Lauren Oakes Creative

Selected Work

Where strategic thinking becomes world-class creative.

Each project begins with the work. The strategy reveals itself as you scroll—the observation, the insight, and the thinking that made the creative inevitable.

Strategy informs every decision. Creative is how the strategy becomes tangible.

01 / 08Spirits

Modern Marlboro

Pendleton Whisky

Pendleton Whisky · Spirits / Western Lifestyle

Reimagining one of America's most iconic advertising archetypes through a modern female perspective.

The Opportunity

Translate an established, community-rooted whiskey brand into a modern luxury visual language — building authenticity, lifestyle, and trust without losing the rodeo energy that defines it.

The fastest way to make a brand feel luxury is not to chase a new audience — it is to make the audience you already own feel chosen.

Strategic Observation

Creative Direction

A motion-led campaign captured the brand's rodeo energy and translated it into cinematic, ownable footage, supported by a library of stills styled for editorial and lifestyle placement.

Pendleton Whisky lifestyle still
Pendleton Whisky evening campaign frame
Pendleton Whisky atmospheric campaign image

The Outcome

  • A premium, modern visual identity grounded in authentic community trust
  • Motion and still assets engineered for cross-channel campaign use
  • Elevated brand perception without alienating the core audience
Read the Full Engagement
02 / 08Editorial
Cowgirl Magazine luxury Western editorial campaign cover frame

The New Voice of Western Women

Cowgirl Magazine

Cowgirl Magazine · Editorial / Luxury Media

Editorial storytelling exploring the evolution of modern Western culture while honoring its heritage.

The Opportunity

Establish publication credibility and cultural influence by building a luxury Western editorial voice with genuine authority and aspirational positioning.

Editorial authority is the most durable form of influence in luxury — you cannot buy it, you can only build it, and once built it attracts everything else.

Strategic Observation

Creative Direction

A luxury editorial system — photography, art direction, and storytelling — established a cohesive, high-credibility voice across features and covers.

Editorial subject on a wooden fence in a mountain meadow
Three women riding horses through a river at golden hour
Three women with horses outside the Hotel Jerome in Aspen
Two women in Western fashion walking in front of a barn
Red snakeskin cowboy boots editorial detail
Western jewelry and fashion styling details

The Outcome

  • A credible, ownable luxury Western editorial voice
  • Cultural influence that attracts premium partnership
  • An authority platform that compounds brand equity over time
Read the Full Engagement
03 / 08Spirits
Jack Daniel's bottles raised over campfire flames at dusk

American Heritage

Jack Daniel's

Jack Daniel's · Spirits / Heritage Brand

Placing an American icon back inside the culture the next generation is actually living.

The Opportunity

Develop premium lifestyle imagery that honored one of America's most iconic whiskey brands while connecting authentically with the modern Western consumer — without diluting the equity of the label or leaning on the bottle to do the work.

Heritage brands maintain relevance by placing legacy inside modern cultural moments instead of asking consumers to admire history from a distance.

Strategic Observation

Creative Direction

We directed a cast of authentic Western talent through a series of golden-hour scenes, then graded every frame for a warm, cinematic consistency the brand could own across channels. Styling, talent, and location were treated as a single editorial world rather than a set of disconnected shots.

Cowgirl holding a Jack Daniel's bottle at golden hour
Cowgirls gathered around a barn table
Riders on horseback by a barn in black and white
Cowgirl in a vintage truck at golden hour

The Outcome

  • Premium marketing assets capable of supporting editorial, partnership, and lifestyle initiatives
  • A distinct, ownable visual point of view connecting heritage to a new audience
  • A versatile cross-channel content library for social and campaign use
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04 / 08Western Brands
Bride in a lace gown standing on the tailgate of a vintage green pickup truck at golden hour, with a groom in a cowboy hat and an acoustic guitar resting against the truck

Elevating Western Heritage

Corral Boots

Corral Boots · Western Footwear

Repositioning a heritage boot brand around lifestyle and emotion rather than product.

The Opportunity

Support Corral's evolution from product-focused marketing toward emotionally driven storytelling that positions the boots within a desirable, cohesive lifestyle.

Consumers rarely remember boot photography. They remember the life those boots represented.

Strategic Observation

Creative Direction

A cohesive desert campaign with deliberate styling, light, and color grading created a recognizable brand environment that elevated the product through context.

Couple embracing at golden hour on the beach with two horseback riders silhouetted against the setting sun
Couple in Western wedding attire embracing beside a beach bonfire at dusk while two riders wait on horseback
Editorial detail of cowboy boots, a lace gown, a black hat and an acoustic guitar arranged on a truck bed with a Just Married window sign
Close-up of Corral-branded leather boot soles resting in a vintage green truck window as a couple embraces inside
Groom in a black cowboy hat spraying champagne beside a laughing bride at a vintage truck in golden light
Group of friends dancing and celebrating around a beach bonfire at sunset
Behind the scenes: a cinematographer films guests dancing around a beach bonfire at sunset
Three men silhouetted around a driftwood bonfire on the beach at sunset

The Outcome

  • A repositioned brand narrative built on lifestyle and emotion
  • A recognizable, ownable campaign world that extends across collections
  • Marketing assets that support retail, wholesale, and brand storytelling
Read the Full Engagement
05 / 08Western Brands
Two women in Western wear and roller-skate boots lounging on a pink vintage convertible on Broadway in downtown Nashville

Broadway Pop

Dingo Boots

Dingo Boots · Western Footwear / Lifestyle

A playful collision of pin-up Americana, rockabilly culture, vintage Nashville, and Western fashion.

The Opportunity

Dingo needed more than beautiful boot photography. The opportunity was to build a distinctive brand universe that captured the label's playful, feminine, fashion-forward personality and made it instantly recognizable to a younger, style-driven consumer — before they ever read the logo.

