On Sunday, singer and rapper Bad Bunny stole the show with his halftime performance at Super Bowl LX, and while much of the resulting watercooler talk was about his loud and proud representation of Puerto Rican culture and symbolism, a more subtle nod was taking place — to natural diamonds.
Wearing a marquise-cut stud earring featuring a honey-colored natural De Beers Desert Diamond, designed by Marvin Douglas, Bad Bunny’s football-shaped jewel was coordinated through A Diamond Is Forever, a natural-diamond marketing campaign the miner developed. The entertainer reinforced the theme when he picked up a natural-diamond engagement ring from a stall and handed it to a man who then proposed with it. All this led to a traditional family wedding, which featured a close-up of a diamond ring, associating it with the idea of love and connection.
The Super Bowl spot was a win for natural diamonds, but not a heavily planned-out one. Best of all, it didn’t cost De Beers a cent.
“This happened organically as part of a close, evolving, and mutually supportive and respectful relationship with a very talented designer,” said Sally Morrison, natural-diamond lead for De Beers. “It was very intentional on both sides, but certainly not a manufactured campaign idea, and I think that you can feel that in the outcome.”
Rapaport CEO Dan Mano agreed, calling it “clever, positive storytelling” in a recent LinkedIn post.
Evolution of a diamond campaign
The miner works closely with jewelry designer Douglas, who is also Bad Bunny’s stylist. Last year, Douglas went on a trip with De Beers to southern Africa to visit the company’s operations, and was “incredibly inspired” by the idea of Desert Diamonds, and the feeling of connectedness to the earth they gave him, the miner explained.
When Douglas was looking for a piece of jewelry to punctuate Bad Bunny’s overall look, he remembered the Desert Diamonds and came to De Beers to help source a marquise-shaped stone.
“The whole show was layered with references to where we come from, our cultures, our beginnings, our connectedness, etc., and [Douglas] felt that a single diamond, in a shape that was reminiscent of a football, was highly symbolic, elegant, and a simple reflection of the meaning of the day,” Morrison said.
Stepping back to get ahead
The move is a new avenue for the industry: gently and not-so-prominently presenting natural diamonds, not as the star of the show, but definitely getting them noticed. In this way, natural diamonds aren’t being pushed, so much as just there. Their importance doesn’t lie in how obvious they are, but rather in the fact that they are a “natural” part of everyday life.
It is also a shift that’s been sorely needed. As recently as late 2024, De Beers and Signet Jewelers were still using the same old marketing that focused on love, and the idea that real relationships need real diamonds. Last year, some tried a different method — bashing lab-grown diamonds in an attempt to uplift natural by comparison — a play that did not go over well with many in the industry, nor with the general public. The consensus was that these ads had a definite ring of desperation to them.
Taking it under advisement
Though this new method might seem like a roundabout way of introducing product placement, it actually goes well beyond that. Yes, the item — in this case natural diamonds — are a by-product of the main event, but they still get noticed. There’s also a nuanced subtext: connection.
Last year, retail and luxury experts weighed in on what they felt needed to change in natural-diamond marketing to reignite passion. Dave Marcotte, senior vice president of the Americas for retail advisory group Kantar Consulting, felt current ads were “talking about love,” but “missing the connection…with the people they are trying to sell to.”
Meanwhile, Laryssa Wirstiuk, founder of Joy Joya, a digital-marketing agency that works with luxury-jewelry brands, believed the trade needed to forgo the traditional and relate to younger consumers in a more targeted way.
“I think in marketing, if you are just looking to try and outpace the other guy, it’s a constant race to the bottom, because you’re not actually doing anything positive to differentiate yourself in a fun, interesting and unique way,” she said.
With this Super Bowl maneuver, the industry did both. It moved away from the traditional, creating a connection with Latino culture, love and marriage, and everyday life. It also presented diamonds as hip, fun, symbolic, attainable and luxurious all at the same time. In one 13-minute performance, natural diamonds became cool, fresh, interesting and unique. It also didn’t hurt to associate them with pride, independence, and one of the most popular musical artists in the world.
And De Beers has more of these types of projects in the works, including a collaboration with Doja Cat and a number of other celebrities, with the goal of building “mutually collaborative relationships with all kinds of creative talent which deliver richer and more authentic outcomes, as opposed to ‘one and done’ transaction placements,” Morrison explained.
“It takes time, but we believe it’s the optimal way to integrate our product into big, cultural moments,” she stated.
More collaborations with prominent people that combine subtlety, connectivity, love, culture and high visibility? Yes, please.
Image: Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl LX halftime show. (A Diamond Is Forever)