Ray-Ban has always had a thing for outsiders. Since 1937, its frames have been worn by rule-breakers and cultural shapers, from counterculture icons to Gen Z creators carving out their own space today. Now, the brand is leaning into that legacy with Ray-Ban.EXE, a new campaign and animated short that blends Korean webtoon-inspired visuals with a dystopian storyline about identity, rebellion, and waking up to who you really are.
The campaign made its debut on 4 September at Ray-Ban’s first-ever pop-up in Seongsu-dong, Seoul – a symbolic choice, given the district’s reputation as a hub of creativity and one of the driving forces behind Korea’s cultural wave. This launch marks Ray-Ban’s shift towards connecting with Korean pop culture as a gateway to Gen Z audiences worldwide, tapping into the influence of a generation whose aesthetic, attitude, and creativity ripple far beyond its borders.
The animated film transports you to a future devoid of individuality, where a world is controlled by humanoid machines programmed to erase memory, expression, and identity. At the heart of this dystopian society lies EV11, a robot tasked with destroying anything that deviates from the established norms. But everything changes when he stumbles upon a black briefcase containing a pair of Ray-Ban Clubmasters. The moment he slides them on, something inside stirs: a spark of memory, a pulse of identity, an instinct to break free. Suddenly marked as a deviant, EV11 escapes and re-emerges in the real world as Kim, a human slowly reclaiming his sense of self. Inside a hidden facility, he finds others still trapped in the simulation. A group of rebels hand him another pair of Ray-Bans, this time to pass forward, and when he places them on a sleeping girl, her own awakening begins.
This isn’t the first time Ray-Ban has embraced the power of animation to tell a story. In 2015, the ‘No Squares Allowed’ campaign for Ray-Ban Round was brought to life by McBess & Simon, produced by Passion Paris, in a gritty, line-art spot where a businessman transforms into a tattooed rebel. The following year, Nicolas Ménard, via Nexus Productions, turned Ray-Ban frames into kaleidoscopic projections on Manhattan buildings for ‘Get Creative at 116 Wooster,’ a trippy, colour-rich loop. The brand’s recent creative history also includes a notable departure into live action with the 2023 ‘Genuine Since’ short film shot by Alasdair McLellan.
The choice to lean into Korean webtoon artistry isn’t accidental. Its bold, graphic visual language connects directly with a generation raised on visual storytelling. With Ray-Ban.EXE, the brand isn’t abandoning its rebellious roots, but it’s instead remixing them with a new cultural moment where identity is fluid, connection is digital, and style is an act of resistance.
Find out more at ray-ban.com
photography. courtesy of Ray-Ban
words. Gennaro Costanzo











































































































































































