Campaign round-up: Kathmandu “Outside, Your Comfort Zone”

This is filed under ‘copy I wish I’d written’.

Every so often, a campaign emerges and you think, 'How has no one done this before?' Maybe they have. But no one has done the wordplay and owned it quite so effortlessly as Kathmandu with 'Outside, Your Comfort Zone' by Motion Sickness creative agency.

The line is deceptively simple

“Outside, Your Comfort Zone” is quietly powerful, the comma plays a defining role, and the visuals meet it note for note. Shot across New Zealand’s Coromandel Peninsula, the campaign feels raw and real. It is a collection of moments that breathe rather than perform. The subtle beauty draws you in. The short, ASMR-tinged film footage is the icing on the (mountainous) cake. It is immersive (a word often overused, but in this case, perfect), textural, and beautifully human.

What stands out is the restraint

There’s no heroic summit shot, no “man versus wild” bravado. Instead, we see small, grounding rituals and the quiet connection that comes from being out there. It’s nature, not as something to conquer, but something to come home to.

Every creative choice reinforces that warmth, from the 35mm film scans that add tactile nostalgia to the bespoke soundscapes that pull you straight into the scene. Together, they capture Kathmandu’s ethos perfectly: improving wellbeing through time spent outdoors. The message lands with clarity and calm confidence: the outdoors is more than endurance; it’s about experience.

Which came first? The line or the visual?

I would love to know from the agency’s creative team which came first: The line or the visual idea? The chicken or the egg? Both rely on each other and almost blur into one. I guess for most people it just doesn’t matter, but I’m a curious word geek!