Tiffany & Co.’s + The Carters (Beyoncé & Jay-Z): “About Love” Advertising Campaign — Why It Works

Recent news hit that legendary brand Tiffany & Co. featured much beloved couple Jay-Z & Beyoncé in their new ad campaign. For the first time since the 128.54 carat Tiffany’s Diamond was unearthed in South Africa in 1877, this is the FIRST ad campaign featuring it. Adding to further history-making moments, through this campaign, Beyoncé became the first black woman e-v-e-r to wear this diamond, following actress Audrey Hepburn and Mary Whitehouse, wife of American diplomat Edwin Sheldon Whitehouse.

This said, let’s delve into why this campaign made us say “O.”

Brand — Tiffany & Co is an aspirational brand which has been in business since 1837. They don’t market their brand or products much. Quite honestly, because they don’t have to given their luxury brand status and appeal. Mass marketing is something that is often reserved for the masses, hence why a brand with a high ticket price would not have steeped history in marketing via traditional and mass channels such as TV, radio, print and social media.

Product — In this instance, clearly Tiffany & Co is not selling this 128.54 carat diamond. They are selling the Tiffany’s brand. Through this ad campaign, they appear to be working to drive brand relevance and maintain mindshare with consumers.

Relevance — One could argue if Tiffany & Co is relevant today. Given their brand age — almost two centuries old — they must do work to prove their relevance. And we think with their choice of Beyonce & Jay-Z, they achieved this goal.

What they did here…

First, Tiffany’s tapped into their brand foundation of love. When you give a Tiffany’s diamond, you show an extraordinary amount of love given the sheer price tag, and also the quality of their stones. Next, the brand harkened back to an old image of Audrey Hepburn, a yesteryear, yet legendary icon, and combined this with a current day, yet legendary icon, Beyoncé. Then, they pulled in her love Jay-Z, to make the campaign quite literally about love. And they re-enacted a classic photo by Hepburn with Beyoncé (hair, dress, gloves and swagger) and added a contemporary painting donning Tiffany’s blue from the private collection of the late, great, Neo-expressionism artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Integration of All Parts

An ad campaign is often just that, an artfully designed sales program designed to sell stuff to people. But, Tiffany & Co’s “About Love” campaign is a brand initiative encompassing a thoughtful blend of heritage, culture, love and artistry and community. We mention community because in tandem with this campaign, Tiffany & Co said it will donate $2 million towards scholarship and internship programs for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

And, The Carters filmed an ad with Beyoncé’s rendition of “Moon River” (from “Breakfast At Tiffany’s movie, 1961)” as the music bed.

Conclusion

Both parties (Tiffs & The Carters) had significant brand equity and audience to lend and benefit the other party. This campaign has the “it” factor for sure. It was a power move for The Carters and an intelligent brand strategy move for Tiffany & Co. The only question we have is about the target audience for the ad placements and which media outlets the brand will use. We will keep our eyes peeled for that.

Note To Grow On…

When you create an ad campaign, think about your brand foundation (which is important to maintain the attention of existing customers) as Tiffany’s did leveraging the image of Hepburn. But, also find ways to be relevant and attract new customers (The Carters). And also, do think of how to sell your brand without selling overtly. Chances are you may need to turn a profit immediately, and may not have the money or time to sell a brand, but we believe this kind of brand campaign will create lasting memories with customers and the impact on the brand will make great strides in the brands longevity for the next century.

Source: CNN: Beyoncé becomes first black woman to wear iconic Tiffany diamond.

Olivia F. Scott is Founder of Omerge Alliances marketing consultancy, Creator, Freedom At The Mat, Assistant Professor of Advertising at Loyola University New Orleans, and Adjunct Assistant Professor, Marketing at NYU.