Eunique Jones Gibson is the founder and chief creative officer of Culture Brands. She develops award-winning campaigns and products that ignite conversation, introspection and social change. Gibson not only conceptualizes and creates groundbreaking campaigns, she also frequently operates behind the camera to bring them to life as a director and photographer.
Gibson recently led the efforts to launch the new campaign for the award-winning, all-electric 2022 Hyundai IONIQ 5. The OKAY Hyundai marketing theme was first launched last fall and is designed to strengthen the connection between Hyundai and the African American community through the embedding of cultural references and nuances in the creative messaging. The campaign, titled “Leading by Example,” showcases the convenience of an electrified lifestyle.
How did you come up with the name Culture Brands?
I came up with the name in 2017 after connecting the dots between the type of work we were consistently doing, and it was around revolving around culture and community. We were working with brands, but we also have our own operated properties and brands, such as CultureTags®. So when thinking about the agency world and what we really wanted to do, we wanted to work with brands that were really trying to be culturally relevant and responsible, and so we thought that a perfect name would be Culture Brands.
Why has it been a goal for you to highlight Black culture?
It probably really dates back to my childhood. One of the things I was able to connect the dots with is how my parents raised me to really be proud of who I am and my culture, to be proud of my history and to know it, and to shout it [from] the mountaintops. I realized as I got older that everyone didn’t have that type of upbringing. I also realized that everyone didn’t want Black folks to be proud of being Black based on the types of messages that they were creating and putting into the universe for us to consume. When I had my own children, it became very important for me to create some sort of self-esteem bubble to really inundate my children with the images and the messages that my parents did, but taking it a step further. That soon expanded to children outside of the four walls of my home, and they just continue to evolve and grow.
Why is keeping it simple and leveling up through simplicity important in sharing an idea and a vision?
Because you always plan for the lowest common denominator. And if you can’t be in the room to explain it, then you want to make sure that without you being present, people will understand your intention and what you want it to convey with or without your commentary. The best way to do that is to make things simple. The more you complicate things, the more complicated it gets as it’s going through someone’s mind and they’re trying to process it.
Watch the campaign spot here:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLpL3CHYvrQ[/embedyt]
