Dior Love Chain features brand ambassadors. Image credit: Dior
French fashion house Christian Dior is asking its social community what it would do for love through a charitable act of kindness.
Fronted by Miss Dior ambassador Natalie Portman, the Dior Love Chain campaign recruits a number of Dior brand faces and friends of the house to respond to the prompt, “What would you do for love?” To broaden the scope of the campaign, Dior turns the camera on viewers to ask the same question with social media responses generating proceeds for charity.
"Celebrities create awareness and credibility," said Chris Ramey, president of Affluent Insights, Miami. "The attention drives engagement.
"Social media is but one medium to communicate," he said.
Mr. Ramey is not affiliated with Dior, but agreed to comment as an industry expert. Dior was reached for comment.
Start a love chain
Ms. Portman is joined by fellow Dior ambassadors including Johnny Depp, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlize Theron, Robert Pattinson, Rihanna and Bella Hadid.
The video component for Dior Love Chain begins with Ms. Portman asking, “What would you do for love?” Her fellow ambassadors, plus other friends of the house, echo her question.
Soon, those featured begin answering the prompt. Model Eva Herzigova, for example, says that she “would forgive for love” and social influencer Chiara Ferragni says, “I wouldn’t do anything for love, because love overcomes you, and it dictates what it wants you to do.”
Responses touch on love of a partner, family and children, travel, tattoos, music, art and dance. While many answers are heartfelt and serious, some responses lets the ambassador's personality shine through. Ms. Lawrence, for example, jokes that for love, she would “pretend that sleeping in sexy underwear is comfortable.”
As friends of Dior respond, they turn the question to the viewer, asking “and you, what would you do for love?
Dior Love Chain
To continue the Love Chain, Dior is encouraging followers across its social accounts to respond to the question using the #DiorLoveChain hashtag and tagging Dior Parfum’s Instagram.
Each time a follower uses the hashtag and includes @DiorParfums, Dior will donate $1 to the We Movement. Part of We.org, We Movement pledges to bring people together and gives them the tools to change the world.
Dior’s contribution will be donated in partnership with Ms. Portman. As of press time, Dior has raised more than $13,000 for We Movement.
Sharing charitable campaigns on social channels also allows brands to share philanthropic products, designed to benefit a cause, with an audience much larger than its standard base (see story).
The charitable campaign’s execution is tied to the global launch of the Miss Dior eau de parfum. Ms. Portman will reprise her role as the face of the Miss Dior fragrance range.
Miss Dior eau de parfum has notes of pink peppercorn and bergamot. Image credit: Dior
“Making a fragrance that smells like love is a renewed challenge,” said Francois Demachy, Dior’s perfumer-creator in a statement. “The composition has to be exciting and stirring, somewhat wild, and yet accessible.”
Miss Dior in love
Launched in 1947, The Miss Dior fragrance range’s communications revolve around love.
For example, Dior celebrated independent women through a narrative twist in its February 2015 effort for the Miss Dior fragrances.
Directed by Anton Corbijn, the campaign reprised Ms. Portman’s role as Miss Dior to tell “the story of a singularly beautiful and inspiring woman taking the boldest of steps toward a future wholly hers.” With Valentine’s Day a little more than a week away at the time and nearly all campaigns focused on love and romance, Dior’s campaign likely stood out due to its refreshing approach to romantic fulfillment (see story).
The use of social media strategies to further a cause is found across both mass and high-end brands.
"Some brands in luxury, at attainable price points, find success leveraging fashion strategies rather than luxury strategies," Affluent Insights' Mr. Ramey said. "Hence social media is the right strategy in this case."