Disney’s collaboration with Balmain for The Lion King’s 30th anniversary won Gold at The Drum Awards for Marketing, blending fashion and storytelling with a unique short film exploring Olivier Rousteing's personal connection to the franchise.
Disney’s objectives were to establish a major, culturally relevant beat for Disney's The Lion King franchise in its 30th anniversary year and support the upcoming release of Disney’s Mufasa in December 2024.
Disney partnered with French fashion house Balmain on an authentic collab that centered on bringing together fashion and storytelling. The collaboration was deeply personal to Olivier Rousteing, Balmain's Creative Director, whose own upbringing having been adopted, intertwined with the story of Mufasa, “solitary lion cub constructing his own unique and chosen family, while searching for truth about his heritage”.
The 50-piece women's and men's fashion collection saw the iconic Disney’s The Lion King reimaged by Balmain bringing to life the cultural richness of the original film. Three African artists each created a bespoke print reinterpreting the original animation’s artwork which were used across apparel and accessories, bridging the original animation and contemporary African art practices. The collection featured 10 couture dresses which used traditional African craftmanship and couture techniques to create one-of-a-kind gowns.
Olivier Rousteing’s love of the Lion King became the foundation of the marketing campaign, culminating in a unique short fashion film. The fashion film explored the connection between Rousteing's personal story and The Lion King. Directed by Femi Oladigbolu, the 5-minute film was shot in the Atlantis dunes in Western Cape, South Africa with over 30 models. We witness Olivier’s quest for enlightenment as he seeks answers on his journey of self-discovery. Guided by the lion paw, across the South African landscape, he encounters individuals in need of his inspiration, and in a dreamlike sequence embedded with symbolism and emotion, he finds his true sense of purpose, celebrating his collection and his homecoming. This was all set to a re-recording by Ife Ladi of the The Lion Kings’ “The Circle of Life”, the score consisted of chants, drums, strings and horns and featured new vocals from The Spirituals Choir.
The Fashion Film generated a monumental amount of coverage across social media, with over 180 million social media impressions and 700+ earned media stories, maintaining 100% positive sentiment.
The Disney x Balmain Fashion Film was launched at Royal Albert Hall at a special 30th Anniversary performance of The Lion King Film. LeighAnne Pinnock opened the show with a performance of The Lion King’s "Can you feel The Love Tonight”, set to a backdrop of the Disney x Balmain Fashion collection before the Fashion Film was premiered to over 5000 guests, including 200 VIPs and Disney B2B partners.
The collaborations success was amplified through a strategic global partnership with Conde Nast’s Vogue, resulting in more than 3 million impressions from bespoke interactive articles and paid social campaigns in UK, USA, China and France. The partnership with Vogue also allowed Disney to support other licensed Lion King product from other key retailers and support the upcoming Mufasa: The Lion King release.
The collection was launched globally in Balmain stores, and several exclusive global pop-ups (US, Japan and Hong Kong) further driving visibility and engagement. The Hong Kong Pop-Up in Harbour City, a key luxury shopping district, featured Enfant Precoce’s hand-drawn illustrations for the collection, depicting scenes of Simba from The Lion King amid a dreamy African wildlife landscape. OOH Billboards throughout the shopping district were taken over by Disney x Balmain fashion film driving shoppers to the pop up. To drive retail excitement at the Balmain flagship store in Paris, Enfants Précoce, was invited to store to live draw collaboration artwork in the windows.
To sustain sell through of the collection, Disney Consumer Products worked with ABC Network on a special episode of popular news special “Storytellers Spotlight” on an episode telling the story of the collaboration. Broadcast on US national television on 7 channels, as well as available to stream globally and on YouTube this news special allowed us to delve deeper into the connection between Olivier Rousteing, The Lion King and Balmain across 22 minutes. Shot Behind the scenes of the main fashion film in south Africa, it allowed us to amplify the collaboration and fashion film to a different audience further supporting the 30th anniversary of The Lion King.
Creating a second marketing beat at the Global and EMEA Mufasa premieres; Beyoncé wore a gold dress from the collection in LA, and Tiffany Boone wore a bespoke dress inspired by Mufasa in London. Utilizing Disney’s own platforms, Tiffany Boone and Olivier Rousteing starred in an episode of revamped Disney favourite show “Movie Surfers” to talk to the collaboration, premiering on YouTube post premiere. Organic dressing at the premieres resulted in extensive media coverage across outlets such as WWD, Vogue, Marie Claire, Grazia, and InStyle. The integration of social platforms, including Disney’s owned channels, ensured the campaign had sustained reach and engagement in this second marketing beat.
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