Shakira warned us with one of the most iconic lines of recent pop culture in her Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53: “Women don’t cry anymore; women cash in.” The Colombian singer herself has been a pioneer in the art of turning your ex into a marketing campaign. Turning history into an opportunity was also successfully embraced by Irene Rosales, starring in Grefusa’s latest campaign aimed at her ex-husband, Kiko Rivera. And now two more familiar faces join this club.
Leire Martínez, the former lead singer of La Oreja de Van Gogh, and Juls Janeiro, the eldest daughter of Jesulín de Ubrique and María José Campanario, have just starred in separate advertising campaigns with a similar strategy. Both are images for two brands that seek to capitalize on musical breakups or mediatic family feuds to generate a big impact.
In Leire’s case, her advertisement for the electronics company Braun under the motto “go it alone” has been interpreted immediately as a series of clear indirects and a battle cry after her abrupt exit from La Oreja de Van Gogh in late 2024. The controversy intensified when what had been a whispering secret was confirmed: Amaia Montero’s return to the group that made her a music star. She spent eleven years with the group and seventeen with her successor.
And in Juls’ case, it has been another firm in the field, PcComponentes, that has chosen the young woman to headline a campaign in which she irons out accusations of living off her parents’ fame. But, in the process, she also seizes the opportunity to take a jab at Belén Esteban, the ex of Jesulín de Ubrique, who subtly accused her of being a nepo baby.
Leire Martínez Goes Solo
“Yes, I’m going solo now. And yes, it’s the best thing that has happened to me,” we read in the Instagram post with which Leire Martínez has shared her latest Braun advertisement. In an elegant but blunt way, the campaign’s name is a full statement of intent after the Gipuzkoan artist left La Oreja de Van Gogh and began her solo career.
“Blessed moment when I decided to go solo,” we hear her say in an advertisement whose symbolism will not escape any fan of LODVG. Leire recreates the cover of one of the band’s most iconic albums, Lo que te conté mientras te hacías la dormida, in which Amaia Montero appears, while replacing a bouquet of wilted roses (in clear reference to another song of the group, Rosas) with carnations.
To conclude this message of liberation and personal transformation, Leire Martínez states that “you end up learning to do things your own way.” And she finishes with a playful provocation, breaking the fourth wall and looking at the camera and asking us: “What did you think I was talking about?”
The plugged-in Juls Janeiro
Juls Janeiro also plays with provocation in her viral advertisement, which can already be seen on a massive billboard in the heart of Madrid. The double meaning of the word “enchufe” becomes the creative vehicle of the campaign “If you plug in, you’re on PcComponentes.” Washers “for those who need to wash dirty laundry,” dryers “for those who air out their problems,” and headphones “to listen to the other version of the story” are the ingredients of the brand’s spots featuring the young woman.
This campaign uses humor so that Juls Janeiro laughs at her reputation for being plugged in due to her parents’ fame and to respond to Belén Esteban’s statements against her. It all started when the television collaborator resurfaced on Instagram with this message: “My girl, the thing I want most in my life, you are not a nepo baby… others are.”
A veiled accusation to which, by reference, the daughter of María José Campanario did not hesitate to respond. “If we’re talking about nepo babies, she, not being my father’s daughter, has basically been the same, because she has spent her life talking about him. She is the shadow of Jesulín de Ubrique,” she said before branding Belén Esteban a “television meme”. Now, their dispute has a new and very public arena.
