What's Young is New Again

In 1980, a then 15-year old Brooke Shields whistled “My Darling Clementine” and ended one of her Calvin Klein jeans commercial with the immortal words, “You know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.”

Thus was the beginning of Calvin’s long history of controversial colorful advertising for products such as jeans, underwear, fragrance – advertising that would stun and immortalize these campaigns for three decades.

But more unusually, it was one of the first times target audience ever witnessed an underage spokesmodel utter a sophisticated double entendre that sold jeans to audiences that were old enough to be her parents (and grandparents!)

Now, in 2011, fast forward to Hailee Steinfeld and advertising for the Miu Miu fashion campaign.

As noted in the Daily Mail web site, the Oscar® nominee for 2010’s remake of True Grit is the latest model for the high fashion designer brand at only fourteen years of age. She is as sophisticated as a teenager can be, magnificently dressed but clearly an adolescent for a fashion brand that is meant for an older, wealthier clientele.

Is it wrong for a spokesmodel to, as Daily Mail’s style director in the article puts it, “peddle designer fashion” even if she is a star, because she is so young?  Is it relatable to an audience that has long passed puberty? Is it appropriate?

In marketing terms, Brooke and Hailee are source factors – celebrity models and spokespeople who are critical to the sale of merchandise as long as they match up well with the brand and the target market. Without their charisma and a certain level of familiarity, we can’t relate to them. Brooke had stopping power – and was able to draw attention to the product without overshadowing it herself.  Hailee is an interesting choice, but it’s hard to say if she will be well received by current and future customers.  Time, as they say, will tell.

And while we wait for the outcome, it’s worthy to note the strange but true link among these two young women and their designers (call it “one degree of separation”). Renowned photographer, Bruce Weber not only photographed Brooke Shields at 12 but his work was found in many Calvin Klein ad campaigns and he is the man behind the camera in the new Miu Miu campaign as well.