CALVIN KLEIN / MY CALVINS The mycalvins campaign broke the internet with over 25.5 million fan interactions and 20 million organic video views
Launching #mycalvins digital-first campaign to rejuvenate the brand’s image among a younger, global audience and reinforce Calvin Klein’s iconic status in fashion and underwear.
This campaign remains a benchmark in digitally-led brand transformation, proving how a fashion brand can blend celebrity, user-generated content, and global storytelling to drive both business results and cultural resonance.
The “I ___ in #MyCalvins” format became a template for inclusive and interactive brand storytelling, transforming Calvin Klein from a fashion advertiser into a global community movement—powerfully demonstrating how to make users part of the brand narrative.
Agency: in-house agency team with collaborators
#MYCALVINS / DIGITAL & SOCIAL EXPERIENCE
mycalvins campaign was, and remains to be, one of the most successful digital and social campaigns the fashion industry has seen to date
CHALLENGE:
More than 30 years had passed since Calvin Klein revolutionised the underwear category with iconic campaigns that turned briefs into sexy, coveted fashion. It was time to get people talking again
IDEA:
#mycalvins. - a social hashtag campaign asked Millennials to show their CK underwear via selfies. By leveraging the power of social media influencers, #mycalvins inspired fans to post their own images. Real people became models and all photos had the opportunity to be featured on the MyCalvins hub, an interactive shoppable gallery. Within a few months, the gallery reached over 2.1 million page views and almost 35,000 submissions globally.
Media support: 360 degree approach to media, reaching Millennials on mobile and online
IMPACT & EFFECTIVENESS:
The campaign’s early momentum resulted in an explosion of earned social media, editorial coverage and surprise, buzz-worthy celebrity moments. The #mycalvins hashtag generated 1.6 million Twitter mentions in the first 48 hours after the campaign launch. Bieber’s initial post gained over 1.5 million likes on Instagram and Miranda Kerr had nearly 40,000 likes in the first half hour. A new generation proved that CK underwear will never go out of style
Global reach: total global following of over 410 Million for 15 Million fan interactions
New Fans: gain of 4 Million social media followers. 1.1 Million Instagram, 2M Facebook, 900k Twitter
Sales Impact: 21% increase in ecom underwear sales in Europe. Women’s modern cotton range sold out
Digital Traffic: 50% spike in mobile-driven website traffic.to ck.com
#MY CALVINS / GLOBAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN / SPRINGSpring campaign launches a provocative print and video campaign starring Justin Bieber and supermodel Lara Stone, marking a new, more digitally-savvy era for the brand.
The images created by Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott mirror the iconic 1990s Mark Wahlberg and Kate Moss campaigns. A series of product-focussed stories highlighted key features
IMPACT & EFFECTIVENESS:
Campaign reach: over 469 million viewers, with 25.5 million fan engagements. Bieber’s massive social media following (over 59 million Instagram followers at the time) gave the campaign instant reach
146 Million paid impressions in Europe
Sales Impact: double-digit increase in underwear sales in the following quarter (Q2), among younger demographics
Clio Awards: (2016) Gold for Fashion & Beauty (Social Media).
Webby Awards (2016) People’s Voice Winner in Best Use of Video (Fashion)
Cannes Lions : Shortlist Integrated Campaign category
OOH - LED SCREENS
RETAIL WINDOWS
WHOLESALE WINDOWS
RETAIL POS
POS WOMENS BAGS
POS WOMENS JEANS
POS MENS JEANS
POS DUAL GENDER JEANS
OOH - MEGASITE
TRANSIT MEDIA - BUS SHELTER
PRINT ADVERTISING - WOMENS JEANS
PRINT ADVERTISING - MENS JEANS
JEANS CAMPAIGN
CK.COM HOMEPAGE TAKEOVER
SOCIAL ADVERTISING
#MYCALVINS / LIMITED EDITION DENIM SERIES / SPRING
Limited edition denim series inspired by the success of the mycalvins social media campaign
The #mycalvins Demim Series collection is based around iconic Calvin Klein jeans, an assortment of unisex tees and tops to be mixed with denim in elevated street styles - the ideal wardrobe essentials for an active, youthful lifestyle. Launched exclusively at Opening Ceremony stores, followed by broader release online and pop-ups.
