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Ana de Armas, the Havana-born Hollywood star and future James Bond love interest, who is the new face of the natural diamonds generic ad campaign.

 

FIRST CELEBRITY-LED GENERIC DIAMOND MARKETING CAMPAIGN IS LAUNCHED DURING 2020 EMMY AWARD BROADCAST

 

For more than half a century, during the weeks leading up to December 25, the date on which Christmas is celebrated by most Christian denominations, consumers globally were blanketed by an extensive advertising campaign celebrating the world’s most popular gemstone. Each spot, in print or television, ended with the tag line “a diamond is forever.” It mentioned no specific jewelry retailer or manufacturer, but simply diamond jewelry.

It was generic marketing at its most sophisticated, orchestrated and paid for by De Beers. In 1999, “a diamond is forever” was recognized by Advertising Age as the slogan of century. But soon thereafter, as the diamond producer decided to concentrate on marketing its own products and brands, the campaign was suspended.

The prospect of generic advertising returned in May 2015 with the establishment of the Diamond Producers Association (DPA) by seven of the world’s leading diamond mining companies – Alrosa, De Beers, Rio Tinto, Dominion Diamond Corporation, Lucara Diamond Corporation, Petra Diamonds and Gem Diamonds.

The stated objective of the new body was to focus on marketing initiatives, enhancing consumer demand, trade and consumer research, among other activities. Generic advertising was part of the mix and the DPA launched a relatively low-key campaign entitled “Real is Rare, Real is a Diamond,” which was limited in part because of the modest budget available to it.

In June of this year DPA was rebranded as Natural Diamond Council (NDC), repositioning its consumer identity from “Real is Rare, Real is a Diamond” to “Only Natural Diamonds.” It promised to upgrade substantially the level of generic diamond marketing. The organization’s budget is now said to be over $80 million per annum, which is a distinct improvement on what DPA had to manage with for much of its existence, but is still less than a third of that at De Beers’ disposal in the late 1990s.

 

FOR MOMENTS LIKE NO OTHER

In early September, NDC announced the imminent debut of a new global advertising campaign, called “For Moments Like No Other.” Filmed in July in coastal Portugal, the campaign celebrates the many emotional connections created by diamond jewelry, something that research shows will resonate strongly as the world emerges from the current COVID crisis.

The new campaign marks a number of firsts for the NDC.  It is the first celebrity-fronted campaign for a diamond group, the first campaign dedicated to NDC’s “Only Natural Diamonds” platform, and the first marketing initiative by the NDC to showcase a diverse roster of jewelry designers that work with natural diamonds.

The star of the campaign is Ana de Armas, a rising Hollywood star.  Born in Cuba, she will soon be playing the female lead in the upcoming James Bond blockbuster, No Time To Die.  

In the multi-part campaign she will be celebrating natural diamond jewelry and its significance across different relationships – love, freedom, friendship and family.

Ana de Armas wearing diamond jewelry by London Jewelers, while filming the NDC ad campaign in coastal Portugal.

“Ana is a true talent,” NDC stated in announcing the launch, “and the dynamism she exemplifies is exactly what we seek to do daily in our support of the natural diamond industry. This campaign redefines traditional diamond moments, celebrating a variety of personal connections with these natural stones. It’s a more contemporary approach to the diamond dream.

HEIGHTENED ENGAGEMENT BY CONSUMERS PREDICTED

The campaign’s first 30-second hero spot airied during the Emmys Awards telecast in the United States on September 20 and was followed by a series of shorter video segments, spotlighting the various relationships portrayed from the clip. There, the actress is seen in relaxed outdoor settings with friends, with a parent, and with a partner.

 In this, a fresh, opened-up association continues to be emphasized: diamonds are not solely the purview of romantic interests or formal occasions. They are meant for every type of connection.

A selection of the designers and brands featured in the campaign, all of which use diamonds from the Natural Diamond Council’s producers.
NDC will also distribute campaign materials through our owned channels, including its campaign website, which includes behind-the-scenes footage and an interview element with Ana, as well as comprehensive information about the brands and designers that are featured.

“Our confidence in the new campaign combined with the results we’ve had to date means that our traffic and engagement forecasts will be 40-50 times higher than in our recent history,” said David Kellie, NDC’s CEO in an interview published on the organization’s website. “Consumer demand for diamonds for the remainder of the year will continue to outperform the same period last year and we plan to maintain this growth in 2021. I believe that we’ll close out 2020 remembering the impact of the crisis and those colleagues that we have lost, but also celebrating the opportunities ahead of us.”

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