The holiday season always means the launch of new adverts made by jewelers or generic promotional bodies, such as the DPA for our industry. Love and iconic pieces are always at the heart of the matter. Here is a small selection made by Rubel & Ménasché.
Let’s start by recalling the three new “Real is Rare” ads inaugurated for the 2017 holidays by the Diamond Producers Association in mid-November. One of them shows a married couple, one shows a newly engaged couple and, finally, one shows the meeting of two girls: “The Reveal”, “The Other Party” and “A Girl Like You.”
The broadcasting of each commercial (with an overall budget of $ 50 million U.S.) was targeted during different occasions, the Latin Grammy Awards on Univision and the American Music Awards on ABC, or directly on the DPA’s YouTube channel for the latter. Much less trendy and fanciful than the two DPA adverts from last year, they do nonetheless speak to a generation of thirty-somethings and indeed to couples at the end of their twenties and at the beginning of their forties. Fairly classically executed, they ultimately illustrate the images that we would willingly apply to couples like these three, at this stage of their respective stories: tenderness and deepened love, excitement and desire and, finally, the certain folly and fancy of the encounter. For the first two, we clearly see the diamonds on the hands of these women.
It is the video with the female couple which is the closest to last year’s two Real is Rare commercials (voice over, recounted love, movement, dynamism, imperfection, etc.). And I must confess, I may well have been married for 6 years now and together with my husband for… hmm… 16 years, but I am more touched by this 3rd video or those of 2016, Runaways and Wild and Kind, which I nevertheless found a little stereotypical in a trendy-kind of way. Whether we like them or not, it seems to me that they aroused more emotion and that I will remember them better. But everyone is free to interpret them as they wish…
And on this subject, I invite you to read the article by Michelle Graff, published while I was writing this one, which gives her interpretation of these very same adverts: 3 Holiday Commercials That Get It Right. Dear Michelle, I agree, the Apple ad does a nice job: we’d quite happily board that train! It makes me think of an advert that we’re seeing in France at the moment, for an online streaming service as I recall. We follow a young woman walking around town and becoming involved in very Hollywood-type situations… finishing her day sat in a café opposite a man who, although he is not Prince Charming, seems to have the good taste of being both completely real and the man of her dreams! Every time, they’re a good match!
What else is there?
The Maison Cartier—whose The Proposal videos (Jump right in and My favorite song) from 5 months ago were attractive, touching and romantic, concentrating on the magic of encounters, their unexpected side—has very short videos (10 seconds max.) on its YouTube channel that focus on its Juste un clou and Love flagship jewelry products. The videos are calibrated for Instagram.
Van Cleef & Arpel, with Diamond Breeze, released on 23 November, remains faithful to its bucolic and phantasmagoric spirit as we follow a bird and a ladybird out walking, in a winter landscape, discovering the Maison’s very fine jewelry pieces. Savoir-faire and tradition above all.
On 21 November, the Maison Tiffany & Co. launched its seasonal video—A Tiffany Christmas—a short and fun animated film that is very much in the Christmas spirit. We follow the traces of a wooden puppet that slides on the snow and marvels at the “house” creations—La clef, Tiffany City Hard Wear, Tiffany T, etc.—before rolling, in the true sense, on a snowball hiding the easily identifiable, pretty, robin-egg-blue-colored box. The message is crystal clear. I liked last year’s video, Make The World Sparkle, which was a little punchy at the end and had an engaging message, a lot more to be honest.
In the same vein, here’s a film #PiagetHoliday2017 : a journey on the sunny side of life in Gstaad (16 November) that also takes us on a walk, through the snow-covered scenery of Gstaad, behind figurines that invite us to admire Possession watches, bracelets and pendant. We end up applauding fireworks from the terrace of the palace… Poetic and charming.
As we are going on a trip, then watch the beautiful Piaget video that, this summer, announced the new high jewelry collection beneath the sun of paradisiacal Italian beaches: Sunlight journey, a Piaget high jewelry collection. The collection is as sun-drenched as its promotional film, which, in this month of December, is just fine by us!
At Boucheron, there is no marketing campaign for the holiday season, but you can admire their Bestiary “in real life”: the Maison’s high jewelry pieces have been integrated into illustrated and artistic landscapes. It’s beautiful, without excessive pretention, and it is original! Boucheron Bestiary – Illustration by Frédérique Vernillet, 2
Finally, at Chanel, the jewelry collection is associated with the presentation of the 2017-2018 cruise collection worn by the divine Marine Vacth. Essentially, we attend the photo shoot, with very annoying music in the background; but it’s Chanel, so it’s like a dream. With Chanel, we always have the impression that we have to “be part of the show” (catwalk or otherwise)…
In conclusion, I invite you to read, while waiting this year’s edition (if there will be one?), the article by Rob Bates who provides his reading (and that of the millennials) of the adverts that were broadcast to the American market in 2016. It’s a really instructive vision that encourages us to wonder about the messages being conveyed.
I find myself coming back to the idea that it is obviously not as easy as all that to appeal to everyone and to be modern when talking about jewelry! Making us dream, taking us far away, making us want to climb aboard that story… what a challenge! Regardless, I hope that these videos will have provided you with a feast for the eyes and a beneficial and relaxing moment.
