Have you ever had an Instagram-induced hallucination?
Well, scrolling through Alexander Wang’s Instagram, you might get one.
Nearly two million people were led to believe that Wang hired Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and Kylie Jenner to appear in a recent Instagram ad. However, after closer inspection, it became apparent that the bag brand recruited social-media stars known for their uncanny resemblance to the A-listers.
“100% certified authentic,” the brand cheekily captioned the video, adding their new $850 and $1,050 “ricco” bags would be restocked.
The video has since gone viral on Instagram and X, with many viewers trying to wrap their heads around the ad campaign.
“This video is diabolical lol,” one user wrote on Instagram, receiving 6,000 likes for the comment.
Another X user called the video “weird,” saying the celebrities should be “suing ASAP,” with 14,000 people liking the comment.
Others were supportive of the ad campaign. Several commenters on Instagram called for Wang’s marketing team to receive a raise, with one adding “this is the most marketing culturally aware ad I have seen.”
Among the TikTok stars featured in the video are Paige Niemann, who boasts 10.3 million followers on TikTok and is known for her resemblance to Ariana Grande. Additionally, both Taylor Madison, who has 855,000 TikTok followers and resembles Kylie Jenner, and Ashley Leechin, who has 1.9 million followers on TikTok and has a striking likeness to Taylor Swift, appeared in the video.
James Mcculagh, the senior director for global communications and marketing at Alexander Wang, said the brand did not want to comment on the video’s virality. However, the video might be a subtle reference to the resurgence of the "ricco" bag, reminiscent of Wang's notorious 2009 "rocco" bag. Since many of the celebrities featured in the video were also popular during the 2010s, when the “rocco” bag was hitting peak popularity, the ad could be a tongue-and-cheek call to that era.
