When Andy Warhol wrote, “In the future everyone will have their fifteen minutes of fame” he probably did not see this coming. And thanks to Instagram and the wonders of social media, Warhol’s notion of a short-lived publicity might just last longer than fifteen minutes if major designers like Marc Jacobs are casting models via the photo sharing app.
According to E!, Marc by Marc Jacobs’ execs made do without the conventional casting call and opted in favour of a “hands-on media contest”. All one had to do was snap an Instagram picture and tag #CastMeMarc. The week-long contest saw nearly 70,000 submissions – we can’t imagine the stress on our eyes! The submissions were then narrowed down to 30 girls from around the globe, nine of whom will be the lucky winners who will appear in the Marc by Marc Jacobs fall campaign which will launch in August.
Jacobs told WWD, “It seemed like a great idea to me, as casting through Instagram seemed cool, current and strong.” He continued, “we wanted the ads to shout with youth and energy…to be fresh and reclaim the spirit that the collection had when we first conceived of it — to be another collection, not a second line.”
But Marc Jacobs isn’t the only brand that’s using Instagram to choose their models. ASOS also picked their latest Curve Model face from an Instagram contest, with a little help from Models 1, a UK modeling agency. From more than 2,000 entries from the ten-day competition, Lauren Punter was selected to front the online British retailer’s plus-sized range. The #MakeMeACurveModel winner told Vogue UK: “I entered the competition on the final day and I have never done anything like this or entered a competition like this before.”
Other retailers like Brandy Melville regularly uses Instagram as her casting call method. However, the brand’s posts only invite girls to attend castings at the given store, instead of uploading photos onto their personal accounts. Melville uses Instagram as a “regular source of advertisement” and fans are encouraged to Instagram pictures wearing their clothing with #BrandyUSA, according to E!
