APLL x HEMA 100 years

We came in alongside APL Logistics to pitch a campaign to HEMA and, rather than a conventional corporate video about a logistics process, we proposed something far more imaginative: a client-case commercial built for emotional reach and geographical recognition, capitalising on the fact that HEMA is a household name across much of Western Europe.

HEMA has famously strong, distinctive branding, and their marketing team is among the most inventive in the Netherlands, so a good pitch simply wasn't going to be enough. We had to bring something genuinely worthy of the brand. The concept we built around their centenary did exactly that: it gave APL Logistics a way to celebrate a partnership that has kept HEMA's shelves stocked since 2019, and gave HEMA a birthday tribute worth sharing. It got accepted.

In an era where the easy option is to build everything digitally, we made a deliberate choice: we would handcraft it all ourselves. And when you commit to doing it practically, you have to do it perfectly. Before a single frame was shot, every layer had to come together at once. The story had to align with both brands. Locations had to be arranged and permits cleared. The studio had to be built from scratch. The miniature product journey had to be designed, crafted and tested in detail. And through all of it, cast, crew and planning had to move in sync. Together with a team of talented colleagues and friends, we brought every one of those moving parts into place, turning an ambitious pitch into one of the most special projects we've worked on so far.

The response was sparkling. The commercial pulled hundreds of thousands of impressions on LinkedIn, with cross-reposting acting as a catalyst as people responded to how handcrafted and carefully considered the piece was, alongside a strong run on YouTube. It became celebrated for turning a commercial into a story worth watching: an authentic tribute to a beloved national brand that still worked, effectively, as a sales tool for a logistics process. That combination earned real organic reach and strong, natural leads, attention given freely because people simply liked it. The motion branding we developed resonated so well that it led to further work for APL Logistics, extending the visual language we built for this case into new projects.

This was, above everything, a team effort, between us, APL Logistics and HEMA, and among the colleagues and friends who built it with us. It's the kind of project that only comes together when a client gives you the trust to be ambitious and the room to do it properly. We're proud of what we made here, and grateful for the chance to have told this story.