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THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHREYER HONORS COLLEGE DEPARTMENTS OF ENGLISH AND ADVERTISING/PUBLIC RELATIONS CREATING CHANGE IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY: AN ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN TO BRING TOGETHER DIVERSITY, INCLUSIVITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY JORDAN PIETRAFITTA SPRING 2020 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for baccalaureate degrees in English and Advertising with interdisciplinary honors in English and Advertising Reviewed and approved* by the following: Stephanie Madden Professor of Advertising/Public Relations Thesis Supervisor Christopher Reed Distinguished Professor of English Honors Adviser *Electronic approvals are on file. i ABSTRACT Historically, the fashion industry has failed to properly and respectfully represent many demographics of the population and reflect the rising need for environmental sustainability in advertising campaigns. Fashion advertising mostly included white, straight-size female and male models and targeted a wealthy, white audience, until the end of the twentieth century and beginning of the twenty-first. Even today, many fashion brands are still fast fashion because they are low-cost brands, encourage disposability, and operate on a fast-response system (Joy et al.). In order for fashion brands to cater to the world’s diverse population and beliefs, brands and their advertising campaigns must be inclusive of all races, ages, genders, sexualities, sizes, abilities, and socioeconomic statuses. Additionally, they must make sustainable choices to minimize the detrimental effect that their brands and the entire fashion industry continue to make on the environment. I will analyze the history of fashion advertising, specifically focusing on diversity, inclusivity, and sustainability, to uncover how brands have excelled and failed in these areas. Then I will expose the historical inadequacies of the fashion industry by creating my own fashion campaign that proves how possible it is to incorporate diversity, inclusivity, and sustainability into a fashion brand’s advertising campaigns and behind-the-scenes practices. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………….i LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………………iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………………iv Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................ 1 Chapter 2: History of Diversity and Inclusivity in Advertising ............................ 9 Race ................................................................................................................................. 9 Gender ............................................................................................................................. 12 Sexuality .......................................................................................................................... 16 Size ……………………………………………………………………………………...18 Age ……………………………………………………………………………………...20 Ability .............................................................................................................................. 20 Chapter 3: History of Sustainability in Advertising ............................................... 24 Chapter 4: Standards of Diversity, Inclusivity, and Sustainability in the Fashion Industry ............................................................................................................... 32 Chapter 5: Competitive Analysis .............................................................................. 37 Eileen Fisher ................................................................................................................... 37 Girlfriend Collective ...................................................................................................... 38 Reformation .................................................................................................................... 39 Kotn ................................................................................................................................. 40 Competitive Summary ................................................................................................... 41 Chapter 6: Organizational Background and Campaign Plan ............................... 43 Target Audience Research ............................................................................................ 45 Goals, Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics ................................................................... 46 Chapter 7: Evaluating the Campaign ...................................................................... 50 Chapter 8: Conclusion ............................................................................................... 57 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................... 60 APPENDIX A: Survey Instrument .......................................................................... 65 APPENDIX B: Survey Findings ............................................................................... 71 APPENDIX C: Campaign Images ............................................................................ 79 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Summary of EARTHLY's Campaign Plan .............................................................. 49 Figure 2: EARTHLY website landing page 1........................................................................... 50 Figure 3: EARTHLY website landing page 2........................................................................... 51 Figure 4: Example Image from Social Media Campaign 1 ..................................................... 55 Figure 5: Example Image from Social Media Campaign 2 ..................................................... 55 Figure 6: Example Image from Social Media Campaign 3 ..................................................... 55 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis truly would not have been possible without the help of so many amazing professors, family, and friends. It’s been an exciting journey. Dr. Stephanie Madden, thank you for being the best thesis supervisor. I couldn’t imagine working with anyone else. Thank you for being so passionate about diversity, inclusivity, and sustainability and for supporting my craziness. You’re an amazing friend. Dr. Christopher Reed, thank you for continuously meeting with me to check my writing and brainstorm ideas. Your constant support and encouragement of my ideas and creativity played an enormous part in shaping my thesis journey. Mom and Dad, thank you for always supporting me. Thank you for always encouraging me to succeed even when things are tough. I can’t believe that my senior year is now over. Michelle Mischler, thank you for being so willing to contribute your amazing clothing to my campaign. It wouldn’t have been as meaningful without your passion and excitement. My fantastic campaign models, thank you for donating your time to participate in EARTHLY’s campaign. You are all so beautiful and truly made this campaign. It wouldn’t have been possible or as special without you. Rose McDaid, Olivia Kramer, Kate Sweeney, and Sophie Haiman, my absolute best friends, thank you for helping me through the rough patches and very late nights. You’re amazing. And last but certainly not least, Jeff Zaengle, my love and greatest supporter, I couldn’t have done this without you. Thank you for your constant words of encouragement and for being there for me every step of the way. Thank you for always pushing me to do great things. 1 Chapter 1: Introduction According to Frank Presbey, the concept of advertising can be traced back thousands of years to the drawings and paintings of cavemen. Although many people disagree with Presbey’s argument, advertising has unarguably become a permanent fixture in society. Advertising saturated modern society for the past century and is necessary for brands to sell their products and services to target audiences. With the rise of technology, advertising platforms have exploded in number. Companies, brands, and individuals now advertise on billboards and other outdoor signage, on the radio (both nationally and locally), in print media (magazines and national and local newspapers), on television (both nationally and locally) and digitally (websites, search engines, social media, YouTube), along with other media. As these media evolved, advertising progressed technologically, but many brands and companies are still creating advertising campaigns that lack the diversity, inclusivity, and sustainability needed for today’s society. Despite the diverse population of the United States and across the globe and the rising need for environmental sustainability, many brands continue to create advertising campaigns that exclusively represent a few segments of the population and promote the constant desire to consume. In particular, the fashion industry has failed to represent the Earth’s diverse population and to make sustainable choices when designing and producing clothing, accessories, and other merchandise. Print advertising was created in the 15th century, when William Caxton, the man who first brought the printing press to England promoted a book that had his first print advertisement. Although print advertising has been around since the 15th century, the most influential advertising has occurred within the last two centuries (“Old & Classic Ads”). Until around fifty years ago, most of fashion advertising specifically focused on and targeted white 2 men and women of the upper class. The ads that did feature and target racial and socioeconomic