What's the one thing you want to know about a garment before hitting the 'buy' button? How it looks underwater, of course. Okay, maybe not – but Zara seems to think so. The budget fashion brand's latest ad campaign has made a splash online – for all the wrong reasons.
Several recent photos on the brand's website show dresses being modelled underwater, and the internet is understandably baffled. But it seems the campaign has sunk before it could swim, with the images already removed. Perhaps Zara's marketing team ought to have checked out our best print ads for some truly effective examples of bold and unusual advertising.
@dumbwishlist (opens in new tab) Are they okay? #fashionchoice #why #whatareyouthinking
♬ original sound - Wish (opens in new tab)
A viral TikTok video (above) asks if Zara's marketing team is okay. "Has anybody checked in with them lately?," dumbwishlist (opens in new tab) asks. "Because I think they're trying to sell me this dress that is currently underwater. I have to say, it's not really working." The clip has so far received over 250,000 Likes – and users have since been sharing more bizarre water-based imagery from the brand on Twitter.
How do people actually do zara hauls? I've just went on the website as I saw a lovely dress pop-up ad and the model is kicking about in muddy water! How the hell can you picture yourself wearing it when your looking at that 🤣😭 pic.twitter.com/oO10jdELwpMay 23, 2021
oh thanks zara for letting me know how the bag would look underwater, I was dying to know pic.twitter.com/CBdU9whCd8June 14, 2020
And it seems Zara has taken the feedback to heart. As spotted by Pedestrian (opens in new tab), the underwater imagery appears to have been removed from the website. The wet look is gone, replaced with a more traditional, you know, image of the dress being worn on dry land. Alas.
Such is, it seems, the power of TikTok. We've seen all sorts of viral crazes originate from the social media platform of late, from this photo editing hack to that colour personality test. And if you fancy showing Zara a thing or two about photography, check out the best cameras in 2021.
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