Victoria’s Secret: A Lesson on Consumer Power

Victoria’s Secret recently came under fire for its “Perfect Body” campaign. The series of online and print ads featured several thin supermodels posing in lingerie with the ad copy “The Perfect Body” across the images.

The campaign has been criticized for being overtly exclusive, showing women a body type that is unattainable and unnatural for most. The campaign received criticism from eating disorder awareness programs, a wave of bloggers, consumers and other fashion lines.

In the UK, fashion retailer JD Williams responded by launching the “Imperfectly Perfect” campaign for women’s clothing, and invited women to share their #FavouriteFlaw. The campaign was aimed to promote confidence and beauty in women of different sizes, shapes and ages.

An online petition to change the campaign garnered over 27,000 signatures over the past week. After consumers’ campaign against Victoria’s Secret, and over a week of running “The Perfect Body” ads, the brand quietly changed the text of the campaign, ditching the word “perfect”. The ad copy now reads “A Body for Every Body.” Although the images are still those of the same models, the text has changed to communicate a more inclusive message.

To me, this story illustrates the growing power that consumers have in the consumer-brand relationship. Word-of-mouth, peer reviews and consumer-generated branded content carries a lot of weight these days. Considering that target consumers are the lifeline of any business, it would seem that brands would do well to stay attuned to consumers’ shifting trends and ideologies. Victoria’s Secret’s recent blunder made me wonder how certain brands can “live” through or adapt to these changes. Several years ago, perhaps consumers’ criticism of the campaign might not have been so strong. If the consumer insight behind a beauty brand like Victoria’s Secret is about achieving unattainable physical perfection, and there is a general consumer movement away from this ideology, how can the brand adjust? Is there a way to meet in the middle without compromising the brand’s unique selling point or brand identity?