Tiffany & Co’s ‘Youthful’ Brand Campaign Backfires, Insults Its Best Customers
Image via Tiffany & Co
While Tiffany & Co set out to modernize its brand image into one that was more youthful and trendy, its latest branding campaign could be one of the worst brand “refreshes” in recent memory. Instead of drumming up hype around its new releases, the famed jewelry brand has instead alienated anyone over the age of 30.
In an effort to appeal to a younger market, Tiffany’s went with the tagline: “Not Your Mother’s Tiffany,” featuring chicly dressed models on street posters to add an “edge.” The company posted its new campaign video to Instagram, with a baffling caption that said: “Your mom called. She said, ‘I told you so.’”
According to Creative Bloq, most of the social media response to this campaign has been decidedly negative. Worse still, it has seemed to backfired with one of the brand’s largest customer bases: mothers and middle-aged women.
“As a mother who has spent the last 15 months working from home and homeschooling my daughters at the same time, I feel really offended by your campaign,” said Instagram user @drea_steiner.
“If it wouldn’t hurt my husband I would take off my Tiffany’s wedding band and my Tiffany’s engagement ring right now.”
Another user, @runnahgirl, echoed the sentiment, as she commented: “Tiffany is classic and iconic. Why is there a need to pit generations against one another? My daughters love my collection and have dibs on certain pieces.”
A few of the comments also harkened back to a similar campaign by US carmaker Oldsmobile in the 1980s, which had the tagline: “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile.” According to a report on the brand, the campaign failed even back then, with the then-youths not buying it either.
Brand executives in the advertising industry are also voicing their distaste for Tiffany’s new campaign. Joel Kaplan, Executive Creative Director at MUH-TAY-ZIK / HOF-FER, told Morning Brew, “For a brand as iconic as Tiffany, I would have expected a more unique way to appeal to a Millennial and Gen Z buyer. Instead of standing for something, they took the more common approach of standing against something, their own history and tone.”
While Tiffany has yet to comment on the questionable campaign, it’s definitely one of the biggest branding faux pas of 2021 yet. Take a look at the campaign video below and see for yourself.
[via Creative Bloq, cover image via Tiffany & Co]
Also check out these recent news
