DEATH WISHES
Brand
COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR
Entrant Agency
adam&eveTBWA
Category
Direct
Award
Shortlist
Festival & Year
Cannes Lions (2026)
Case Study Details
Columbia Sportswear - Death Wishes (Case Study) | Campaign
Columbia gear is so tough, it will outlive you. To prove this, they created the first jacket with a Will & testemant sewn inside. Promoted by non-other than the Grim Reaper, who fronted a competition across social where fans could comment their near death outdoor experience for a chance to win one of our limited edition jackets.
Credits:
- Client: Columbia Sportswear
- Creative Agency: adam&eveTBWA
- Agency Network: TBWA Worldwide
- Agency Network: Omnicom
- Production Company: Academy Films
Presentation Board
DEATH
Wloka
THE FIRST JACKET WITH
A “WILL & TESTAMENT’
STITCHED INTO THE LINING
CONTEXT: Hypothermia. Exposure. Slips. Storms. Avalanches. Flash floods.
Heatstroke. Mother Nature is not your friend. She is actively trying to kill you.
IDEA: Death Wishes. The world’s fist jacket with a legally binding Will & Testament
stitched into the lining. So, when you pass, your jacket lives on. A physical,
provocative demonstration of Columbia's legendary durability, transforming
longevity from a product claim into a legacy.
CAMPAIGN: Death Wishes reframed durability through the ultimate antagonist,
Death himself.
We reimagined the Grim Reaper as a modem infiuencer. Under the handle
@Reaper_1938, he taunted his audience, daring them into the great outdoors
and spotlighting the countless ways nature can turn fatal. He challenged followers
to share their closest near-death outdoor experiences for the chance to win
‘a Columbia jacket, the one thing built to outlast them all
The world expanded beyond social. Jackets were delivered in coffin-shaped
packaging, studio imagery featured the Reaper modelling the product like
@ fashion icon, and fly posters appeared across city streets, tuming Death into
‘an unmissable cultural presence.
Columbia
Sportswear Companys
Reaper “Influencer” social videos
+ oe
Online competition
1938
you weren't. Trust me,
I know eternity
DEATH
UHHEG
Zast Wilf & Outerwear Testamen
been my
d campin:
Now it’s time for it to ca
To the new owner: may you
ail mix, and
ARTICLE II: CLOSING STATEMENT
he jacket
u end up in a snowbai
Executed this da
Signature of Ori
Witness sigi
Witness Signature
hall live
d and sL.
1wish
hout me.
11, and con
ur bad decisior
0 repel storr
oF, but t idiot-proof.
1s only in
{11 suffice. This is not just
d storm ssed wipeouts,
oul cen fatal. Treat it
& Columbia
ENGINEERED FOR WHATEVER
_ aa
Packaging to die for
+
Lf
it once did mineg
165% UPLIFT
IN SOCIAL INTERACTIONS,
194% INCREASE
IN TIME SPENT ON WEBSITE
Competition Winners
+7 MILLION
EARNED AUDIENCE
Fly Posters