Product sells once. Personality sells for years. The brands that win don't photograph a boot — they build a world the consumer wants to live inside.

Strategic Observation

Creative Direction

We art-directed a golden-hour-to-dusk shoot across Broadway and Nashville's neon alleys, casting two women whose energy embodied the brand. The visual system was engineered for cohesion: a candy-pop palette of pink, mint, and cream, embroidered neon-Nashville boots, and a hero convertible that anchored every frame. Styling, location, talent, and color grade were treated as one editorial world so the campaign reads as a brand — not a catalog.

Pink vintage Thunderbird convertible parked on Broadway in downtown Nashville with two models in Western wear and roller-skate boots
Close-up of embroidered neon-Nashville cowboy boots on roller skates standing in the middle of Broadway at dusk
Model in a green cowboy hat and embroidered Western shirt behind the wheel of a vintage truck, lit in cinematic teal
Model in a green hat resting inside a teal vintage truck with white roller-skate cowboy boots propped up
Two models skating through a neon-lit Nashville alley in cowboy hats and roller-skate boots

The Outcome

  • A distinctive, ownable brand world that expresses Dingo's playful, feminine personality
  • A cohesive campaign visual language built for editorial, social, and retail use
  • Fashion-forward positioning that broadens relevance with a younger, style-driven consumer
Read the Full Engagement
06 / 08Western Brands
Dan Post Boots bridal campaign — couple on a grand estate staircase

The Vow

Dan Post Boots

Dan Post Boots · Western Footwear / Bridal

Claiming an unowned moment by placing heritage boots inside modern Western romance.

The Opportunity

Show Dan Post's craftsmanship in a context that felt aspirational and personal, styling a romantic bridal campaign that let heritage footwear live inside modern Western romance without reading as costume.

Heritage products earn new occasions when they are styled into the moments customers already care about — not when they ask to be admired on their own.

Strategic Observation

Creative Direction

Golden-hour portraiture, a vintage convertible, and interior estate scenes were art-directed and styled into one cohesive romantic world, with product detail held in frame throughout.

Bridal couple seated on porch steps with cowboy boots
Bride on a staircase with lace veil and cowboy boots
Bridal couple with a vintage convertible at the estate
Intimate bridal couple portrait with boots visible

The Outcome

  • A bridal campaign visual language that expands Dan Post's relevance beyond traditional Western retail
  • Emotive, editorial-grade imagery suited to lookbook, social, and partnership use
  • A distinctive positioning of heritage footwear within the modern wedding market
Read the Full Engagement
07 / 08Spirits

Shared Ground

Silverbelly x Dan Post

Silverbelly x Dan Post · Spirits / Western Lifestyle

Two heritage products, one Western world — turning a collaboration into a single lifestyle.

The Opportunity

Bring together a musician-founded whiskey and a heritage boot brand in a campaign that felt authentic to Western living, where quality craftsmanship meets the freedom of the open road — without either brand overpowering the other.

The strongest brand collaborations don't share a frame — they share a world the audience already wants to live in.

Strategic Observation

Creative Direction

Firelit product photography, golden-hour lifestyle scenes, and a motion edit were directed into a cohesive campaign spanning stills and film.

Silverbelly Whiskey bottles with cowboy boots
Friends gathered around a campfire with Silverbelly Whiskey
Silverbelly Whiskey bottles and crystal glasses backlit by fire
Woman on horseback with Silverbelly Whiskey
Cowboy boots on the dance floor

The Outcome

  • A co-branded lifestyle campaign usable by both partners across social and retail
  • A cohesive spirits-and-footwear visual world grounded in authentic Western ritual
  • A stills-and-motion content library extending the reach of a musician-founded whiskey
Read the Full Engagement
08 / 08Editorial
YSL Libre perfume balanced on a stiletto heel silhouette

Couture Frontier

YSL Beauty

YSL Beauty · Beauty / Luxury (Spec)

Proving Western imagery can carry the restraint and polish of prestige beauty.

The Opportunity

Prove that Western imagery can carry the restraint, tension, and polish of prestige beauty advertising — bridging cowgirl culture and couture without diluting either.

Spec work is where a creative director proves range — showing not just what a brand is, but what it could become in your hands.

Strategic Observation

Creative Direction

Silhouetted portraiture, architectural framing, and moody product still lifes were art-directed into a spare, high-contrast editorial system.

Cowgirl riding a horse silhouetted against a backlit sky
YSL Libre perfume on a leather saddle at golden hour
Woman on a modern architectural balcony
YSL Libre perfume balanced on a heel with a stained glass window

The Outcome

  • A portfolio-defining demonstration of luxury-beauty creative direction
  • A proof of concept for positioning global prestige brands within Western culture
  • An editorial system balancing couture restraint with authentic Western atmosphere
Read the Full Engagement

In Progress

Strategy in motion.

Luxury mountain lodge at dusk below the Grand Teton rangeLaunching August 2026

The Brand Ecosystem

Tetons Collection

Luxury destination campaign bringing together hospitality, heritage brands, spirits, fashion, automotive, and editorial storytelling to explore how premium destinations become long-term brand ecosystems.

Premium unbranded spirits bottle and glass on a sunlit ranch barIn Development

Identity First

Happy Cow Vodka

Brand strategy, creative direction, and campaign development for a premium Western spirits brand.

Group of friends in modern Western style gathered at golden hourOngoing Engagement

Belonging

Planet Cowboy

Lifestyle brand strategy, creative direction, community building, and campaign development.

Creative is not an afterthought. It is the visible expression of strategic thinking.

Ready to build something with this level of thinking behind it?

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