Review of Burberry ‘Rocking Horse’ 2024 Ad Campaign by Creative Director Daniel Lee and Photographer Tyrone Lebon with models Bright, Jun Ji-Hyun, Tang Wei, Asami Mizukawa, Lily Donaldson, and Nora Attal
Burberry works to establish a new icon with the latest campaign for its Rocking Horse bag, shot by photographer Tyrone Lebon.
A new house signature by creative director Daniel Lee, the Rocking Horse draws on Burberry’s equestrian heritage with its curved shape that is subtly reminiscent of a classic childhood toy and its embossed Equestrian Knight logo revived from the house’s archives.
Lebon’s campaign imagery brings a classic and straightforward approach to highlighting this star piece, capturing a cast of brand ambassadors and models before contrasting or complementary backgrounds. Continuing the brand’s new art direction, the images are sealed with the Equestrian Knight logo, while the styling also works to incorporate new takes on house signatures like iconic Burberry check and the trench coat.
With each of these elements working together in a way that is fresh and forward yet still recognizably Burberry, the campaign does convincingly establish the Rocking Horse as a new Burberry icon. While recent news about the brand’s financial results isn’t the news the company wanted with the appointment of Daniel Lee, it’s hard to look at his campaigns and collections as the source of this disconnect. The brand’s new visual direction is strong, striking, and very consistent, and this campaign is another example of how much command and cohesion the creative team has over its visual vernacular.
So why isn’t the rebrand clicking in terms of sales? For now, it’s hard to say. Unless they want to sink more into another rebrand – which for now doesn’t seem wise – campaigns like this one feel like the right way to go: build up brand equity and recognition through signature pieces and a consistent visual language.
Burberry Creative Director | Daniel Lee
Photographer | Tyrone Lebon
Models | Bright, Jun Ji-Hyun, Tang Wei, Asami Mizukawa, Lily Donaldson, and Nora Attal