By David Cohen on August 26, 2009 11:56 AM

Teva’s The Naturist Pokes Fun at Its Own

Teva is poking fun at its own customers, launching three-part online parody series The Naturist, written and created by Vice magazine co-founder Gavin McInnes. The adventure footwear manufacturer will use the series to promote its new Riva and Dalea hiking shoes.

The first episode of The Naturist, “Honey/Water,” went live Wednesday, with “Hunt” set to launch Sept. 9, followed by “Fire” Sept. 23.

Teva said the idea for The Naturist came when McInnes walked into a brainstorming session between Decon, one of Teva’s creative agencies, which also manages McInnes, and Teva’s marketing team.

Teva global marketing director Joel Heath said:

We wanted to create an unexpected campaign for a hiking product. Typically, these types of spots depict a survivalist-type character in some far-off place conquering nature. We’re poking a little fun at ourselves and those who take on the outdoors armed with only a few nuts and their own urine to survive, and Gavin was the right man for the job. The partnership turned out to be a natural fit and a fun way to bring humor into the launch of our hiking product. We are thrilled to have a great team in place to introduce The Naturist to the world.

And McInnes added:

There is a major disconnect in the comedy and advertising communities. Everyone likes a good viral video, but microscopic budgets prevent most of them from really breaking through. On the corporate side, brands are getting tired of traditional magazine and TV spots and want new ways to reach and engage audiences. For The Naturist, two unlikely teams paired up to create three sketches about survival in the wild, and I happen to think they are binary gold.