Kate Spade New York’s Summer Campaign Spotlights ‘Get Happy’ Dance Number
Kate Spade New York tapped choreographer Dylan Pearce and singer-songwriter Ines Nassara to offer a new take on the classic Judy Garland tune “Get Happy” in a dance video for its summer ad campaign.
“We are constantly inspired by the resilience of New Yorkers, and through our summer campaign, we wanted to take an opportunity to shine a light on a team of local artists who have been out of work over the past year,” said Jenny Campbell, chief marketing officer of Kate Spade New York. “Upon discovering Dylan’s initial video on Instagram, we were so captivated by his energy and spirit — it brought us an instant wave of joy and a smile to our faces. We admired his act of optimism and his irrepressible spirit, which felt quintessential New York and quintessential Kate Spade. We wanted to pass along this message of hope to our own Kate Spade New York community, while also giving Dylan and his colleagues a platform to share his work with our audiences around the globe.”
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According to Pearce, the choreography project began as a way to uplift spirits and bring friends together during a time when many people were out of work. “The song, ‘Get Happy,’ has always spoken to me, and I had been sitting on it for a long time. Looking back, it was like everything aligned at the perfect time. I always say there is nothing better than doing what you love with the people you love,” he said.
As an extension of the brand’s social impact mission, Kate Spade is partnering with The National Council of Mental Wellbeing to provide Mental Health First Aid training to New Yorkers within the artistic community. It is donating $100,000 to provide mental health services to performers in the New York City area.
Kate Spade will amplify its campaign via a partnership with TikTok. It has collaborated with Todrick Hall and Kelli Erdmann, who worked directly with Pearce and the ensemble cast to create their own dance routines that complement the choreography in the campaign film, while leveraging the creative features that TikTok users know. The brand will also launch a hashtag challenge across the entire TikTok community.
“We’ve seen an incredible surge in our performance on TikTok from creators who love our product and who want to engage directly with our brand, in completely new ways,” Campbell said.
Styled by Stella Greenspan, the new campaign features key looks from the brand’s summer 2021 collection. Taking center stage in the campaign is the brand’s Spade Flower Jacquard collection, in a green color way that’s featured in a variety of shapes and styles in a fashion sneaker, bucket hat and a range of handbag silhouettes.
The campaign launches June 1 across Kate Spade’s web site and social channels, as well as through paid social on TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook, Connected TV, across Hulu, NBC, ABC and CBS, a YouTube takeover and out of home placements throughout New York City.
As reported in March, Kate Spade managed to attract about 500,000 new customers to the brand last quarter through its digital channels, while simultaneously reengaging existing customers (40 percent more than in 2020’s fiscal year second quarter). Tapestry Inc. has also reiterated plans to grow Kate Spade to a $2 billion brand.
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