With synthetic fabrics and athleisure on the rise, cotton’s relevance has waned. Though celebrated for its sustainability, quality, and comfort, its performance, circularity, and style are often underestimated. To reverse this trend, Cotton Incorporated enlisted Mythic to rebuild confidence in cotton and drive traffic to its resource hub, CottonWorks.com. Under the slogan “Cotton Can,” and leveraging AI-generated imagery alongside photo compositing, Mythic delivered a high-impact, multi-channel campaign that reaffirms cotton’s place in today’s fashion and textile landscape.

By: Alexandra Frazier, Associate Creative Director & Copywriter, Mythic

Cotton Incorporated came to Mythic with a unique challenge: remind fabric decision-makers that cotton’s still got it. In a world where synthetic materials, the rise of athleisure, and greenwashing have encroached on cotton’s market position, we needed to reassert its relevance as a dynamic and all-natural fiber in a rapidly evolving landscape. 

Our goal was twofold:
1) Inspire renewed confidence in cotton by showcasing its natural sustainability and advanced performance capabilities
2) Drive traffic to CottonWorks.com, a website hosted by Cotton Incorporated, where designers, product manufacturers, and fashion buyers can access science-backed resources and key fiber insights. 

Through surveys, competitive analysis, and a deep dive into cotton science and CottonWorks.com, we uncovered perception gaps that could sharpen cotton’s edge in a crowded market. 

Fiber decision-makers struggled with misleading claims while balancing end-buyer demands. Our research found they valued cotton for sustainability (61%), quality (59%), and comfort (51%) but underestimated its performance (38%), circularity (22%), and style (16%). 

To establish clarity and trust through a campaign platform that would allow us to speak to cotton’s myriad benefits, we locked in on a big idea: “Cotton Can.” More than a campaign line, “Cotton Can” became a rallying cry and raison d’être that only cotton could deliver. It highlights the unexpected, blending creativity and science to position cotton as the dynamic choice for creators shaping the future of trends, performance, and sustainability.

We married bold headlines with lush visuals that situated cotton in the context of the natural and fashion worlds. Without a budget for original photography, we created images through a combination of smart AI generation and traditional photo compositing, achieving an ownable look and feel that could cut through the overly technical B2B space. 

Once the creative executions were dialed in, we connected with our audience through trade publications, fashion news, fiber websites, social media, email, and more. A strategic blend of print, digital, and trade show activations formed a high-impact “surround sound” campaign, delivering a unified message across every key touchpoint. The results? A visually arresting, high-impact campaign that sparked conversation and drove key traffic to the CottonWorks.com site, proving that “Cotton Can” be a difference maker.

Credits 

David Olsen, Executive Creative Director 

Audelino Moreno, Associate Creative Director – Art 

Alexandra Frazier, Associate Creative Director – Copy 

Alex-Marie Ablan, Senior Designer 

Jeff Buchbinder, Production Artist 

Marissa Stabler, Vice President of Strategy & Planning 

Caroline Coffin, Director of Strategy & Planning 

Caleb Petty, Strategic Planner 

Jordan Gayle, Senior Account Executive 

Madison Racel, Creative Resource Manager

Mythic is a fiercely strategic, full-service marketing agency bridging the gap between brand vision and measurable growth. We partner with a diverse range of clients—from challenger brands to Fortune 500 companies—crafting tailored solutions to meet their unique business goals. By integrating our capabilities across strategy, creative, content development, CRM, and social media, we build compelling brand experiences that drive customer loyalty, engagement, and ultimately, long-term success.

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