Jay Z is using his formidable star power to shore up the waning Rocawear brand...
From Us
Jay-Z's various successes include sold-out concerts, singles that reach chart-topping success in days and January birth of his newborn daughter, Blue Ivy (with wife Beyonce Knowles). But one area that hasn't been so great for the star is his Rocawear clothing line.
Which is why the supermogul decided to revamp the menswear line after a "rocky winter" where "Roc Apparel Group LLC laid off 28 of its 56 employees at its Manhattan headquarters," Women's Wear Daily reported Thursday.
The solution: a commercial with a big name.
Jay-Z, 42, is lending his A-list status and will star in the brand's first-ever television campaign. Filmed in November, the spot will begin to air on outlets including MTV, BET and TNT, most prominently during NBA basketball games.
"Titled 'From Marcy to Madison Square,' the black-and-white spots track Jay-Z's rise from selling CDs out of the trunk of a car in the Marcy Projects of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, to headlining concerts at Madison Square Garden. The spot uses footage from Jay-Z's 'Watch the Throne' concert at MSG in November," WWD writes.
Other efforts to help the brand, which saw global sales dip with a $500 million loss, get back on its feet include expanding its children's clothing and nternational markets reach.
