Victoria's Secret's top competitor just released a lingerie ad that's unlike anything else we've seen from a major retailer
American Eagle's lingerie company has appealed to the young demographic by nixing airbrushing in 2014 with its groundbreaking #AerieREAL campaign and by employing a body-positive, inspirational vibe.
Its latest campaign, "Show Us Your Spark," takes its mission another step further, as it features more than just models.
Rather, it features bloggers, designers, bloggers, and some models, like the aforementioned Lawrence and Barbie Ferreira, who starred in a video for the company earlier this year.
"Half of the girls had never even been on a photo shoot," Aerie spokesmodel Iskra Lawrence says in a recent video for the campaign. "And yet all these women proudly bared their real selves to share their spark with girls everywhere."
The company has been sharing videos of the individual women - models or not - about their own "sparks."
"#AerieREAL celebrates real beauty, inside and out," Jennifer Foyle, Aerie' Global Brand President, said in a release. "It's a message that resonates with our girls, and we're so excited to give them a new way to join the movement with the Share Your Spark campaign."
So far, Aerie's efforts have been paying off. In its most recent quarter, it saw comparable sales soar 32%.
The company still has a way to go before it usurps Victoria's Secret, which brought nearly $7.7 billion in total sales (including e-commerce) in fiscal 2015. At the end of fiscal 2015, American Eagle, which holds Aerie, took in $3.5 billion in revenue, and Aerie is only a piece of that business.
However, its mentality seems to be in line with today's consumers, who seem to have a preference for more natural, real beauty.