Lane Bryant disses Victoria’s Secret
Lane Bryant, the plus-sized women’s fashion chain, has launched a new marketing campaign for its Cacique lingerie line that encourages women to take pride and joy in the many sexy shapes and sizes they come in … unless they are Victoria’s Secret models.
The new I’m No Angel (#ImNoAngel) campaign from Lane Bryat is a takeoff on "The Perfect Body" ad created by Victoria’s Secret. The Victoria’s Secret campaign met wide criticism for promoting unrealistic body images that led the retailer to change its headline to a "Body For Everybody."
Lane Bryant CEO Linda Heasley said the intent of her company’s campaign is not about bashing Victoria’s Secret.
"We admire Victoria’s Secret — it’s an amazing brand," Ms. Heasley told TODAY.com. "There’s nothing I would say against them except that, arguably, their notion of beauty is a little narrow. What we wanted to do is stimulate conversation about redefining sexy."
The conversation taking place on social media has been overwhelmingly positive for I’m No Angel. Twitter user msweetenheart wrote, "@lanebryant…You rock and these women rock, Lane Byrant. True beauty! Lovin’ #ImNoAngel."
There’s no question that Lane Bryant has gotten the attention of the media with its new campaign, but will that translate into sales for Cacique?
Discussion Questions
Do you agree or disagree with Lane Bryant’s decision to call out Victoria’s Secret in its new I’m No Angel campaign? Will the campaign translate into significant sales growth for the Cacique lingerie line?
Rule 1: Connect with your target customer.
Rule 2: Get the consumers talking about you and your brand.
Rule 3: Keep the dialogue going—but stay out of the way.
Caveat: Grassroots marketing takes a while and does not immediately translate into direct sales.
Bottom line: Results ultimately count, otherwise it is just conversation.
Victoria’s Secret has for many years capitalized on what some might consider “idealized” rather than realistic body types. (I know I’m treading on sensitive ground here.) And they have built up an enviable brand position as a result. Over the last few years, Cacique (and to a lesser extent Soma) have tried niche-building around an older or plus-sized customer who doesn’t want what Victoria’s Secret is selling—either the merchandise or the brand position.
Whether the “I’m No Angel” campaign will drive Cacique’s sales is hard to say, but I’d rate it as a success in terms of brand positioning. Lane Bryant should be applauded for recognizing that its core customer is just as entitled to be comfortable “in her own skin” as a Victoria’s Secret model.
I do agree with it. Let’s remember, one half of the female population is size 14 or above (yup, I’m in the upper half).
However, last time I checked, Lane Bryant’s clothes didn’t really deliver on the style. So when push comes to shove, if the styling is good, it’ll help sell the product.
Either way, between Lane Bryant and Dove, it’ll be great to see young girls having an alternative to aspire to beyond the “perfect body.” Some of us have spent a lifetime fighting that war.
It used to be that when someone mentioned Lane Bryant I pictured my old High School French teacher. This campaign is spot on for redefining the majority of women as beautiful, and I would bet it has any woman who doesn’t fit into the airbrushed nymph type looking for Lane Bryant, rather than avoiding it. #Smartmove.
Now if I could just convince Nordstrom and other men’s retailers that most guys who can afford their most expensive shirts aren’t nymph boys with no belly, we’ll be set.
The timing for the Lane Bryant campaign is spot on. As noted on one of the Huffington Post articles, there was a backlash in the U.K. about Victoria’s Secret using skinny-to-very skinny models in its ads and proclaiming them to have the perfect body.
While it may or may not increase sales for Lane Bryant, I do hope it helps women of all ages, sizes and shapes to feel better about themselves.
I personally think it is genius! It is fun, will stimulate conversation and certainly grow recognition for Lane Bryant. Sales growth—bet on it. Significant? Not sure.
To quote Vanity Fair (think Thackeray, not the magazine): “‘I’m no angel.’ And, to say the truth, she certainly was not.”
As a marketer, I’m against taking cheap shots at competitors (Taco Bell’s breakfast rollout slamming McDonald’s was as distasteful as a chalupa for breakfast), BUT in this case, Lane Bryant gets a pass for promoting conversation, shopper engagement and female empowerment.
I’m not a Lane Bryant customer, but this campaign makes me wish I was, and that’s powerful ($$$) marketing for any retailer. Bravo for turning the tables, Lane Bryant.
I’m going to guess that the men and women that respond are going to have varied answers. For this one, however, I’m going to be bold and say that only women get to have the big vote.
