This was the first time Burt’s Bees had run “real” advertising, which, not coincidentally, was shortly after the company was originally acquired.
Burt's Bees was a brand that had been "discovered" by it's many loyalists, each of whom felt it was uniquely theirs. The challenge was how to broaden it's appeal without screwing it up for it's devotees.
The key was to embrace the brand's slightly "off" character as it's uniquely distinguishing truth.
I felt there was a certain irreverence to the brand's attitude, but a palpable reverence for the products integrity. To me, this "irreverent reverence for nature" perfectly defined the Burt's Bees brand character. It was "irreverently natural". And it instantly and naturally informed everything the brand needed to do and say - from site, to advertising, to pr, to pos.
For all these reasons, and more, the "spokes-bees" were perfectly cast as the voice of the brand - lending a gentle and indirect tone through their comments, observations, and quips - their "bee banter" - about the product being featured.
I didn't want to introduce new elements that would interfere with the relationship between the brand and the customer. I wanted each page to feel like the product had spread itself out - a natural extension of the packaging. Nothing else. Just pure and simple. Just Burt's Bees.
These ads shown here were printed with vegetable inks on recycled post-consumer stock and then inserted into the magazines.