Business

Diamond Industry’s Ad Campaign Gives Nod to 3 Billion Years of History

The Diamond Producers Association is working to emphasize the historic advantages that natural diamonds have with a new advertising campaign that goes way back.

With some fresh competition from man-made equivalents, the diamond industry is taking a new approach to highlighting the field’s naturally occurring product.

And that approach starts with the journey.

This week, the Diamond Producers Association (DPA) announced a campaign called “The Diamond Journey,” which aims to contextualize the 3 billion-year journey of the diamond, from naturally occurring element to final result. That context starts at the Big Bang, is forged through magma and rock, and is honored through centuries of history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqeQmKksRck

And DPA’s campaign highlights a good portion of that history in its three-minute short film, which ends in the modern day.

The film comes with an impressive pedigree, including a composition from Oscar winner Atticus Ross. The film is also directed by Ian Pons Jewell, who has worked for a number of major companies, including Nike and Apple. In a news release, Pons Jewell noted that—despite the high-profile ads he usually gets to direct—the scope of the ad is far beyond what he usually gets to do.

“It’s hard to describe how special this project is,” the director said in a news release [PDF]. “The chance to write something bespoke to a brief at this scale is extremely rare. But rarer still to have the chance to tell the story of a naturally occurring element. I knew a little about how diamonds are formed but had no idea just how epic the journey is. We did a lot of research, not only did we look into the science, but also the human relationship with diamonds through history. It’s been an incredible experience; one I don’t think I’ll ever get to repeat in the commercial world.”

The campaign, produced by the agency BBH London, will appear on a number of digital and TV outlets, as well as in billboard form. DPA CEO Jean-Marc Lieberherr emphasized that the goal of the campaign is to underline just how old many diamonds actually are—but to do so in “a new and modern way.”

“This cinematic campaign invites the viewer to discover the legacy of natural diamonds from their geological formation, their transformation from rough to polished and their journey through human history to becoming an ultimate embodiment and symbol of love, connection, and heirloom,” Lieberherr said.

The campaign is one of the largest since DPA formed in 2015, and it continues its ongoing “Real is Rare” messaging campaign, which responds to the growing sale of manmade diamonds.

(YouTube screenshot)

Ernie Smith

By Ernie Smith

Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. MORE

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