Marc Jacob 2008 spring-summer campaign with Victoria Beckham 1

Running Head: MARC JACOB 2008 SPRING-SUMMER CAMPAIGN WITH VICTORIA

BECKHAM

Marc Jacob 2008 spring-summer campaign with Victoria Beckham

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Marc Jacob 2008 spring-summer campaign with Victoria Beckham

Introduction

Marc Jacobs is an American fashion designer and also the head designer for Marc

Jacobs, and its diffusion line Marc by Marc Jacobs. He is the Creative Director of the well

known French design house Louis Vuitton since 1997, where he was the reason behind the

company's first ever ready-to-wear line.

Introduction and analysis of the Selected Campaign

The most awaited advertising campaign of the year was the Marc Jacob 2008 spring-

summer campaign with Victoria Beckham and photographed by Juergen Teller as revealed by

many of the critics and fashion websites “the Victoria Beckham for Marc Jacobs advertising

campaign for spring summer 2008 had us all on the edge of our seats.” (Victoria Beckham

hops in a bag for the Marc Jacobs spring 2008 ad campaign.)

About the campaign Victoria herself has said “The images are humorous and ironic

…. You can’t be afraid to experiment with fashion, especially when working with Marc and

Juergen”.

“Truth be told, I love them all,” she continued. “If I have to pick favorites, it’s the

package series: me coming out of the box in the gray knit dress shot with the hat, as well as

the image of the oversize shopping bag. Certainly, if you can’t get locked inside a Marc

Jacobs store, then trapped inside a Marc bag has got to be the next best thing.”

(Victoria Beckham hops in a bag for the Marc Jacobs spring 2008 ad campaign.)
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There is a multitude of reasons behind selecting this particular campaign for my work.

The hype and buzz in the air before its arrival was only a minor reason. The biggest reason

was that Jacobs is famous for his particular and distinctive choices of models for most of his

advertising campaigns. With the likes of Steven Malkmus, Sofia Coppola, Jarvis Cocker and

Michael Stipe of R.E.M., child actress Dakota Fanning, M.I.A., Chloë Sevigny appearing in

the ads, it has become quite an exciting discussion that who will be the next to feature in

Marc’s ads. Some accused him of exploitation, when he used a convicted shoplifter Winona

Ryder for one of his campaign in 2002. The russian pop duo t.A.T.u. were for faces of Marc

by Marc Jacobs in the fall-winter ’08 campaign and Victoria Beckham was featured as the

face of Marc for the summer-spring collection ‘08.

The Marc Jacobs Show is regarded by many as one of the central collections for

bringing fashion to its new destinies. To British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman "He's one

of the most talented designers in the world right now.” She continued his praise by

proclaiming "He knows what people want to wear before they do." (Eyre, H. (2007). Marc

Jacobs: Rags to riches. The Independent.)

Marc’s notoriety has acquired a legendary status and this has become the biggest

selling proposition for his brand as well.

The campaign’s simple objective was to reinforce the brand identity and its associated

values in the minds of the target market.

Another objective was to make people realize the true potential of the weaker gender

i.e. the women and stopping them to stereotype them as they had been forever.

The major values conveyed were sophistication, nobility, uniqueness, independence,

non-conformity, iconoclasm and rebellion.

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Marc has got the quality of picking up the pulse of the current trends. Even before

most of the designers realizes what change will occur in people’s tastes and preferences,

Marc has already done some homework in advance for this change. This pro-active nature

and anticipatory thinking has urged Marc to explore these avenues as he believes that “ …

sooner the world will be ruled by women …”. (A belief which must have been trembled

seriuosly since Senator Hillary lost the presidential race).

The target market for the brand is the young, savvy, norm-breaking, image-shattering,

urbane and career-oriented girls and women.

Sophistication is kept in mind whereas provocation has been neglected to a certain

extent. The emphasis is more on the “feel good” factor rather than on the “look good” factor.

Print media especially fashion journals was the primary media used. Websites along

with blogs and threads were used for viral and buzz marketing.

The use of images depicting Beckham popping out of a shoe box — or her whole

body buried in a bag with only her legs jutting out, impersonation of a kettle with the use of

corsets and other gothic paraphernalia gave the campaign a novel and refreshing look. At the

same time the technique of focusing more on the model instead of environment ensured that

the audience’s attention will be kept in the campaign ads.

