On Chloe, YSL, styling mishaps and cross-branding
Well, what a storm in a Café de Flore teacup about the use of a – shock horreur – YSL belt in a Chloe fragrance ad. Did stylist Joe McKenna mischievously throw the skinny waist-cincher in the mix or was it an intern mix-up*? Personally I see nothing wrong with a bit of cross branding. When Ines de la Fressange agreed to walk the Chanel ss11 runway, rumour has it that it was with the proviso that she wore Roger Vivier shoes rather than Karl’s creations. Ditto the ad campaign. Likewise, J.Crew was recently in the news for directing website visitors to competing brands alongside its own merchandise.
I would like to see even more deliberate mixing up on the catwalk and in campaigns – say a Comme Des Garcons jacket with a pair of vintage Levi’s or a Ralph Lauren coat with Gap khakis. Why not, isn’t this how people dress now, rather than head to toe in one designer? I think it would show immense confidence for a brand to show its own designs styled with another’s, although still in keeping with its overall aesthetic. After all, almost every name designer of note has done a high-meets-low high street collaboration, isn’t this just a continuation of that idea?
*Oh yes, when in doubt, blame the intern!
23 October, 2010 @ 8:55 am
Poor intern as if! Agree what is wrong with brand cross dressing for ads. Surely the product is strong enough.
23 October, 2010 @ 1:17 pm
Oh pfftf, as if most people would know (or care) where the belt was from anyway. I can see why you would want to concentrate on your own label in an advert for clothing, but if it is for perfume I don't understand what the problem is – you are selling an idea, not a belt.
23 October, 2010 @ 8:48 pm
Haha, quite funny… Imagine there are some cross people at chloe! Agree though that if something works well with an outfit why should it matter where it is from. The belt looks great, it makes the chloe ensemble look great. x
24 October, 2010 @ 6:59 pm
I think there's a difference between direct-competition brands both fighting for attention and not directly related brands like you said, Levis and CdG in the mix. I think the latter is a more realistic approach. No point in spending a ton of money on an ad campaign if you are directing people to same-tier brands…
25 October, 2010 @ 12:00 pm
A lot of the retail brands I work with refuse to be used if their competitor’s items are being used etc. It creates a nightmare…but I totally understand their point. My company's policy is also to not drive away traffic unless the site/brand in question has a reciprocal link back to our site. The J Brand example is very interesting…
31 October, 2010 @ 2:06 pm
Agreed!