For the past two years Migros Mode has been advertising its fashions using people like you and me. Migros Mode’s fashions purposely feature models that aren’t models at all. Heidi Miller, not Heidi Klum. Kate Moser instead of Kate Moss. Ordinary people, in other words, with ordinary jobs. Migros finds it hard positioning itself as a provider of cool fashion amongst young people, who tend to favour well-known brands. Moreover, grabbing the youth market’s attention demands out-of-the-box thinking.

More than 700 unattached single people responded to the casting call, and over one hundred thousand messages were forwarded to the Migros ‘models’. There was lively public interest in the campaign: hundreds of national and international media covered the story, with the effect that the Migros underwear campaign and its single ‘models’ were on every lip for weeks. The promotion attracted plenty of positive reaction via emails, blogs and interviews.

To bring Migros underwear to the attention of young people, in spring 2007 we created a platform for unattached singles by advertising for people who were seeking a partner. The successful candidates were featured in TV commercials and media ads wearing Migros underwear. Every ad carried that particular ‘model’s’ email address (e.g. sara@migrosmodels.ch) and the campaign website address www.migrosmodels.ch. The website gave details of the underwear featured and a short profile of each of the unattached singles, allowing the public to get in touch with them.

The fashion sector is experiencing mounting competition, with a glut of stores offering fashions, branded or otherwise, at cut-throat prices. Moreover, Migros traditionally suffers from an un-hip image amongst young people. Migros was therefore looking for a novel way of capturing their imagination. The campaign’s effect was amplified by large numbers of media keen to cover the campaign story. Suddenly Migros stopped being a boring, old-fashioned outlet.