howies dohboy
What does a t-shirt maker have to do with bread? Well, when you’re a philosophy-driven business, a lot. I was interested to learn that howies was opening up a shop in London, so I popped over there to scout it out. The entire shop brings the howies philosophy to life in an inspiring way, but I was intrigued by this toy parked on a table next to jeans and t-shirts.
I learned it was the dohboy, which comes in a re-usable breadbox. The inside of the box tells the dohboy’s mission, which is to go after bread manufacturers for adding too much fat. Three slices of bread have as much fat as a chocolate bar apparently. The web site has more detail of this stealth campaign to raise awareness.
howies is the classic David against Goliath. They gained early fame by taking on Levis when the Levis legal department tried to bully them. So, this fight against bread manufacturers is in a similar vein. But, an oddly peripheral one. It intrigues me, because it’s just so removed from their actual products. But, I respect that their philosophy is so entrenched that they can take on an issue like this. I respect that they think of the role their brand can play in the broader world around them. And I respect that they’ll go through the trouble of creating a toy to creatively raise awareness on something important to them. Even if it doesn’t sell a single t-shirt.
All very nice, now that they have ‘sold out’/'made a sensible business decision’ (delete as per your leaning) by being partly funded or bought out by Timberland in 2006.
I love their philosophy, love their clothing – although I can’t afford it. Problem is, after receiving a few of their beautiful catalogues, their sanctimoniousness wears a bit thin, now that such a clothing giant is involved.
I understand why the founders did it but now, everytime I see ‘howies’, I just see Timberland. I wonder how many fans it lost them.