Women's clothing brand The Limited has launched its fall 2015 line, and women business execs are the faces of it. With help from agency YARD, The Limited picked over 60 diverse women who are leaders in their fields—business, education, government, tech and beyond.
The campaign includes an anthem video titled "What Does Leading Look Like?" as well as individual spots on the same topic starring motivational speaker and life coach Gabrielle Bernstein, angel investing bootcamp for women founder Natalia Oberti Noguera and women and girls advocate Tiffany Dufu.
Gabrielle Bernstein:
Natalia Oberti Noguera:
Tiffany Dufu:
YARD co-founder and chief strategic office Ruth Bernstein tells AdFreak:
The Limited's "New Look of Leadership" grew out of the strategic and creative work YARD did for the brand around last year's collaboration with ABC's Scandal, which tapped into the confidence, power and complexity of the hit show's lead character, Olivia Pope. Female consumers responded overwhelmingly to the Scandal collection and ad campaign not just because they love Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope, but also she represents the new generation of power women.
Through that partnership, The Limited aligned with this set and began to establish itself as the brand for sophisticated professionals seeking affordable and accessible, yet stylish ways to look fabulous. As we enter an election year in which two women are campaigning for president of the United States, there is a ripe opportunity to continue to redefine the look of female leadership. For The Limited, modern leadership isn't just about being the "boss," it recognizes women who lead from any seat.
It was important to feature real women in this campaign across a range of roles and occupations in order to capture that brand belief. Already we've seen an incredible response to the brand's use of real female leaders. It's an exciting moment for women in culture, and The Limited is playing a valuable role in that moment.
While the rise of female-empowered ads has been exciting to see, it comes with its criticisms. For example, many critics would argue that Dove's ads still coerce women to buy beauty products. The Limited's spots are a nice step away from the conversation around beauty and image and more about women in leadership. The images are beautiful, and the videos are solid (featuring leaders in The Limited clothing). My one criticism is that the long spot is a little too long, with some phrases that are a little too trite.
One soundbite that stuck out the most: "Women need to be two things. Fearless and shameless."
I wouldn't mind more of that messaging for women everywhere.