Anyone observing the evolution of marketing campaigns over the past years will notice that success is no longer based solely on a visual idea or an attractive slogan. The matter has become much deeper than that. Today, brands need a clear message and a presence that touches people from within, making them feel as if they are part of a bigger story. For this reason, marketing campaigns no longer address the eyes only; they also aim to speak to the mind, leveraging the power of symbols, the meaning behind actions, and the way they are presented.

Within this context, the Lacoste – Save Our Species campaign emerged as a model for presenting marketing campaigns that combine brand and message. But before getting to the story itself, it is essential to understand how marketing campaigns work and why some brands take the risk of “symbolic change” in their logos, an action that may seem simple from the outside but is, in fact, based on precise strategy and science.

The Idea First: What Makes a Campaign Successful?

A marketing campaign is not just a beautiful ad or striking visual creativity. Before anything else, it is a strategic decision that begins with understanding the audience, defining the objective, and then crafting the message that reaches that audience in the most impactful way.

Today’s audience does not engage with generic messages or vague statements. They look for campaigns that clarify the brand’s stance, reveal a human side, or bring an issue to the table and present it intelligently. This is where the power of what is known as the “messages within campaigns” becomes clear, such as:

• Educational messages
• Emotional messages
• Motivational messages
• Environmental and social messages

The latter has become an essential part of the global marketing landscape because it positions the brand in front of its responsibility toward the world, not through preaching, but through participation.

From our experience at Lhamim, while executing numerous marketing and creative campaigns, we find that the message driven by value rather than advertising is the one that lasts longer and extends beyond the limits of a season or event. Messages built on understanding the audience and respecting their emotions create real impact and achieve measurable results.

Why Should Campaigns Carry a Message in the First Place?

• Because the audience has become more aware.
•  Because the competition has become stronger.
• And because major brands no longer measure success by the number of views, but by the quality of their relationship with the audience.

Having a message within the campaign gives it:

• A clear direction
• A reason to exist
• A meaning people can adopt

This is where the value of environmental messages in particular becomes evident. They are among the messages that resonate most globally, because they relate to one planet that everyone lives on. Yet the success of this type of campaign depends on the brand’s ability to deliver the message intelligently and effortlessly, in a way that makes the audience feel it is not a cosmetic step, but part of a clear stance.

And this is exactly what Lacoste did.

What Did Lacoste Achieve in the World of Marketing Campaigns?

Here, we move from the principle of “a campaign with a message” to a practical case that proved the power of this approach. What Lacoste did was a message upon which it built a story that captured the world’s attention.

The History of the Lacoste Logo: A Step Back to Understand the Present

The Beginning of the Crocodile

The story of the crocodile logo began in the late 1920s, when French tennis player René Lacoste was gaining widespread fame thanks to his competitive performance and winning spirit. During one match, a journalist nicknamed him “the crocodile” because of his persistence on the court and his ability to hold on to the ball until the very last moment. The nickname became a personal symbol, and later turned into an official logo years later when Lacoste founded his brand.

Since then, the crocodile has not been just a marketing logo; it has become a part of the brand’s original story. It became a lucky charm and an essential element in shaping the personality of Lacoste.

Over the decades, this connection never changed. The crocodile remained present on almost every piece, becoming one of the most distinctive logos in the worlds of fashion and sportswear.

Changes and Developments in the Crocodile Logo

Over time, the logo underwent several aesthetic refinements in order to keep up with the visual language of each era.
The fine details of the crocodile were simplified, the lines were updated, the proportions of the drawing were adjusted, and the embroidery quality was improved to become clearer on modern fabrics. But throughout all stages of development, the original logo never disappeared. This reflects the company’s commitment to its roots and identity, no matter how trends or artistic directions shifted.

The Symbolic Change in 2025: The GOAT Logo

Among the most notable moments in the evolution of the logo was a special edition launched by the brand in honor of tennis legend Novak Djokovic.
This time, the crocodile was replaced by the GOAT symbol, short for “Greatest Of All Time.”

The change was not merely visual, nor was it meant to create short-term buzz. It was a clear message: this edition celebrates an exceptional player who deserves to be immortalized with a title that reflects his place in history.

Through this example, we see that Lacoste had used logo changes before, but always in a limited, well-studied context tied to a clear story that serves a specific value.

The Save Our Species Campaign: When the Logo Becomes a Message

After all this history, we reach the campaign highlighted widely by global media and social platforms, the same campaign we refer to as a model for building a message-driven, human-centered narrative.

The Core Idea

Lacoste decided in this campaign to temporarily remove the crocodile logo and replace it with logos of endangered animals.
This step wasn’t just for grabbing attention; it was an attempt to use one of the strongest symbols in fashion to shed light on a threat facing nature.

The core idea said:
“If the disappearance of the crocodile caught your attention, how can the disappearance of these animals from the world not?”

Meaning: the absence of the crocodile on the shirt was not a superficial decision, but a new visual language the brand used to deliver a message rooted in real-world issues.

The Message Carried by the Campaign

The message was simple and profound at the same time: the extinction of endangered species is not a passing environmental headline, but an ongoing tragedy unseen by many because it happens “slowly and silently.”

The absence of the crocodile, the brand’s symbol, took on a clear meaning: the absence of these creatures from nature.

This is the very essence of their creative idea; you don’t need a ten-minute explanation or a long environmental report to get your message across.
One shirt without the crocodile says everything.

Campaign Execution

Lacoste selected a group of extremely rare animals, such as:

• The Sumatran rhinoceros
• The Asian forest turtle
• The northern sportive lemur

Each animal received a precisely embroidered symbol, and each logo appeared on a limited number of shirts equal to the number of animals remaining in the wild.

The Impactful Equation: One Shirt = One Animal

Lacoste applied this equation by turning cold numbers and long reports into tangible products.
If only 40 animals remained of a certain species, they produced only 40 shirts, matching the exact remaining count. In this way, the audience could “touch” the problem and see it at the same time.

The total production reached only 1,775 shirts, representing all ten species combined, which amplified the campaign’s rarity and importance.

Collaboration with Environmental Organizations

To protect its credibility, Lacoste partnered with scientific organizations that monitor the status of these animals. These collaborations gave the campaign greater weight and transformed it from a purely creative idea into a real initiative with tangible impact on the ground.

Why Did This Campaign Succeed?

The success of the campaign did not come from the new logo alone, but from the context surrounding it.

• The campaign carried a strong and clear message.
•  It used one of the brand’s core assets (the crocodile) to tell a story.
•  It relied on a tangible fact (number of animals = number of shirts).
•  It delivered an educational experience before a purchasing experience.

This type of campaign has a unique ability to endure, because it does not rely on trends but on a cause that does not lose its value over time.

A Strategic Reading from Our Perspective at Lhamim

From our position at Lhamim, we see this campaign as one of the examples of how to build a campaign that starts with the idea, not the appearance.

It is a campaign that reminds us that:

• People connect with symbols more than with numbers.
• A small change can deliver a powerful message.
• A brand with a genuine story holds double the impact.
• Environmental and social messages require authenticity before anything else.

We also believe that Lacoste’s success did not come from the “disappearance of the crocodile,” but from the reason that made the crocodile disappear.

In Conclusion: What Do We Learn from the Lacoste Story?

Marketing campaigns that live long are not those built on shock value or temporary buzz, but those that carry a clear value, draw from the brand’s history, and deliver a message that serves people, society, or the environment.

The Lacoste campaign confirms that when major brands address important messages, they must do so with awareness and responsibility, and connect the message to their true identity.

And in a world that is changing rapidly, this campaign will remain an example of how a simple idea, such as the disappearance of a logo, can open a wide door for awareness, attention, and impact.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What is the purpose of marketing campaigns?
   The purpose of marketing campaigns is not merely to advertise a product or present an attractive design, but to build a relationship with the audience through a clear message that reflects the brand’s stance and delivers meaningful value.
2. Why do campaigns need a clear message?
   Because today’s audience is more aware and looks for a reason to care about the brand. A clear message gives the campaign direction, a reason to exist, and a meaning people can adopt.
3. When did the crocodile logo first appear?
   The crocodile logo first appeared in the late 1920s with the brand’s founder, René Lacoste, and became a stable symbol that distinguishes the brand and gives it a unique character.
4. What did Lacoste do in the Save Our Species campaign?
   To promote the Save Our Species campaign, Lacoste temporarily removed the crocodile logo and replaced it with endangered animals, producing a limited number of shirts equal to the number of animals remaining in the wild.
5. Why did the Lacoste campaign succeed?
   The campaign succeeded by combining several elements: the power of a symbolic asset (the crocodile), a clear message tied to an environmental cause, credible execution through partnerships with environmental organizations, and a tangible educational experience that turned the shirt into a living symbol of the cause.