I had a minute where I was working on a Victoria’s Secret opportunity and remember walking that beautiful SoHo store getting the down-low on the design. As I’m a shopper anthropologist at heart AND a very loyal Victoria’s Secret brand advocate, I was constantly thinking about how much I loved the product but didn’t love comparing my body in that “special something” to that impossibly perfect woman on the wall. And it’s not like I’m out of shape, it’s just that the perfection was too hard to relate to. I’m tired of it. If I’m a Lane Bryant woman, this issue is all the more irksome. It makes you ask: Who, really, is the Victoria’s Secret brand chasing? Real women, or men?
There’s a beautiful trend of “being your unique you” that is being capitalized on here. It’s culturally on point (thank you Meghan Trainor!) and it’s going to be well-loved by many women. Including myself.
To the plus-size women—you are sexy. Embrace it! Ads for Victoria’s Secret suggest you are second-class citizens. KUDOS to Lane Bryant.
… and you are no angel.
Does one believe the average female/trans buyer of VS’s products actually matches the models? Does the average male/trans buyer of Eddie Bauer clothes actually have a square jaw, two day growth, and chiseled body? I thought advertising through image was all about appealing to the projections of the viewer; one imagines themselves in a brief moment of fantasy, what could be, if…. If this works it would represent a positive movement culturally away from motivation through illusion, but then what’s left if you take away the illusions?
I’m not a fan of calling out your competitor, nor do I think this will help sales. What I do appreciate is the inclusion effort by Lane Bryant and hopefully helping today’s youth define beauty more broadly.
The worst thing a marketer can do is send messages that customers are indifferent about. Sparking the conversation by using the inverse of the VS angel reference is okay with me. So is making women who are bigger sizes feel better about themselves.
The biggest downside for me is the overall mindset and images you think of when you hear the name Lane Bryant. They might consider and test using the Cacique sub-brand name as an actual stand alone retail unit, giving them an opportunity to leave the “overweight” images behind, replacing them with something more current and even a little bit provocative.
First and foremost, Lane Bryant is hardly a competitor of Victoria’s Secret. How many Lane Bryant customers cross the threshold of Victoria’s Secret?
With that said, is Lane Bryant calling out a competitor? Not hardly. They are simply adding to the campaign for all the rest of us women. It’s brilliant!
The only issue would be, do they have the goods? Is it stylish, current, sexy? I don’t know the brand so I am not saying “No” to my questions. Simply bringing them up, as that is what will make or break the campaign.
And that’s my 2 cents.
Yes, it will get a lot of attention—and it’s true. We do represent a lot of shapes and sizes (and I’ve never found anything close to my size at Victoria’s Secret). Who was I trying to kid? I just wanted to see the types of things they have available. Lane Bryant, and other merchants are finally getting it…well, Lane Bryant has “gotten it” for quite a while. This publicity serves as a good reminder to remember to look for things at Lane Bryant.
BTW, the same thing happened when I visited a Nordstrom outlet in Minneapolis—I looked all over the store to find large sizes. If they were smart, they’d segregate those sizes so people like me can easily find them instead of spending a lot of time searching—and not finding.
It never is a good idea to name a competitor. This is simply free advertising for a competitor. The tag line is good, but there is no need to call out a competitor. Let the reader guess who you are talking about. Yes, this will help sales as it is positive for their customers who may feel down not having a model body.
I like the campaign’s strategy in that it plays off of the competition’s “iconic” image and the words are sort of playful and “naughty” (given the lingerie product line, feels like a fun way to associate body image, allusions to intimacy, self-confidence, etc.).
I think it generates attention and possibly “Trial” from those that might have previously assumed Lane Bryant was not for them from a fashion perspective. Now, it is up to the shopping experience, product, and retail transaction, etc. to make that stick.
I mean, it still comes down to product, no matter how clever you are, but I like the campaign. It’s a double entendre that really works IMO. A little naughty and a little push to the competition; smart, funny and should work with their clientele as in, “yeah, take that.” Something they can identify with.
IF the product’s any good, that is.
Never help your competition by giving them brand awareness in the advertising you’re paying for. Tell your story—what makes you “different and better.” If you can’t do that, you need to determine how you’re going to positively differentiate your own brand rather than denigrating the competition.
I believe Lane Bryant and Victoria’s Secret are oriented to different audiences, but to say there isn’t sharing of audiences would be naive.
I’m certain it helped solidify the bond with current Lane Bryant’s customers and gain new ones who will relate better to the message. On the flip side, I’m sure it also did the same for Victoria’s Secret customers.