It is not the dresses, nor the colors which had made the campaign unique. Infact, it

was the comical execution which has made it a humours satire over the industry. Yet the

sublime nature of the ideas were not overtly reflected, infact it were these deft touches which

had made the campaign a real classic.

The campaign had the ability to break the clutter by using the most publicized worst

dresser as the lead model, that has really fired people’s anticipation.
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The campaign had a real artisitc sense which can only be felt by the people having an

interest in such matters. The parts about non-conformity, independence and rebellion were

very well executed and the message get across loud and clear. The stereotyping message was

crystal-clear and hopefully well received.

The biggest measure of success of a campaign is whether the audience can recall it

after a few months or not. The recall rate for this campaign is amazing, in the world of

fashion and glamour where campaigns were usually forgotten in days, this particular

campaign has left its long-lasting impact on the minds of the audience. This is a result of the

matcless execution of the ads and also the viral and buzz markting techniques employed by

the brand.

Victoria’s coming out of a shoe box was a metaphorical representation of the

independence of modren day women. Similarly the kettle appearance was a represenatation

of the stereotyping attitude towards women in prsent times.

According to Business Week Louis Vuitton is currently placed at number 16 in the list

of the top 100 brands of 2008 with a brand value of $ 21,602 Millions. (The Top 100 Brands.

Business Week.) Marc Jacobs the brand has the distinction of having Marc Jacobs the

creative director of Louis Vuitton, “the highest ranked among the fashion brands” (Davis, M.

(2008). Louis Vuitton is the World’s Top Fashion Brand According to Business Week.

Fashion Windows.) Marc Jacobs for which Professor Wendy Dagworthy, head of the school

of fashion and textiles at the Royal College of Art, says he could be the next Yves Saint

Laurent. 'There's that classic look to his designs. But he's a real original and it's these sorts of

people who push the future of fashion. These are the people who are remembered.' 'Everyone

wants to be at his show,' says Lorraine Candy, Elle's editor-in-chief, 'because there's always a

sprinkle of stardust.' (Wiseman, E. A designer with bags of talent. Guardian.co.uk/The

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Observer Profile: Marc Jacobs.) and he has admitted the positive effect of becoming the

creative director of Louis Vuitton, on his own brand Marc Jacobs by Marc Jacobs, himself

when he said, "They were kind of our saviour." (Eyre, H. (2007). Marc Jacobs: Rags to

riches. The Independent.)

Marc Jacobs now is standing as a brand on a point where the sole purpose of the

advertisements and the campaigns is to keep people hooked and attached to the values and

qualities of the brand. The brand promise is repeated again and again. The pupose now is to

reinforce the brand values in the minds of the target market. For this purpose regular and

usual marketing campaigns have failed to illicit the intended response, in target market, in the

recent times. Therefore, the need of an image shattering and distinctly unique campaign was

deeply felt by Marc himself, and that is where Victoria embarked onboard.

A campaign is successful or not, can not always be tied to the fact that whether

product sales have hoisted since the beginning of the campaign or not. In this case the

objective is to reinforce the already present awareness, its success may be measured in terms

of how successful was the campaign in obtaining its purposes. Sadly, there is no such

criterion on which we can judge the success or other wise of this particular campaign other

than what the critics have said about it.

Unlike his previous campaigns Marc this time not only focused on the selection of a

model but a greater emphasis on the idea conveyance was also there. After Mr. Blackwell

named Victoria as the worst dressed celebrity of the last year, using Victoria as the face for

your campaign was a gamble which really paid off.

The biggest acid test of a campaign is what the connoiseurs are saying about it. As

there is no other measure to assess the success (or the otherwise) of the campaign, we will

take the words of the experts as the measure of success or failure. Critics were criticizing
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Marcas soon as he revealed Victoria Beckham as the face for his campaign and look at how

they jointly replied. After a week of the start of the campaign a critic wrote “Earlier this week

we wrote a tribute to Miz Posh’s momentary style lapse. Today all is forgiven.” (Posh Ads

Appear | Victoria Beckham for Marc Jacobs.)

Another one says, “It's refreshing to see fashion icon Victoria Beckham step out of her

element while posing for the Spring/Summer 2008 ad campaign for Marc Jacobs.” (Just Cuz

I'm a Girl. Victoria Beckham for Marc Jacobs - Spring/Summer 2008 ad campaign.)

One more is accepting, “Yup, the Victoria Beckham Marc Jacobs doll is out in full

force.” (Victoria Beckham for Marc Jacobs spring 2008 - more images!)

