Diamonds Are Forever…

Facing bankruptcy after the Great Depression and WW2, the diamond industry knew it had to reinvent itself to stay alive. Ordinarily, diamonds were exclusively for the wealthy, but to stay afloat, the industry knew it had to expand its market share to people of middle income, not just the wealthy. In 1947, De Beers hired New York Ad Agency, NW Ayer, to invent campaigns to successfully market and sell diamonds to middle-class people. As a consequence, they invented one of the most successful advertising campaigns in history, “Diamonds are forever”. With this campaign and repeated exposure, middle-class men and women came to believe that diamonds are the ultimate expression of love, a belief that still holds true to this day.