A: Way back when, diamonds didn’t need advertising campaigns. The Greeks, poets that they were, believed them to be splinters of fallen stars or the teardrops of gods. Plato, himself, guessed they were living beings that embodied celestial spirits. And with publicity like that, who needed a shill?
By 1932, however, diamonds had lost some of their luster, with annual worldwide sales at a measly $100,000. Diamond giant De Beers decided what their product needed was a new legend, and with the help of Madison Avenue, that’s just what they created.
Named “slogan of the 20th century” by Advertising Age magazine, the “a diamond is forever” campaign convinced millions of wooing suitors that there was only one way to express their undying devotion - and it wasn’t with a sapphire or a ruby. The diamond engagement ring became a marketing blockbuster, transforming diamonds into a two billion dollar a year business by 1979.
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
She'll pretty much have to.
2 - Aku
The point of the ads to to get people to buy more than one of them (ie, the wedding ring).
3 - Nancy
Considering how tainted some of them are, & how overpriced ALL of them are, & how many excellent substitutes are available these days, I would think that people would wake up & smell the scam being perpetrated by DeBeers & their marketers. Talk about controlled substances-! A virtual monopoly, DeBeers masks the fact that the only real use & excuse for diamonds any more is in industry & science. Nothing can justify the outrageous prices they demand - & get - either.
Diamonds aren't forever: they're passe.