The “Million Dollar Miracle Bra” was a 1996 publicity stunt by Victoria’s Secret that marks the start of a sequence of masterful marketing moves that helped the label become one of the most valuable apparel brands in the US with over 1,400 stores and 32% of the market share.

As the name implies the campaign revolved around a bra crafted with bedazzling expensive stones, it also included a top model and not much else. The one supporting Candice Swanepoel in the picture, for instance, is adorned with 4,200 rubies, diamonds and yellow sapphires. All that hand-set on an 18-carat gold mesh with a price tag of $10 million.

The immense success of the stunt led to spinning-off into a prime-time network TV fashion show that featured the who’s who of modeling and pop music. Victoria’s Secret used this show to market goods in a high-profile setting. At its peak the super bowl of fashion shows enjoyed a worldwide audience of over 500 million souls with 30-second spots selling for $1.8 million. Let that hit you… VS turned a marketing effort into a revenue stream.

Winds can shift fast, and by 2019 poor ratings led to the cancellation of the show. The brand’s market share was down to 19% and the stock at $8 from $76. It was at that moment that perhaps the CEO was who best captured the moral of the story: “Fashion is a business of change and we must change to grow.”

Inspired by the spirit of the age the brand then directed an amazing turnaround to move the brand from fantasy to inclusiveness. The “Think You Know Us” campaign included in-store oversize mannequins, transgender models catalogs and gender-neutral products. It was once again the CEO summing it up best: “We’re moving from sexy for a few to sexy for all”.

mariano p