Press Releases
| Barely There®'s Campaign Sticks Out at Awards Season |
| Clever Campaign Breaks Bra Ad Blueprint |
WINSTON-SALEM, NC (July 16, 2006) – Barely There® intimate apparel, the industry leader in seamless bras, panties and shapewear is the recipient of the 2007 OBIE Award – outdoor advertising's greatest honor – for its innovative and wry take on the practical problems women encounter with their lingerie.
Last summer, Barely There's campaign for its Invisible Look® collection generated buzz at its launch by shunning come-hither models and plunging cleavage in favor of bras adorned with headlights, pine cones, lettuce heads and pointy pink drink umbrellas. By capturing the bumps, bulges and other bra-related problems faced daily by American women, the print and billboard campaign received prominent media attention.
“The campaign's off-beat and edgy 'no funny shapes' messaging really appeals to consumers,” said Susan Ratz, director of marketing for the Barely There brand. “They get it and understand that Invisible Look bras are their solution to looking and feeling great in their clothes.”
Barely There was also a finalist for a Kelly Award, sponsored by the Magazine Publishers of America, for the brand's print campaign.
The campaign, developed by The Martin Agency of Richmond, V.A., has boosted the brand's sales and market share. According to NPD data, Barely There's intimate apparel sales were up 22.3 percent from the last six months of 2005 to the same period in 2006. Bra sales in particular witnessed an increase of 24.3 percent in that same period.
To keep the momentum going, the brand recently re-launched its Web site incorporating the campaign's visuals and messaging. Viral videos, consumer give-aways, and fun animations have helped grow the brand's online fan base and increase brand awareness.
“We used animation to bring the print imagery to life in a catchy, humorous way and integrated it with music and lyrics to set the tone and root some of the 'there' terms into the popular vernacular,” said Ratz. “This unique viral component of our campaign created a lot of buzz and allowed us to get our message across in an unexpected way that resonated with our consumer.”
One popular animation, posted to the brand's Web site and MySpace.com page, sings the sorrows of such brassiere blunders as "monoboob," "quadra-boob," "chicken-chest" and "torpedoes." A Barely There-branded fortune-teller interactive on AmericanGreetings.com invites site visitors to send their gal pals egreetings that would reveal their fortunes. All of the online programs featured calls to action and click-through links to the Barely There Web site.
Barely There will launch two new Invisible Look® styles this summer, both with new Comfort Stretch™ lining, bringing the collection's tally to six bras. “The Invisible Look collection offers a wide variety of bra and panty choices to help banish those funny shapes,” Ratz added.
1NPD Group/Consumer Tracking Service (ending Jul-Dec 2006) Intimate Apparel and Bra Data
About the Barely There® brand
Barely There is an industry leader in seamless intimate apparel. Barely There bras, shapewear and panties are sold at department stores nationwide. Barely There is part of Hanesbrands Inc.
For additional information about Barely There bras, tops, panties and shapewear, visit www.barelythere.com.
About Hanesbrands Inc.
Hanesbrands Inc. is a leading marketer of innerwear, outerwear and hosiery apparel under strong consumer brands, including Hanes®, Champion®, Playtex®, Bali®, Just My Size®, barely there and Wonderbra®. The company designs, manufactures, sources and sells T-shirts, bras, panties, men's underwear, children's underwear, socks, hosiery, casual wear and active wear. Hanesbrands has approximately 50,000 employees in 24 countries. More information about Hanesbrands Inc. may be found on the internet at http://www.hanesbrands.com.
Last summer, Barely There's campaign for its Invisible Look® collection generated buzz at its launch by shunning come-hither models and plunging cleavage in favor of bras adorned with headlights, pine cones, lettuce heads and pointy pink drink umbrellas. By capturing the bumps, bulges and other bra-related problems faced daily by American women, the print and billboard campaign received prominent media attention.
“The campaign's off-beat and edgy 'no funny shapes' messaging really appeals to consumers,” said Susan Ratz, director of marketing for the Barely There brand. “They get it and understand that Invisible Look bras are their solution to looking and feeling great in their clothes.”
Barely There was also a finalist for a Kelly Award, sponsored by the Magazine Publishers of America, for the brand's print campaign.
The campaign, developed by The Martin Agency of Richmond, V.A., has boosted the brand's sales and market share. According to NPD data, Barely There's intimate apparel sales were up 22.3 percent from the last six months of 2005 to the same period in 2006. Bra sales in particular witnessed an increase of 24.3 percent in that same period.
To keep the momentum going, the brand recently re-launched its Web site incorporating the campaign's visuals and messaging. Viral videos, consumer give-aways, and fun animations have helped grow the brand's online fan base and increase brand awareness.
“We used animation to bring the print imagery to life in a catchy, humorous way and integrated it with music and lyrics to set the tone and root some of the 'there' terms into the popular vernacular,” said Ratz. “This unique viral component of our campaign created a lot of buzz and allowed us to get our message across in an unexpected way that resonated with our consumer.”
One popular animation, posted to the brand's Web site and MySpace.com page, sings the sorrows of such brassiere blunders as "monoboob," "quadra-boob," "chicken-chest" and "torpedoes." A Barely There-branded fortune-teller interactive on AmericanGreetings.com invites site visitors to send their gal pals egreetings that would reveal their fortunes. All of the online programs featured calls to action and click-through links to the Barely There Web site.
Barely There will launch two new Invisible Look® styles this summer, both with new Comfort Stretch™ lining, bringing the collection's tally to six bras. “The Invisible Look collection offers a wide variety of bra and panty choices to help banish those funny shapes,” Ratz added.
1NPD Group/Consumer Tracking Service (ending Jul-Dec 2006) Intimate Apparel and Bra Data
About the Barely There® brand
Barely There is an industry leader in seamless intimate apparel. Barely There bras, shapewear and panties are sold at department stores nationwide. Barely There is part of Hanesbrands Inc.
For additional information about Barely There bras, tops, panties and shapewear, visit www.barelythere.com.
About Hanesbrands Inc.
Hanesbrands Inc. is a leading marketer of innerwear, outerwear and hosiery apparel under strong consumer brands, including Hanes®, Champion®, Playtex®, Bali®, Just My Size®, barely there and Wonderbra®. The company designs, manufactures, sources and sells T-shirts, bras, panties, men's underwear, children's underwear, socks, hosiery, casual wear and active wear. Hanesbrands has approximately 50,000 employees in 24 countries. More information about Hanesbrands Inc. may be found on the internet at http://www.hanesbrands.com.
| For more information, please contact: | |
| Terri Barnes Barely There 336.519.6764 terri.barnes@hanesbrands.com |
|
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