#TNFOutOfOffice celebrates that moment where you log off, unplug, and get yourself back into nature with your mates – and the three best entries will each win $1,000 worth of The North Face gear!

 

Hello,

I am on annual leave from the 16th of January to the 30th of January and will reply upon my return.

Regards,

You (probably)

 

Why have we done this? Why does the corporate world pride itself on ‘out of office’ messages so mundane that your brain leaks out of your ears as you read them?

We’ve had enough of it at We Are Explorers and recently begun challenging each other to write the OOO we’ve always wanted, this one’s from our Digital Campaign Producer:

Howdy!

Sorry I can’t come to the computer right now… I’m staying in a log cabin in a wilderness lodge trying my luck at inflatable kayak fishing … let’s hope I keep those hooks contained.

I will be back in the office Jan 16th (if all goes well with the kayaking).

Cheers,
Sian

Then there’s this one from our Founder, Henry:

I’m incredibly excited to announce that I’m currently unavailable.

The wilderness called last week and said I’m needed. Gotta explore some mountains by foot, canoe and bicycle haven’t I? 

If it’s urgent, then welcome to the adventure! Come find me in the forests of Northern NSW – I’m the bald guy with a dodgy beard and a big grin. I’ll be back on the 9th of January.

Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year!

 

 

Not too shabby. It’s amazing how creative you can get when you defy every single corporate convention. Here’s mine:

You’ve reached Tim’s inbox, which is the digital equivalent of that pile of clothes on the chair in your bedroom.

I know what you’re thinking, ‘chair in the bedroom? Must be very nice’, but don’t worry. It’s a metaphorical chair.

I’m outside until January 9th, ignoring chairs of all sorts, metaphorical, meeting, and especially those weird ones made for showers. 

If I steal your camp chair sometime in the next fortnight, please note that this email cannot be used as evidence.

Cheers!

You get the gist.

 

But we know that, sadly, many of you simply can’t write an out of office message like this – the one you really want to write – without compromising your professional life, or at least risking a Very Serious talking to from your manager…

That’s where The North Face Out Of Office comes in.

 

 

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#TNFOutOfOffice

Funnily enough, around the time that our out of office battle royale was kicking off, our mates at The North Face Australia & New Zealand got in touch.

They’re nature frothers and want to encourage everyone to get into the outdoors this January and February (traditionally the months that emails in the Southern Hemisphere bounce like a pogo stick).

 

 

TNF Head of Marketing Sarah Hunt said that they want to ‘capture that liberating feeling you get when you set your out of office message, drop the tools, and escape your daily grind to reconnect with nature.’

Damn straight. So how’s it work?

How to Enter

1. Follow @thenorthface_aunz on Instagram

2. Use the hashtag #TNFOutOfOffice when you upload an image to Instagram from one of your recent adventures

3. Caption the image with your own personal ‘out of office’ message.

4. Make sure to post before Wednesday 15th of February.

Winners will be chosen based on:

1. Image shared: those who display the most passion for the outdoors.

2. The caption of the image: TNF wants you to write what you’ve always wanted to type in your ‘out of office’ auto-reply email, but never quite had the guts to pull the trigger on.

Simple enough eh? Three winners will be selected and will each receive $1000 worth of gear from The North Face for their next multi-day adventure.