Victoria's Secret Is Missing a Big Market

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00:00A new era of sexy. That's what the CEO of Victoria's Secret was supposed to usher in.

00:04But what we got at the company's fashion show last night was pretty much just more of the same.

00:09Yes, there were models of all different sizes and skin tones. There was a transgender model

00:14and a model who is nine months pregnant. And that's great. But at its core, the show was the

00:19same as it ever was. Half-naked women strutting up and down a runway. Now, there's a lot of history

00:24here. After finding itself on the wrong side of the Me Too reckoning, the company tried to tap

00:29into female empowerment by bringing on brand ambassadors like Megan Rapinoe. That didn't

00:34convince anyone. It had really changed. But this year, there wasn't even a need for a mea

00:39culpa. Marketing reflects the national mood. And that mood is now all about sexy chatbots

00:45and tradwives and facelifts. In corporate America, it's the rollback of DEI policies and the widening

00:51of the gender pay gap. In Washington, it's regressive gender policies and conservative

00:56girl makeup. It's clear that the cultural U-turn that started with the anti-woke backlash

01:01of the early 2020s is now complete. To be fair, not everyone shares my criticism. In fact,

01:07we should expect to see more ads featuring women in less clothing because, well, it's working.

01:12American Eagle sales increased after Sidney Sweeney's throwback to Brooke Shields' 1980

01:16Calvin Klein campaign. And there's a reason Nike teaming up with Kim Kardashian rather than an

01:22accomplished female athlete has reportedly led Nike Skims to be the retailer's most successful

01:27apparel launch ever. The CEOs of American Eagle and Victoria's Secret have both suggested that

01:33their return to sexy branding emerged because they refused to fear the backlash. But there's

01:38nothing brave about selling to women based on old stereotypes. Sure, there will always be an

01:43audience for that. But there's a whole market out there that can't wait for something different

01:48and new. It's clear that Victoria's Secret is struggling to connect with them. But someone

01:52else will. Any ideas?