REI | It’ll Make a Great Story

I’ve always been an outdoors person. A lot of that comes from Boy Scouts, my dad and a general inability to sit still for too long. I’ve done 100-mile treks in the U.S., backpacked in Norway, hiked Volcán de Fuego in Guatemala and I’m already thinking about the next big trek in Peru. Some of my favorite memories with my dad are on a trek, and growing up, REI was where we went for the gear that came with those trips. Whenever I’m doing something difficult outdoors, I tend to fall back on the same mentality: embrace the suck. The rain, the climb, the terrible sleep, the moment where you wonder why you agreed to any of this in the first place. Part of me genuinely enjoys pushing through it. And, if I’m being completely honest, part of me also likes having the story afterward. I grew up loving The Most Interesting Man in the World ads, and there is probably a little bit of that in the way I look at adventure. I want to do things that are difficult, interesting and worth talking about later. That became the campaign. The best adventures are rarely the ones where everything goes according to plan. Usually, the thing that sucked the most in the moment becomes the part of the story you tell for years. REI gives you the gear to go find those moments. The rest is up to you. IT’LL MAKE A GREAT STORY.

Print Ad: THE BEST STORIES RARELY START WITH “EVERYTHING WENT PERFECTLY.”

The weather flips on a dime.

The trail seemingly disappears.

Your legs start asking the questions your ego doesn’t want to answer.

Someone takes a wrong turn.

Someone else says, “I’m pretty sure it’s this way.”

It ain’t.

That’s usually when the trip gets even more interesting.

You push a little farther than you thought you could.

You figure it out together.

You make a few more friends.

And eventually, you get where you were trying to go.

Maybe not the way you planned.

Maybe with a few more miles behind you than expected.

But you made it.

REI can’t promise the weather will be in your favor.

Or that the trail will be more or less traveled.

Or that life won’t throw something at you along the way.

But REI makes sure you have what you need when it's all said and done.

Because the best adventures usually come with a few complications.

And those complications, well.

IT’LL MAKE A GREAT STORY.

REI

SOCIAL COPY:

No signal.

No shower.

No problem.

IT’LL MAKE A GREAT STORY.

The doubt creeps in.

You keep going anyway.

IT’LL MAKE A GREAT STORY.

Cold. Wet. Tired.

Still not turning around.

IT’LL MAKE A GREAT STORY.

Bad idea?

Ask us when we get back.

IT’LL MAKE A GREAT STORY.

Well, the plan was solid at least.

IT’LL MAKE A GREAT STORY.

At some point, “this sucks” becomes “remember when?”

IT’LL MAKE A GREAT STORY.

EXT. MOUNTAIN CLIFF – DAY

A CLIMBER makes a leap of faith for a new grip, and just misses it.

They fall, and the rope gets tight, taut, hard, and fast.

EXT. MOUNTAIN TRAIL – DAY

The rain is pouring so hard it is coming down sideways

The THREE BACKPACKERS huddle together looking at a map to get their bearings.

They look up and see the daunting mountain up ahead and start walking to it.

EXT. MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAIL – DAY

A MOUNTAIN BIKER races through deep pits of mud.

The back tire causes mud to soar across the sky, and then it fishtails.

Mud explodes across the rider.

They recover and keep racing down the mountain.

EXT. RIDGELINE – DAY

A lone BACKPACKER looks up at the trail, an almost vertical climb reaching into the clouds. Wipes their sweaty brow and breathes in.

A long beat.

Then another step.

VO
When things don’t go as planned.

QUICK CUTS:

The climber laughing from the rope.

The hikers pushing through the storm.

The biker completely covered in mud.

The backpacker reaching the ridge.

VO
That’s usually when it gets good.

SUPER:

IT’LL MAKE A GREAT STORY.

VO
It’ll make a great story.

REI

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