Rose Campaign

DeBeers’ line, 'A diamond is forever', was losing its meaning, relegated to a strapline on ads. In tough economic times, men were choosing flowers and chocolates as romantic gifts instead of diamonds. We decided to show the value of diamonds by deomonstrating the temporary nature of other romantic gifts. We constructed an installation of 25,000 red roses spelling out 'A diamond is forever' in the middle of New York’s Grand Central Station. Over the next ten days, the roses dried out, changed colour and died, poignantly driving home the message. Online, people could follow the roses' demise, hear interviews, and send rose emails that would wilt then die. Posters depicting other temporary gifts lined the walkways leading to the installation.