A global campaign to mark the collection's launch features Kendell Jenner and model Simon Nessman and was shot by Alasdair McLellen.
TEASER WINDOWS
RETAIL WINDOW
ECOM LAUNCH
CRM
ECOMMERCE
ECOMMERCE
ECOMMERCE
POP-UP
POP-UP
WHOLESALE WINDOW
WHOLESALE WINDOW
PRINT MEDIA
IN #MY CALVINS / GLOBAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN / FALL
The Spring campaign featuring Justin Bieber and supermodel Lara Stone, evolved further with the Fall campaign “I ___ in #mycalvins” iteration, a bold, user-reflective concept creating space for personal interpretation and empowerment.
A first for Calvin Klein, all brands are presented together in a powerful visual narrative, captured by filmmaker Tyrone Lebon, with a raw, documentary-style aesthetic. Through a provocative blend of talent and storytelling, a rich collection of 90 stills, 50+ video clips and interviews, Calvin Klein celebrates authenticity, intimacy, and individuality, and pushes into conversations about modern identity and self-expression across digital platforms and interactive digital content.
The campaign spotlights an evolved cast of more than 30 talents encompassing actors, musicians, cultural icons, athletes, fashion idols, social media heavyweights, artists, and street cast models—often paired together to create a dynamic and artful mix of visuals. Feature talent: Frank Ocean, Zoë Kravitz, Bella Hadid, Young Thug, Kate Moss, and Margot Robbie, among others.
KEY CAMPAIGN TALENT
E-COMMERCE
EMAILER MARKETING
WHOLESALE E-COM
WE TRANSFER
BANNERS
TRANSIT MEDIA
TRANSIT MEDIA
OOH WILD POSTERS
TRANSIT MEDIA
TRANSIT MEDIA
PRINT ADVERTISING
PRINT ADVERTISING
PRINT ADVERTISING
PRINT ADVERTISING
SHOPPING MALL
RETAIL WINDOWS
RETAIL WINDOWS
RETAIL WINDOWS
WHOLESALE TAKEOVER
WHOLESALE TAKEOVER
WHOLESALE TAKEOVER
INSTORE ACTIVATION
FASHION SHOW: Live stream
IMPACT & EFFECTIVENESS:
Sales Impact: 13% increase in global sales year-over-year, with underwear and denim growth leading.
Brand: L2 Digital IQ Index names one of the “Most Influential Brands on Instagram”
Social: Earlier in the campaign lifecycle, the hashtag featured around 440,000 posts, generating 1.2 million social impressions
Diversity: Recognized in Adweek's "Top 10 Ads of The Year" for its boldness and inclusive representation
IN #MY CALVINS / CONSUMER SOCIAL MEDIA MOVEMENT / FALL
The campaign gained major momentum as a user-generated social media movement.
Calvin Klein prompted fans and followers to complete the phrase “I ___ in #MyCalvins” Personalizing with verbs like “eat,” “dance,” “sleep,” or “feel beautiful” and sharing photos wearing CK underwear, denim, and loungewear on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook
This creative UGC strategy turned everyday users into brand storytellers, actively engaging with the campaign and its message
IMPACT & EFFECTIVENESS:
User Engagement: #MyCalvins hashtag had over 873,000 Instagram posts by the end of the year. engagements and more than 37 million paid impressions globally
Influencer UGC Growth: Participation from micro-influencers and everyday users surged, creating a community-based brand ecosystem.
Brand Equity: Calvin Klein became one of the top 10 most discussed fashion brands on Instagram in 2016
Followers: Calvin Klein gained 3.6 million new social media followers following the campaign
Audience Reach: Campaign-related posts reached over 72 million followers, generating roughly 25.5 million fan interactions
IN #MY CALVINS / GLOBAL CONTENT PLATFORM / FALL
“The approach is digital-first, video-led and socially powered, providing our audience with an authentic and intimate experience that they can consume and share”
Deepening the cultural conversation with authentic, personal storytelling on an Olapic powered platform for the cast of collaborators to share stories and themselves with Calvin Klein’s audience.
