next stop, ikea station.
Ever feel tired and just want a reasonably priced couch to lounge on while you wait for the subway? Well, if you were in Paris from March 10-24, you could have! For two weeks in March, Ikea installed a showroom in select metro stations, showcasing their current furniture collection. Fortunately, I’m not a part of the commuter crowd, but if I was I would really enjoy seeing clever marketing such as this on my way to or from work.
keds: the original sneaker?
There’s nothing like a good ol’fashioned first-mover advantage, but when you wait 94 years to claim your “first”, people will probably be suspicious. I’m not here to debate the legitimacy of the claim, as I don’t work for Adidas or Converse or any other company that currently makes “sneakers”. What I am here to do is show you Keds super fun and interactive mircrosite, launched in celebration of 94 years of “originality” or…something. The microsite is set up in calendar form, and customers can browse by decade or date. Within each date or decade is tidbits of information related to the brand. If you’re into useless facts or need a good conversation starter for a party this weekend, check it out, TheOriginalSneaker.com.
product placement: gaga and rihanna
Sponsorship and product placement aren’t new ideas. In movies, products are used to offset the cost of production. For events, sponsors are used to do the same. In Lady Gaga’s new video for “Telephone”, a number of brands are featured in the video, while some have paid to be there, others have not.
Notable brands include:
- Virgin Mobile
- Hewlett Packard
- Coors
- Polaroid
- Diet Coke
- Chevrolet
- Wonder Bread
- Miracle Whip
- Plentyoffish.com
Notice anything about this list? As Aymar Jean Christian points out, “the brands most prominently featured in the video are the ones who have to work the hardest to stay hip: it’s HP not Apple, Virigin Mobile not AT&T. It’s the brands people my age either don’t use, have become skeptical of, or find too old-sounding: Wonder Bread, Polaroid, Miracle Whip, Chevy”. Considering that Gaga is a product herself, she has embraced consumerism, taking the opportunity to poke fun at what has turned into a heavily consumerist culture.
In her video for “Rude Boy” Rihanna wears G-Shock and Baby-G watches. The difference between Rihanna’s and Gaga’s videos is that while Gaga’s is funny, Rihanna’s just seems like an extended commercial. At about two minutes into the video, it looks like it could be a print ad.
So what’s your take?
please, think of the bread…
These are the best butter ads I have ever seen, for Gay Lea Spreadable Butter (butter with canola oil):
but really, don’t you hate it when that happens?! Oh the simplest things are funny. As my new products management prof would say: K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Stupid.
addiction: H&M fashion studio
Good lord. I just spent an hour and a half dressing a virtual model on H&M’s website. I think before this all my visits to their website didn’t even total the amount of time I just spent on there. I know Maddy touched on this a couple days ago but holy crap, you have to go and play around with this. Amazing concept.
What they will have to be mindful of is keeping the products current and updating the items frequently. Also, making sure that the products that they feature are also ones that are sold in the majority of H&M stores. I can see people taking an hour out of their day to come up with the perfect outfit, only to go to the store and find out that their location doesn’t carry that particular item.
The positives? Engaging customers on your corporate website for that long is a huge accomplishment. If someone takes the time to create an outfit on your website using your clothes, they have shown commitment to your brand.
The next step? Tying this in with E-commerce. This probably won’t happen at all/anytime soon though.
All the looks I came up with are ones I would wear, either in the office, to school, or out at night. Oh, and, the model looks exactly like me too so it was pretty easy to picture what I would look like in these clothes…(jokes). Click the images to enlarge and get the product prices.
Keds X Alice & Olivia
This spring, Keds and alice + olivia are teaming up to produce a limited edition line of the iconic shoes. The collection will launch at Neiman Marcus, followed by NeimanMarcus.com, alice + olivia boutiques and aliceandolivia.com and will retail for $88.
The best part? They will be sequined.
when the going gets tough, the tough find new target markets
Recently my parents were cleaning out their basement and came across a photograph of myself and my current roommate circa 1994, standing in her living room, awkwardly holding hands. It must have been the first day of school, or some other significant occasion, as I know for a fact that in my household when the camera was out it was a special occasion. On this particular day, my mother had chosen to dress me in Hounds tooth tights with white socks over top, black Keds and a gigantic white sweater. If we are assuming that it is the first day of school we must remember that it is September. Winnipeg in September can reach +30 on any given day. I must say I look rather stylish, if not a little overheated.
Looking at this photo I wondered where my mom bought my clothes from. I remember being taken to the Bay to shop in the kids department, but beyond that I don’t remember shopping anywhere else. Flash forward fifteen years and there is a multitude of retailers that offer stylish and trendy kids clothing.
get ready for your close-up
What do I Love You Man, I Am Sam, Sex and the City, and Legally Blonde all have in common? All four movies use product placement: an advertising technique used by companies to subtly, or not so subtly promote their brand by casting their product in a starring film or television role.
Case and Point:
Peter Klaven storing Sydney Fife in his iPhone (or “iPhun”, as he so awkwardly puts it).
The opening scene of I Am Sam, where Sam obsessively organizes Starbucks mugs, and sugar packets by raw, white and sweetener.
Carrie Bradshaw frequently spending her paychecks on Manolo Blahniks.
….and aspiring lawyer and ditzy sorority girl Elle Woods, walking into the Apple Store in a bunny costume, determined to be taken seriously by purchasing a bright orange Mac laptop.
More recently, product placement has taken a turn in the effort of promoting music artists and bands as their own brand. If you turn on MTV or watch an episode of Gossip Girl, you are bound to hear the newest, up-and-coming pop song featured within the episodes. MTV even lists the song that is being played at the bottom of the television screen, just in case you are one of those unlucky few who don’t have an iPhone and therefore don’t have the Shazaam app!
Whether or not product placement really works is debatable among the marketing industry. But, all I can say is that after watching I Am Sam, all i wanted to do was drink a triple-grande-half-sweet-nonfat-hazelnut-latte with extra foam (yes, I used to work at Starbucks) and listen to The Beatles all day long.
S2A X KOL
The bizarre collaborations continue into the new year as Kings of Leon pairs up with Paris-based creative agency, Surface to Air, to produce a “fashion” line inspired by the band. The overpriced collection includes everything from a $104 paisley bandanna to a $1,994 leather jacket. Unfortunately (or fortunately) the pieces are only available in the UK.
To see the rest of the collection click here.
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