Ad of the Day: Tiffany & Co reinvents brand with help from Beyoncé, Jay-Z and a Basquiat
The definition of luxury, from its distinctive blue box to its association with breakfast, Audrey Hepburn and Moon River, like the jewelry it sells Tiffany & Co’s brand image is ornate with iconic features. Adding more gems to its collection, its latest campaign ‘Above Love’ features Jay-Z, a Balmain-clad Beyoncé, a rarely seen Jean-Michel Basquiat, and a priceless 128-carat yellow diamond.
The campaign started circulating on August 24, when the jewelry brand teased the first images of the Carters’ partnership with Tiffany & Co.
Dressed in a Balmain dress, which is reminiscent of Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Beyoncé wears a pendulous 128.54-carat gem that was discovered in South Africa in 1878. Previously worn by Lady Gaga for the 2019 Oscars, socialite Mary Whitehouse and Hepburn herself while promoting the famous film, the singer is the first Black woman to do so.
A significant feature of the ‘About Love’ campaign is ‘Equals Pi’ – a 1982 painting by Basquiat, which is rendered using a blue that looks distinctly similar to Pantone 1837, aka Tiffany Blue. Rarely seen, it marks the first time the work of art has appeared in public.
“We don’t have any literature that says he made the painting for Tiffany,” claims Alexandre Arnault, the iconic jeweler’s vice-president. “We know he loved New York, and that he loved luxury and he loved jewelry. My guess is that the painting is not by chance. The color is so specific that it has to be some kind of homage.”
Shot by Mason Poole, the campaign is accompanied by a film that sees Beyoncé sing her own version of Moon River, from the 1961 film.
Looking to Jay-Z and Beyonce to help it resonate with a younger audience, the campaign is part of a reinvention strategy to future-proof the brand after it was bought by LVMH earlier this year. The iconic brand hopes the change in creative direction will help redefine Tiffany, with new exec Arnault playing around with a number of marketing strategies.
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