Diamond producers go after Millennials with Oscars-time spot

The Real Is Rare campaign is the first effort by the association to target the age group known as Millennials. (Image: Screenchot from DPA’s Runaways ad.)

The Diamond Producers Association, founded in 2015 by seven of the world’s leading diamond companies, is hoping to capitalize on one of television’s swankiest nights, the Academy Awards, with a film-like spot that targets Millennials.

According to a study published last year by De Beers, Millennials were the biggest diamond buyers in 2015.

The group, which includes some of the biggest names in the diamond industry including Alrosa, DeBeers and Rio Tinto Diamonds, makes its first televised appearance Sunday, with a well-crafted commercial that uses sassy imagery and concepts believed to be highly valued by those aged 17 to 37.

“This is a generation that has never been exposed to a category of [diamond] marketing geared toward them,” DPA chief executive officer Jean-Marc Lieberherr, told WWD at the “Real is Rare” campaign launch in October.

“Millennials are looking for something genuine and authentic. What’s unique about diamonds is that they are a natural resource finite in nature and when you tell [Millennials] that diamonds are billions of years old and from the earth, they really respond.”

According to a study published last year by Anglo American’s De Beers, the target group was the biggest diamond buyer during 2015, a year in which most commodities plummeted, hitting the mining industry very hard.

The spot, titled “The Runaways,” is one of the several the industry body, which aims to boost demand for the precious stones, has put together since launching the campaign.

You can watch the commercial here: