It’s a bold move for an eyewear business to create an ad campaign featuring absolutely no specs or shades, but the campaign is surprisingly evocative. It features pleasingly unretouched portraits of people screwing up their eyes as they’re caught in a beam of sunlight, accompanied by a simple tagline: Bring on the sun.

Base Design’s partner and ECD Thierry Brunfaut says the posters embrace a “universal feeling” of being dazzled by the sun. According to him, the campaign is the next stage in Ace & Tate’s ‘brand evolution’, as the eight-year-old business faces up to an influx of new competitors.

The aim, the studio explain, is to help Ace & Tate embrace its more mature status, and develop a more consistent narrative.

That’s not to say its personality-free, however. “The visuals speak for themselves; they embody a sunny spirit and cheerful mood,” says Brunfaut. “The brand strikes that ‘Dutch Design’ balance: be thorough and serious about what you do, but stay offbeat.”

And Base Design’s approach seems to be paying off, with the campaign widely praised on social media, and also apparently winning Ace & Tate its second best sales day the weekend after launch.

basedesign.com