A year ago, Paspaley was being impaled on the horns of a dilemma. Pearls were in fashion, but the pearls being worn by the in crowd were cheap Asian imports. And the A-list was either buying something else, or very little, depending on how the last few years of economic strictures had affected individual fortunes.

And in the year of exposing where things come from, Paspaley had been one of the high profile companies getting unwanted media coverage worldwide.

So, Special Group had a big job to do for Paspaley. It had to reach hip young things.
Fashion advertising is highly experimental right now. To gain cred in fashion, Paspaley had to wow a crowd that had seen almost everything “forward thinking”.

It had not seen this…

The Special Group campaign for Paspaley begins with a story written by Miles Franklin Prize winning author, Anna Funder. The story arrives in the inbox of subscribers in seven instalments over one week, beginning October 1.

It’s a “short story of desire, need, love and all that is precious”…everything that girls like share between themselves. It was filmed by fashion photographer, Derek Henderson, and stars Teresa Palmer.

“Working with Paspaley has been one of the most exciting writing experiences I’ve had. To have total creative freedom, a time limit and an audience turns out to be the perfect conditions for writing a short story. And the idea that a company which makes things of great beauty and value from nature values literature, which (on a good day) is also something of beauty and value that reflects the world around us, was inspiring. Writing this story has been a joy and a privilege, and was some of the most fun I’ve ever had writing,” Funder noted.

After launch week, the story, Everything Precious, will be made available as a hard copy, on iBook, Kindle and as an audio book read by Anna Funder herself. Anna Funder will also perform a live reading at the collection launch in Sydney on October 8.

The campaign extensions include press, outdoor and digital.

Special Group creative director, Tony Bradbourne, commented, “We’re reaching out to an audience that traditionally don’t see themselves wearing pearls with a campaign that goes much deeper than your usual fashion advertising. It was a unique experience working with Anna, Teresa and Derek to create a campaign that works so strongly across so many media channels.”

Iris Kleimann, Paspaley marketing director added, “Special’s strategic thinking, innovative creativity, design craft, and attention to detail have been outstanding. We are really proud of the resulting campaign.”

“Working with Paspaley has been one of the most exciting writing experiences I’ve had. To have total creative freedom, a time limit and an audience turns out to be the perfect conditions for writing a short story. And the idea that a company which makes things of great beauty and value from nature values literature, which (on a good day) is also something of beauty and value that reflects the world around us, was inspiring. Writing this story has been a joy and a privilege, and was some of the most fun I’ve ever had writing.”

Creative credits:

Agency: Special Group

Creative directors: Tony Bradbourne & Rob Jack
Head strategist: Claire Beatson
Producer: Emma Pirie
Design Director: Emma Kaniuk
Social strategists: Cade Heyde & Olivia Drake