The Diamond Producers Association has released three videos on Funny or Die to promote natural diamonds—and slam its lab-grown competitors.
The likely-to-be-controversial videos, which use the same actor playing both natural and lab-grown diamonds, mock “factory diamonds” as being “made the same way I make my microwave dinners.”
“When you buy a natural diamond, you know that you’re getting something 100% authentic, unique, and that increases in value in time,” says one video’s copy. “And, that those qualities are what represent your relationship to the person you’re buying it for.”
DPA chief executive officer Jean-Marc Lieberherr says that the videos were created in association with the humor website.
“The Funny or Die team was given license to talk about natural and lab-grown diamonds in a fun, irreverent, yet respectful manner, on key questions of value, uniqueness, and origin,” Lieberherr says. “The three videos use a well-known advertising trope (modern Mac versus original PC) and interestingly reverse the roles between new and original—forcing a different look at the question of what authentic and original mean in the context of diamonds. The videos have led to positive engagement, and we have also learned how humor can play a role in our work.”
The first two videos have racked up over 400,000 Facebook views each and can be seen here and there.
Here is the third video, posted on Twitter.
The videos, which include the lab-grown stand-in futilely protesting that there is “nothing fake about me,” are sure to annoy many in that sector, who have long argued that lab-grown diamonds are just as “real” as natural diamonds.
