NEW YORK — The personality of country music singer and actress Reba McEntire will be front and center in a marketing campaign slated to bow in March, when the first collection of Reba apparel is due to roll out in 147 of Dillard’s 329 department stores.
“We aimed to capture the authenticity of Reba McEntire’s life in realistic environments, like Music Road in Nashville, where she has her recording studio and offices [at Starstruck Entertainment], rather than trying to abstract her reality,” Peter Arnell, chairman and chief creative officer at Arnell Group, said of the campaign, which comprises print ads, in-store videos, display photographs and look books for shoppers to peruse, plus a second version of the look book at dillards.com. The print ads are scheduled to appear in the March editions of In Style, Vanity Fair, Southern Living and People, among other titles.
To highlight McEntire’s personality — one Arnell described as at-ease and highly approachable — the campaign was shot in natural light, with some of the photographs portraying a loud, over-the-top spirit, and others, a quiet, moody motif. “We’re trying to show how she expresses her dignity, her sincerity, in her style,” he noted.
Observed Dillard’s spokeswoman Julie Bull: “We believe Reba has a very strong connection with women, and her view of fashion will be a great opportunity for our customers to share that vision.”
The campaign for McEntire’s signature collection at Dillard’s marks Arnell’s return to the fashion advertising arena, where he has created images for brands such as DKNY, Tommy Hilfiger and Rbk, and campaigns for Tina Turner for Hanes and Martha Stewart Everyday.
Arnell was drawn back to the fashion world by the business’ cult of personality.
“The entrepreneurial spirit has [evaporated] from global, publicly held enterprises, yet in fashion, the cult of personality remains powerful,” Arnell offered. “It just dawned on me recently to get back into the fashion category,” he mused. And opportunity knocked when he was contacted by McEntire’s public relations agent, Susan Magrino. Magrino spoke with Arnell about Reba’s image, and the seeds of the marketing campaign were sown.