TOMS Giving

Creative production studio And/Or has designed, directed, and finished a short film for TOMS shoes that explains the company’s evolved giving model and supports TOMS’ dedication to social good by linking in to TOMS’ 2019 Impact report. By balancing playful and serious tones, and using a mix of techniques including live action, tabletop, portraiture, design and animation, And/Or delivered a clean, smart, elevated new video that feels like a cohesive, authentic part of the brand. While many explainer videos can feel flat, generic, or overly serious, And/Or’s approach proves how an important message can be delivered in a creative way that doesn’t compromise a brand’s personality or the vital facts of its message. Giving evolution As the Original One for One company, TOMS mission has always been to use business to improve lives. In the beginning, that meant for every pair of shoes sold, they’d give a pair away. TOMS is now evolving its giving model to include shoes and impact grants, which enables them to develop lasting partnerships with the organizations they support, creating a more flexible and sustainable way of giving. Now, for every $3 they make, they give $1 away. TOMS came to And/Or to help them communicate their new model by telling the story of their giving evolution through a new explainer video. The resulting work uses a mix of archival content, newly shot material – which exclusively features TOMS employees – and bold design and animation. And/Or’s Kelli Miller, who directed the film, says: “Explainer videos are typically very dry and generic – but we see them as opportunities to really show off the brand’s communication style. A good explainer video doesn’t just clue audiences in to the facts, it offers them a chance to get to know the company they’re interacting with on an emotional level too. That balance of tones between personable and serious is something we really focused on for TOMS.” High impact Working collaboratively with TOMS creative team, And/Or designed, directed, and finished a short film that explains TOMS new giving model and showcases the employees involved and partner organizations receiving impact grants. The video will support and live with TOMS’ 2019 Impact Report, specifically on their giving page on TOMS.com and on their social channels. Using ephemera, meaningful objects, authentic portraits and helpful hands of TOMS employees, And/Or communicated that this giving model was a group effort over time, and ensured that the change in the TOMS giving structure was a clear takeaway. “More than anything, we wanted our work to reflect the ethos and culture of TOMS giving, to keep partners and real TOMS employees front and center, and to convey the work real employees put in every day to make giving happen,” says Miller. “We also created a visually consistent ‘graphically evolved’ look and feel that could find playful moments among the serious message and feel unique and ownable to TOMS voice.” Amy Smith, TOMS Chief Giving Officer, says “We are so happy with the video And/Or created that captures the rich history of TOMS giving while also sharing our mission moving forward. The video explains our evolved give in an approachable way, and simultaneously shows off our internal team and the TOMS culture. This video is as meaningful as it is playful, and we’re excited to share it with the world.”