Calvin Klein’s bet on celebrity partnerships is paying off. The brand had multiple viral moments this year thanks to its star-studded campaigns — from Jeremy Allen White breaking the internet with his spring 2024 underwear photo shoot to FKA Twigs’ ad facing a legal battle in the U.K. and more. And when it comes to media exposure, BTS’ Jung Kook is the brand’s lead ambassador.
According to Launchmetrics’ Year in Review data analysis, released on Thursday, the K-pop star’s fall 2023 campaign for Calvin Klein Jeans generated $13.4 million in media impact value in 48 hours. Media impact value is a proprietary metric developed by Launchmetrics that assigns a true monetary value to marketing strategies across print, online and social media to calculate ROI.
Jung Kook featured in Calvin Klein’s fall 2023 campaign.
Inez & Vinoodh, courtesy of Calvin Klein
White’s underwear campaign, released in February, placed second, with $12.7 million in media exposure forged in 48 hours. The actor recently reunited with the brand for its holiday 2024 campaign, which, within its first week, generated $2.1 million in MIV.
Jeremy Allen White is featured in Calvin Klein Underwear to kick off the brand’s spring campaign.
Mert Alas, courtesy of Calvin Klein
Following the same metrics, Blackpink’s Jennie Kim, who was also featured in Calvin Klein’s spring 2024 campaign, fetched the third position in the ambassadors ranking with $8.6 million in MIV. The list continues with the campaigns starred by FKA Twigs ($5.2 million in MIV), Michael B. Jordan ($3.8 million), Kendall Jenner ($1.5 million) and Carlos Alcaraz ($827,000).
Jennie Kim for Calvin Klein.
Mert Alas
Besides Calvin Klein, other brands achieved significant success with their celebrity partnerships in 2024, according to the Launchmetrics report. Skims’ campaign with Lana Del Rey generated $13.7 million in MIV, while Zendaya’s collaboration with On generated $3.5 million from the ambassadorship announcement alone.
The report also pointed to Taylor Swift as the leading celebrity bringing media exposure to different brands. The singer alone generated $319.2 million in MIV with her looks during red carpet season.
