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wild lab / The same ad. Then and now. · Vol. 01

Fernwild lab · The same ad. Then and now.

One ad, told twice: 1976 and 2026

The same ad. Then and now.

We wrote one luggage campaign and shot it twice. Once as it would have looked in the seventies: cognac leather, brass latches, a red carriage and a paper ticket from the counter. Once as it looks today: espresso leather with sculpted lines, a white train, a phone at the gate.

  • Campaign
  • Art direction
  • AI video

Invented brand, made with AI. Concept, branding and art direction by wild & co.

Fern slide 2: a hand on the handle, the 1976 case by the red carriage on the left, the 2026 bag by the white train on the right, “Then or now?”
Then or now? Same gesture · slide 02, animated

One script · two eras

Everything else stays the same

We kept the platform, the mountains, the camera angle, the step into the carriage and the hand on the handle identical. That is the point of this experiment: styling, colour and product details change with every decade. The feeling a good campaign sells usually doesn't: leaving, arriving, being on your way.

Good luggage ads never really were about luggage. They were about leaving.

  • Fern slide 9 on cognac: what changed, from cognac to espresso leather and from paper ticket to phone
    What changed
  • Fern slide 11 on alpine green: what stayed, the platform, the mountains and the hand on the handle
    What stayed

Departures · six scenes, two eras

Two eras, one frame

Every card shows 1976 on the front and 2026 on the back, the same place from the same angle. Turn the year and the whole board flips, or tap a single scene.

1976

  1. 01The platform

    Fern 1976: A woman with a cognac leather case boards a red carriage at a mountain station1976 · Red carriageFern 2026: A woman with an espresso leather case boards a white train at a mountain station2026 · White train

    The same step into the carriage, the same mountains.

  2. 02The compartment

    Fern 1976: Fern case on a red velvet seat in the compartment, Alps in the window1976 · Velvet red seatsFern 2026: Fern bag on a green wool seat in a modern compartment, Alps in the window2026 · Green wool seats

    Velvet red became alpine green.

  3. 03The ticket

    Fern 1976: A traveller buys a paper ticket at the wooden counter, the Fern case beside her1976 · Paper, from the counterFern 2026: A traveller scans her phone at the gate, the Fern trolley beside her2026 · Phone, at the gate

    From paper ticket to phone.

  4. 04The café

    Fern 1976: A woman at the station café with flower boxes, the Fern case at her feet1976 · Cognac at her feetFern 2026: A woman at the station café on the same bench, the Fern bag at her feet2026 · Espresso at her feet

    Same bench, same view. The bag sits at her feet in both.

  5. 05Leather and brass

    Fern 1976: Close-up: cognac leather with a brass latch and Fern tag on a wooden bench1976 · Brass latchesFern 2026: Close-up: espresso leather with sculpted lines and Fern embossing on a bench2026 · Sculpted lines

    Latches out, lines in.

  6. 06The look back

    Fern 1976: A woman in a suede blazer looks back by the red carriage, case in hand1976 · Suede blazerFern 2026: A woman in a light coat looks back by the white train, Fern bag in hand2026 · Light coat

    A different coat. The same confidence.

Fern slide 10: frames of the modern film with the train arriving, a hand on the handle and departure
Arrival, grip, departure · slide 10, the modern film

The film · 2026

The train arrives. A hand finds the handle. And she is gone.

The modern version also gets a short film. Three moments are enough: the train pulls in, a hand reaches for the bag, she steps on and is gone. A luggage brand doesn’t need to say more.

  1. 01Arrival
  2. 02Grip
  3. 03Departure

Write it once, shoot it twice

Write it once, shoot it twice

First came a script with seven scenes, written once. Then we staged every scene twice, for then and for now, with the same place, the same pose and the same camera. Only after that came the details that give an era away: leather, latches, carriage, ticket, coat. For 2026 we also made a short film.

This episode belongs to our series where we send one idea through time, to show what makes a brand last. Fern is a fictional brand; all images and film frames are AI concept visuals by wild & co.

  1. BriefAn invented luggage brand and a campaign that has to survive two eras.
  2. ScriptSeven scenes at a mountain station, written once, from the platform to the look back.
  3. Two erasEvery scene staged for 1976 and for 2026, camera, pose and place identical.
  4. ProductA cognac case with brass against an espresso bag with sculpted lines.
  5. FilmA short 2026 spot with the arrival, the grip on the bag and the departure.

Leaving, arriving, being on your way.

Brand
Fern, fictional
Series
The same ad. Then and now. Vol. 01
Eras
1976 and 2026, seven scenes
Images
AI concept visuals and film frames

What this means for your brand

Trends come and go, and your campaign shouldn't only follow the trend. When we develop a campaign, we first look for the feeling your product sells. Images, colours and styling move with the times; the idea underneath should last.

AI imagery & AI video for your brand Guide: AI images for business

Departures · your brand

Every brand has a journey.

Want a campaign that still works in fifty years? We look for the feeling that lasts and tell it in your time.

Write us for your project