As an added layer to the campaign, an immersive content “zine” on ck.com engaged users in the campaign - learning about its cast of characters, experiencing in-depth editorial stories, expanded creative content, behind-the-scenes moments, and seamless “shop the look. A Spotify collaboration offers select talents’ playlists and a playlist generator.
Fans were granted early access to the shoot with behind-the-scenes videos of campaign talent including Bella Hadid, Cameron Dallas, Selah Marley and street cast members.
Paid and owned media amplified UGC—across social platforms, print, billboards, and a global digital presence in over 25 countries—ensuring widespread visibility .
SOCIAL MEDIA TEASER
Celebrity Teasers via Snapchat: Short videos of superstars like Kate Moss, Margot Robbie, Frank Ocean, Grace Coddington, and more, premiered on Snapchat. Exclusive behind-the-scenes & conversations on love from campaign talent. Each clip featured them candidly sharing thoughts on love, desire, and personal experience, bringing an intimate, conversational tone to fashion marketing
SPOTIFY COLLABORATION
Partnership with #1 global digital music platform Spotify on a cross channel and immersive program that offers users of the music and video streaming service a dedicated branded profile page with custom playlists and engaging Calvin Klein playlist generator, whereby users can choose a verb from a list of options and a customized music playlist is created on Spotify.
IMPACT & EFFECTIVENESS:
Traffic: 20% uplift in underwear category online traffic to ck.com
~873,000 UGC posts by late 2016
Engagement: 1.2 million+ engagements across social platforms. 873,000+ UGC posts by late 2016
Diversity: The #MyCalvins movement showcased diverse users—across ethnicity, body type, gender, and sexual orientation—promoting an authentic and inclusive brand image
I TOUR IN #MYCALVINS / PRODUCT PLACEMENT
Justin Bieber’s concert tour reinforced Calvin Klein’s branding without formal sponsorship of the events. During promotional appearances for his Purpose World Tour (2016–2017), Bieber wore Calvin Klein underwear and denim, keeping the brand visible in paparazzi shots.
Calvin Klein leveraged Bieber’s tour content (images, backstage looks, selfies) to amplifiy #MyCalvins campaign on digital and social channels. Those posts saw massive earned media engagement, without sponsoring an event.
I SCULPT IN #MYCALVINS / PRODUCT STORY - THE SCULPTURED JEAN / FALL
Fall product focus is The Sculpted Jean, crafted from innovative stretch fabric and engineered seaming that lengthens, lifts and hugs in all the right places.
To (re-)launch this range, originally debuted in 2009, a 360 marketing toolkit was created of scalable activation ideas to attract, engage and convert our audience, most notably the buzz-worthy “belfie” booth
The activations were launched with a media campaign starring model Bella Hadid, along with social media superstar Cameron Dallas and Real Madrid footballer James Rodriguez.
SOCIAL MEDIA
WHOLESALE - pop-up stores
INSTORE ACTIVATION - Belfie photo booth
the buzz-worthy "belfie"
INSTORE ACTIVATION - Belfie launch events
INSTORE ACTIVATION: GWP customised t-shirt
INSTORE ACTIVATION - bounce back promo
WHOLESALE - jeans window
RETAIL - jeans window
WHOLESALE - POS imagery
RETAIL - underwear window
SOCIAL MEDIA - User Generated Content
OOH - bus shelters
PRINT MEDIA
I SCULPT IN #MYCALVINS / IN-STORE ACTIVATION
The Objective: To (re-)launch the range originally debuted in 2009 and establish The Sculpted Jean as the go-to fit for denim by encouraging customers to try on, feel confident and share how great they look.
Target Group: Fashion-aware 18–24-year-olds with an urban sensibility.
