Victoria Beckham’s 50th birthday marked an iconic pop culture moment. That’s no surprise. She may have traded her singing career for high fashion, but for millions of people the world over, she is still Posh Spice. And for a brief moment during her birthday celebrations last weekend, the Spice Girls reunited and rekindled the magic of their five-member ’90s girl band. This is the Beckham PR machine at its very best.
Victoria’s footballer husband David gave her a piggyback ride and came close to stealing the show. On Instagram, he posted a clip of the members singing Stop, setting off Gen X and millennials into a frenzy. Beyond the glitz and glamour, this 21st-century pop culture moment was a perfect example of the Beckhams’ social media game — a bit of nostalgia mixed with the right dollop of comfort and familiarity. And while the reunion won’t alter much for the remaining members, it has bolstered the power of the Beckham brand.
The Beckhams have been at the centre of popular culture even before they became the force they are today. In the mid-1990s, they were already dominating headlines for their successful individual careers. When David and Victoria became the ‘Posh and Becks’ couple in 1997, they ranked alongside the most glamorous Hollywood pairs.
This was the time when Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise were still married and marvellous. Some of the other celebrity couples were Johnny Depp and Kate Moss, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck, and Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. None among them except the Beckhams are still going strong, 25 years on.
It’s a testimony to their enduring commitment to their relationship. But kudos to their brilliant PR team for helping them weather their many storms with aplomb.
Aged like fine wine
Victoria started her second career as a fashion designer in 2008, while David hung up his cleats in 2013 and is now a football team owner (Inter Miami FC), which is his most prominent engagement in a slew of work profiles. Over the years, their celebrity status and fame have aged like fine wine — like the individuals themselves.
The Beckham kids, which includes three sons and a daughter, have by default inherited the celebrity status from their parents. Their eldest, Brooklyn, remains the poster child of nepo babies, who triggered a debate around the brand value of celebrity kids when he got an ad deal with Burberry fragrance at the age of 16. It was the cusp of social media revolution and the last instance of the Beckham clan’s public image going wrong.
Since then, the Beckhams have had the sleekest, unassailable PR game in celebrity town. And much of it rests on their carefully curated social media image, especially on Instagram. They are the big, happy family that many dream of.
It’s a family that never fails to celebrate anniversaries, birthdays, and holidays together. And all five (except Harper who isn’t on social media) are uniformly apolitical.
A perfect mix of nostalgia and family ties glosses their social media feeds between their million-dollar brand collaborations, advertisements, and items from Victoria’s fashion label. The personal and professional blend effortlessly in the Beckhams’ Instagram accounts, the lines have been blurred. The family is always together.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Humra Laeeq)