The Campaign

We created the Kevlar Couture. A range of clothing designed exclusively for the housewives encompassing one unique feature – they were made from military-grade, backstab-proof Kevlar. To earn a place in the conversation, we worked with celebrity fashion designer Alex Perry and luxury womenswear designer, Dan Jones to create the collection. The collection was worn by the housewives across show promos, social media, high fashion print, and a series of videos that tested the durability of the gowns against some high society weapons.

Creative Execution

While the idea is purely a promotional vehicle for the show, we wanted to be certain that the Kevlar Collection could withstand the carnage of Sydney high society. We worked closely with Sydney designer Dan Jones, and experts in combat armour to make sure the gowns didn't just look good, but could take a knife to the back. To achieve this, the gowns were made from military-grade Kevlar - a para-aramid synthetic fibre used in bullet-proof vests. Dan Jones has created looks for Mel B, Kimbra, Dannii and Kylie Minogue, and Prince. So it was only natural that he'd make Kevlar Couture exclusively for The Real Housewives of Sydney as a collection of one-off gowns. We then tested the dresses to hell and back against weapons the girls may come into contact with and released the films on social. These included: Samurai Silverware; High Calibre Cork; and Semi Automatic Stiletto.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

The spike in media attention, social media buzz and fan discussion around Kevlar Couture helped give The Real Housewives of Sydney a mid season lift. This resulted in the show becoming Arena's most highly rated show of the season. The campaign also helped boost streaming/catch-up demand of the series by 8%, meaning this season became Arena's most streamed Real Housewives instalment to date. The Real Housewives of Sydney also became the most discussed show on social media in Australia for the month of the campaign. With Kevlar really becoming the new black.

The fights, insults and combative nature of the Real Housewives franchise is one of the main draw cards to viewers. But with so many series over so many years, Foxtel/Arena had to overcome any viewer fatigue for their all important Sydney edition. The strategy was to illustrate just how brutal the Housewives were in a tongue and cheek way. Increasingly, social media is where viewers find out about shows and come together to discuss the drama . It is the new water cooler, so with that, we wanted to create an idea and product that gave the audience something extra to talk, tweet, and post about. It had to be more than a network promo, as viewers now pick up shows later on streaming and catch up, we needed to get to them there. The target market was reality TV, fashion and celebrity news obsessed women aged 18-45.