In 2009, affordable fashion was available everywhere. People were shopping for clothes in the same places they shopped for groceries.Old Navy needed a way to re-establish their identity as a popular fashion destination. At a time when celebrity culture was driving fashion, and women were looking to tabloids, not runways, for hints on what to wear…Old Navy decided to make their own celebrities instead. Literally. They were called “The SuperModelquins”. A pack of 12 mannequins with distinct personalities and backstories became the new faces of Old Navy.

And they were instantly famous.

Old Navy introduced the SuperModelquins to an audience of hundreds of thousands through Old Navy’s facebook in a long form video ala “E-True Hollywood Story”.

Soon after, they appeared in an episodic TV campaign. When people came into the store, the SuperModelquins were there “in person.”Old Navy’s circular became ON Weekly, an insert featuring gossip and deals. It also appeared in USWeekly.

Online, “the SMQ’s” had a YouTube channel, Twitter and Facebook pages. Fans signed up to get to know them and get deals. They also had their own couponing site, OldNavyWeekly.com, where thousands of big coupons were hidden weekly.

Other radio and TV, ON Weekly Exclusive, parodied Entertainment Tonight—dishing about sales and juicy stories. Soon the SuperModelquins started appearing in gossip mags for real with celebrities at events, parties, and hot spots. And pictures of them snapped by real people could be used as coupons in store.

The SuperModelquins were a hit.The month the campaign launched, sales were positive and have continued to increase steadily up to 20%, after 20 consecutive quarters of decline. It’s resulted in some of their biggest sales numbers in the history of the company.The SuperModelquins have acquired thousands of followers on Facebook and Twitter. Hundreds of thousands of coupons from OldNavyWeekly.com have been redeemed. And shoppers continue to snap pictures of the SuperModelquins every time they’re in store. Some have even included the plastic VIPs in their family holiday card.The SuperModelquins have helped Old Navy regain cultural relevance and reclaim their “fashion for all” throne.