PICTURE AN ENGAGEMENT RING.
I’LL WAIT WHILE YOU DO. GOT IT?
NOW, LET ME ASK YOU SOMETHING. DID YOU PICTURE A DIAMOND RING?
Today, most of us immediately think of diamonds when we think of engagement rings. But it wasn’t always this way. As a matter of fact, diamond engagement rings didn’t become common until the late 1940s. Preceding that, only 10% of engagement rings were diamond rings. Diamonds had the perception of being reserved only for the elite.
What changed, then, to create such a massive shift in the jewelry industry and make diamonds the most popular choice for couples getting engaged?
The answer is probably the most successful advertising campaign in the world.
It is the “A Diamond is Forever” advertising campaign by De Beers in 1947.
The brilliant tagline was written by Frances Gerety, a young copywriter at the advertising agency, N.W. Ayer. At the time, Frances was “a woman working in a man’s world”. De Beers was her main client. One night at 3AM, exhausted from working on ads, Frances remembered she had forgotten to write a signature line. She said “Dear God, send me a line” and scribbled something down before heading to bed. She read it the next morning and thought it was okay. When she presented it to her colleagues later that day, they were initially unconvinced because of its awkward grammar.
LITTLE DID EVERYONE KNOW THESE FOUR WORDS WOULD MAKE HISTORY!
“A DIAMOND IS FOREVER”
Diamonds are forever in many ways: they are billions of years old, their name comes from the Greek word adamas meaning indestructible, they are the hardest gemstone and therefore durable in jewelry, they can be a timeless family heirloom to pass on for generations…
Love is forever, too.
Thus, the tagline created a strong and lasting connection between diamonds and love in everyone’s minds. It would become De Beers’ official slogan and accompany all their advertisements.
The marketing strategy was comprehensive. Television, newspapers and magazines were flooded with stories of diamond engagement rings. Capitalizing on the rise of cinema, N.W. Ayer spoke to directors and filmmakers and arranged for Hollywood actresses to be shown wearing diamonds on screen as well as off-screen. In 1953, Marilyn Monroe sang “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” in the film “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”.
Everyone got the message.
And everyone wanted diamonds.
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Photo credit: Kari Bjorn
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