The idea: Try on The Sculpted Jean and capture your belfie. A simple sticker on fitting room mirrors inspires sharing on social media – with the added incentive to claim a GWP and be featured in the CK feed
I SCULPT ‘BELFIE’ BOOTH
Visitors are invited to slip into The Sculpted Jean and step inside the I Sculpt Booth. Using the iPad to snap a “belfie” and pick a favourite campaign tagline. Share to own social feed, and take home a printout (also send a copy to your email)
1. ENTER THE 'BELFIE' PHOTO BOOTH
2. USE IPAD TO CAPTURE YOUR BELFIE
3.CHOOSE A MESSAGE
4. VIEW YOUR MESSAGE
5. PRINT YOUR BELFIE
6. SHARE ON SOCIAL
MEET US #MY CALVINS / TINDER COLLABORATION
Digital Sexting Meets Fashion
Global advertising and content exposé on modern sexuality told through cast members who re-enact real-life dating stories. An innovative sociological experiment turned fashion campaign, that provides an editorial narrative of how a modern generation uniquely approaches sexual connection in a digital world
A groundbreaking foray into in-app marketing, rolling out the first-ever fashion campaign on the dating app Tinder. 'Raw text, real stories are “inspired by actual events and people.”', users encountered CK profiles as they swiped, complete with video and print ads tagged “Meet us #mycalvins" a provocative twist on the campaign digital ads
The campaign, shot by Mario Sorrenti, featured intimate images overlaid with realistic sext-style text conversations and represents Calvin Klein’s bold move into digital-first dating culture, exploring themes like hookups, open relationships, and smartphone communication
CK IMAGE APPEARS BETWEEN PROFILES
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LINK TO CK WEBSITE
“The goal is always to sell product, but to be a relevant brand means that everyone needs to be talking about you…there has to be a conversation. Relevance is the driver of commerce. Sales are 100 percent as important as is driving a relevant conversation”
Melissa Goldie, CMO Calvin Klein
IMPACT & EFFECTIVENESS:
Global reach: Rolling out across 27 markets integrating with platforms like Vice, Snapchat, and outdoor media—amplifying visibility well beyond Tinder alone
Target audience: Millennials/Gen Z, digitally-native daters
Engagement: 1 in 4 users actively opted in to see more from Calvin Klein after swiping right. When users swiped right, they weren’t matched romantically—but CK received precise swipe metrics, enabling real-time measurement of engagement
Cultural impact: The first fashion-dating-app brand tie-in
Calvin Klein’s Tinder integration marked a dramatic shift in brand marketing strategy—melding fashion with dating culture, media provocation, and in-app engagement. This collaboration not only stood out for its first-ever placement in Tinder, but also for how it humanized the brand: speaking in the same provocative, immediate language of modern romantic connection.
Integrated across mobile, social, and outdoor channels, this activation reinforced the brand’s provocative, tech-savvy identity and offered valuable performance data to inform subsequent marketing strategies.
MEET US #MY CALVINS / GLOBAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN
An innovative sociological experiment turned fashion campaign, that provides an editorial narrative of how a modern generation uniquely approaches sexual connection in a digital world
Global campaign, shot by Mario Sorrenti, is a content exposé on modern sexuality told through cast members who re-enact real-life dating stories. Features intimate images overlaid with realistic sext-style text conversations and represents Calvin Klein’s bold move into digital-first dating culture, exploring themes like hookups, open relationships, and smartphone communication
OOH - Interactive screens. Users can access Tinder and swipe left and right
OOH - Bus shelters
OOH - megasites
OOH - Supersites
OOH - LED screens
RETAIL STORE - windows / jeans
RETAIL STORE - windows / bags
IN-STORE displays
AMBIENT DISPLAYS
INSTORE ACTIVATION - photo booth
PRINT MEDIA
E-COMMERCE - home page takeover
SUMMARY:
Calvin Klein’s #MyCalvins campaign was a strategic and creative breakthrough. The Spring launch re-established the brand's cultural cachet using celebrity power, while the Fall evolution gave it longevity and relevance by turning the spotlight on self-expression and diversity.
This campaign remains a benchmark in digitally-led brand transformation, proving how a fashion brand can blend celebrity, user-generated content, and global storytelling to drive both business results and cultural resonance.
The “I ___ in #MyCalvins” format became a template for inclusive and interactive brand storytelling, transforming Calvin Klein from a fashion advertiser into a global community movement—powerfully demonstrating how to make users part of the brand narrative.