Engaging in a massive rebranding effort seems so glamorous. Back in the late 90s and early 2000s it was almost normal for companies to change the whole look & feel of their brand, literally overnight, on an annual basis. (Actually, some very good companies continue to operate this way today.) But I believe great campaigns are often eased in to, rather than appearing one day in perfect form.
It's not often discussed, but making small refinements versus one massive effort is often the best way to go. As humans, this is how we process things anyway. Quick shifts can be jarring... they can make us categorically reject things without proper consideration. But if we ease into something, we're much more willing to accept change. Then before we know it, we've fully embraced something new.
The same is true for brands. And so many of today's great brands took several steps to get to brilliance. Nike did great stuff in the 80's--but they've done brilliant stuff since then. It's a process.
It appears the team at Moncler recently went through this process. Brief background: Moncler is an outerwear company based in Italy. Very nice stuff. Originally established in 1952 as a premier outdoor product for climbers and explorers, the brand has since refined itself into a fashion house, without losing focus on extreme weather protection.
I think their most recent campaign is great. But we'll get to that in a second. First, it's interesting to take a glance at Moncler's Fall/Winter advertising for the last several seasons. The brand took small steps each time--all without any copy--refining itself each step of the way to capture the essence of who they are: stylish, warm, able to withstand severe weather.
'04/'05 winter

Product as hero. The message is about warmth with hints of fashion.
'05/'06 winter

Product as hero...becomes more "life-like." Warmth messaging continues, but added to it is an added sense of ruggedness. More fashionable colors/cuts.
'06/'07 winter

Moncler brings fashion to forefront. Models introduced. Warmth has been lessened and ruggedness all but removed.
'07/'08 winter

Nice. We have arrived. Fashion stays but the true authenticity of the brand rears back. Equal parts of warmth, ruggedness and style--all still expressed only through visuals. Brand identity is very prominent.
Seems simple on the surface, but it took several steps to arrive at, what I feel to be, a great fashion piece. For Moncler the product treatment had to evolve, and the move into fashion had to co-exist with product benefit. I don't believe the '07/'08 ad could have followed the '04/'05 ad. Very hard to approve internally. Jarring for consumers and retailers to process.
Patience and learning. Sometimes it takes multiple steps for a brand to arrive at the right place.