Another measure of success in recent times has been the popularity of the campaign

on internet websites and blogs managed by individuals who do not have any direct

relationship with issue at hand and allow every one to express what they think about a certain

matter. This candid criticism is the most difficult test of measuring success, as these people

most of the times are naïve to judge the aestheticism and the deepest metaphorical

representations, especially when it comes to a field like apparel designing. But for this

campaign the general comments on these portals and blogs were really encouraging. Her “In

the bag” and “out of bag” ads become popular overnight on every fashion website and blog.

(Fashion Week Daily. Chic Report. Nov. 14, 2008. Posh in a bag.)

&

(Fashion from Justiknow. Victoria is out of bag.)

Similar results by dozens can be generated by using any search server or portal on

internet like google.com.

Conclusions
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The campaign more or less achieved its intended goals, but the need of the time is that

more and more of such efforts are done by the corporate America. The focus from frenzied

consumerism should be shifted towards more humane issues as raised by Marc and Victoria

in their collaboration.

In the end we can draw the conclusion is that it is a misunderstanding that using the

best model tailor-made for the product is always the best strategy. One can use a model

opposite to a brand’s persona to highlight the brand’s strength and ability of changing

persona. As the example of Marc choosing the worst dressed lady of the previous year for his

next year’s apparel modeling explains us.

They themselves were slightly unsure about the workability of the alliance, and when

Marc pitched the idea to Victoria, her first response was, "People will think it's an odd choice

for me to have made, and people will think it's odd for you to do." (Fashion Tributes. Victoria

Beckham Gives Marc Jacobs Spring 2008 Her Best Blue Steel.)

But Marc reassured her by publicly saying in an interview with Usmagazine.com,

"Victoria’s desire for glamour and perfection is incredible …. She is an icon of our times."

(US magazine.com. See Victoria Beckham’s Marc Jacobs Ads!)

And lastly the greatest lesson learned is only those campaigns succeed which have an

inbuilt uniqueness in them to break the clutter and if it is not innate than for the success it

should be acquired.
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Reference

Davis, M. (2008). Louis Vuitton is the World’s Top Fashion Brand According to Business

Week. Fashion Windows. Retrieved November 15, 2008 from

http://www.fashionwindows.com/runway_shows/louis_vuitton/F061.asp

Eyre, H. (2007). Marc Jacobs: Rags to riches. The Independent. Retieved November 15, 2008

from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/marc-jacobs-rags-to-riches-

433942.html

Fashion Week Daily. Chic Report. Nov. 14, 2008. Posh in a bag. Retrieved November 14,

2008 from http://blogs.fashionweekdaily.com/?p=1711

Fashion from Justiknow. Victoria is out of bag. Retrieved November 14, 2008 form

http://wp.justiknow.com/?p=605

Fashion Tributes. Victoria Beckham Gives Marc Jacobs Spring 2008 Her Best Blue Steel.

Retrieved November 14, 2008 from

http://fashiontribes.typepad.com/fashion/2008/01/victoria-beckha.html

Just Cuz I'm a Girl. Victoria Beckham for Marc Jacobs - Spring/Summer 2008 ad campaign.

Retrieved November 14, 2008 from http://www.justcuzimagirl.com/2008/02/victoria-

beckham-for-marc-jacobs.html

Posh Ads Appear | Victoria Beckham for Marc Jacobs. Retrieved November 14, 2008 from

http://themoment.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/posh-ads-appear-victoria-beckham-

for-marc-jacobs/

The Top 100 Brands. Business Week. Retrieved November 15, 2008 from

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/09/0918_best_brands/17.htm

US magazine.com. See Victoria Beckham’s Marc Jacobs Ads! Retrieved November 14, 2008

from http://www.usmagazine.com/see_victoria_beckhams_marc_jacobs_ads
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Victoria Beckham hops in a bag for the Marc Jacobs spring 2008 ad campaign. Retrieved

November 13, 2008 from http://www.sassybella.com/2008/01/victoria-beckham-

hops-in-a-bag-for-marc-jacobs-spring-2008/

Victoria Beckham for Marc Jacobs spring 2008 - more images!. Retrieved November 14,

2008 from http://www.sassybella.com/2008/02/victoria-beckham-for-marc-jacobs-

spring-2008-more-images/

Wiseman, E. A designer with bags of talent. Guardian.co.uk/The Observer Profile: Marc

Jacobs. Retrieved November 15, 2008 from

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/aug/31/fashion.celebrity1