They may have come from modelling backgrounds, but their true fame was most definitely found on Instagram - and now these Instagirls are becoming the flavour of the times when it comes to advertising campaigns.
Instagram’s most popular have now been embraced by brand’s marketing scheme for a while, with one of the best examples being the appointment of reality TV star Kendall Jenner to the face of Estée Lauder.
The brand’s global president Jane Hertzmark Hudis named her an “Instagirl” and explained of her allocation: “Bridging the worlds of high fashion, entertainment, and social media, Kendall is a modern beauty who represents a whole new generation of women who live, breathe, and share beauty, fashion, and life 24-7, on their own terms, in a visually compelling way.”
Similarly, Gigi Hadid has been linked to Maybelline New York, and non-models Hannah Bronfman, Tavi Gevinson and Margaret Zhang have become the faces of Clinique’s latest campaign.
Style.com’s Amber Kallor summarised this approach by saying: “Women who live their lives at the rapid pace of the Internet know how to effectively communicate with a customer who sleeps next to her iPhone and discovers information by turning to Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, because they are of the same mentality.”
The publication believes that the new generation cannot be as easily deceived by glossy advertising - it is instead the digital age and its myriad of apps that appeal to the younger consumer.
“Photoshopped ad in a glossy just isn’t enough to win over the young generation of consumers - and the sales aren’t necessarily as trackable or instantaneous as an Instagram post or a blog with a link to buy. It also doesn’t generate the same amount of buzz, which is likely the reason many companies are choosing to release campaign images and break brand news across social channels first in lieu of traditional placements with established media outlets,” says Kallor.
