How daring brands use social media: sexting and Botticellian springsne
Over the past few seasons we have seen fashion brands really get to grips with the central importance of social media as a promotional tool. Viral campaigns with hashtags, irresistible call to action, models with thousands of followers hired as testimonials and contests to increase engagement where 15 minutes of fame have now become 15 seconds.
Calvin Klein was quick to pick up on the social slang, talking the talk of a young smart target. The Calvin Klein Jean’s Fall 2015 campaign, shot by Mario Sorrenti, came to represent sexting as the cast were voiced by suggestive messages. The campaign was accompanied by the classic hashtag #mycalvins which we saw again in the Spring 2016.
There is another brand, also well known for its denim, which is certainly not shy on social networks – Diesel. The SS16 campaign incorporates all the elements necessary for effective viral action: carefully chosen emojis, popular testimonials and irreverent taglines and hashtags. Just check out the shot that Joe Jonas (one of the Jonas Brothers) published on his Instagram
The campaign was immortalised by Santiago & Mauricio, under the creative direction of Nicola Formichetti.
And of course we couldn’t be without a video in which the fresh and cheerful soundtrack is punctuated with tones and graphics from the messaging world – texts, emoticons and selfies.
Moreover, Diesel decided to pinned on digital-focused campaign on Pornhub and YouPron websites.
“We wanted to have a relevant digital campaign. So where do people go online? They like cute cats and porn” said Alban Adam, Diesel’s PR manager for Northern Europe. “We said, ‘We need to be there because that’s where the traffic is and let’s not pretend that nobody goes there.”
(source www.adweek.com)
But don’t be mistaken in thinking that Diesel have pinned everything on risqué allusions. The Diesel Adventure that appeared in Diesel Magazine Issue 2 tells another story.
Shot by Alex Sainsbury under the artistic direction of Jamie Brunskill and with artworks by Marcelo Monreal, the digital adventure takes us on a stream of liquid inspiration, an inclusive place in which genres and identities mix and where the VIPs are the people who have conquered Instagram with their style. Diesel talks to them, transforming them into Botticellian personalities adorned with bucolic illustrations in the form of birdsong. The magazine also had a lot of visibility on the brand’s social channels, although the soundtrack wasn’t featured, which helped immerse us into the spring mood in the video.
