Jonathan Baudet-Botella
Assistant Art Director: Joachim Touitou
Copywriter: Clara Lafuente
Music Creative Director: Christophe Caurret
Agency Managers: Gaelle Gicqueau, Fanny Buisseret, Louise Menaige, Romain Cialdella & Suzy Morin
Strategic Planners: Sonya Mahcine & Patrice-Habib Zamy
Traffic Manager: Kemi Zinsou

Production Company: Kitten
Sound Company: GUM

Photographers: Melodie McDaniel (Los Angeles), Vitali Gelwich (Berlin), Stef Mitchell (New York City), Elliot James-Kennedy (London), Quentin De Briey (Paris), Joshua Woods (Paris), Ilyes Griyeb (Paris)

Directors of Photography: Tess Lafia (Los Angeles), Moritz Matlik (Berlin), Julian Kapadia (New York City), Ed Hubert (London), Simon Junot (Paris), Guillaume Joly (Paris), Kyle Keese (Paris)