March 2010
To Sheer Or Not To Sheer
Submitted by Valerie Donati on Mon, 03/15/2010 - 10:10Our agency represents various fashion and luxury brands. As such, we have a nice (and sometime early) take on what is trending in fashion, et al. Refinery29 has a great article that provides advice on how to wear a sheer top. Having worked with this "ongoing" trend for years now, I have my own advice...
If you don't have the right figure forgo anything sheer at all costs...- A nude cami can be just the ticket for sheer, but be prepared for people to stop and stare, until they've figured out that it's a nude cami and not your bare naked self...
- Be careful of jewelry, most everything sheer is prone to pricks. That fab necklace just may spell the death of your new EXPENSIVE sheer top…
- Sheer can kill. Just kidding, wanted to make sure I hadn't lost you…
- Sheer should be season appropriate - think spring/summer, when your goose pimples won't show through…
- Opt for sheer when you want to "say" elegant, not sexy. In defiance of common wisdom, sheer really isn't about sexy, and when it is, it almost always goes wrong…
So check our Refinery 29. They are definitely more sophisticated than I am when it comes to these types of subjects...
LOL!
BRANDING: Get Real
Submitted by Valerie Donati on Wed, 03/17/2010 - 11:36
Branding. It's a tough game. As a communications agency, we've considered slipping into the "imaging" business only to pop back out since GOSH not only is it tough, it's ridiculously subjective. "No, no, no, not the right color, tone, vibe, historical reference." TOO frightening for our stomachs. But, we get it, and that's important in our business. Let the other brains do that heavy lifting...
And as a communications agency we know good commercials when we see them. They are engaging enough to do 2 things:
1) Not make us want to flip the channel...
2) Give us enough good content to actively look forward to seeing them again...
Now, if a commercial meets this criteria it's a good one in our books, and definitely worth the trillions of dollars brands spend to produce them.
Take those E*Trade commercials that feature those cute and somewhat surely kids. LOVE THEM. Can watch them over and over again. I never get sick of them. Ever. If I was going to do my own trading, I'd have to go with that brand. I'm hooked.
So, Miss Lohan, I know you have your own brand to protect, and protect it you should (!) but lighten up on E*Trade. No offence, but have you really been that damaged by the commercials? Really think about it, compare it to past debacles and you may find it's not that bad after all.
Source: uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu
Celebrity As Nose Muse
Submitted by Valerie Donati on Fri, 03/19/2010 - 11:52
Jennifer Aniston. Jennifer Aniston and perfume? Sure, why not! She’s youthful, spunky, fresh faced, a survivor. She's got the "get up and go" to handle a perfume. She stands for things, many things, and that's what you need when you're doing a perfume. You need context, you need content, you need... CELEBRITY!
Celebrity, she's got it. You go girl! Celebrity, who would want it? At least her kind. No privacy, your every move chronicled by ruthless photographers.
Oh, celebrity can give you fragrance deals. And after all, that's pretty sweet. Having a perfume. A perfume named after you!
I'm not against it and I like JA. I probably wouldn't buy it, but I'm probably not the target (I like my perfume made in France and by brands like Hermes, but I'm old fashioned). BUT, I bet millions of others would try it, and if it's good, shoot I bet they would come back for more.
JA, go for it. I think you may have a hit on your hands!
To Brand A Tiger
Submitted by Valerie Donati on Tue, 03/23/2010 - 22:32
When I was growing up the tiger brand belonged to a gasoline. You knew with that gas in your car you were going to tear up the road. Oh, it also belonged to Tony the Tiger; your cereal was going to make you feel GGGRRREEEEAAAAT! Then, there was the scary "Eye of the Tiger" song, part of that frightening swath of bad movie soundtracks that I hope will never be resurrected.
Anyway, today, the “brand of tiger” belongs to the man, Tiger Woods. But is his brand out of the woods? Will it ever be fully reconciled with its former self? Of course not. It will never go back to its elusive, excellent former position. But, the brand just might emerge better than ever. Here are 2 scenarios...
1) Tiger comes clean and owns up...
In this scenario we meet Tiger the REAL man. This is Tiger the humble, the guy who slipped off his pedestal (it's darned hard to live under child star scrutiny). This is Tiger who did what a lot of guys do but did it married (a really BAD idea, guys). Tiger, what WERE you thinking... Anyway, he can say sorry, he may never get his wife back, but a humbled, chastened Tiger could be good for his brand and others. For instance, the American car industry, “We were too big for our britches, give us a chance, we're ready to do it right...”
2) Tiger, bad to the bone and loving it!
In this scenario Tiger owns up to being an undercover bad guy. Yep, that's right. I was wrong, but being wrong can feel so right. And not only that, I'm good. Actually, the best in the biz, so get out of my way, let me get back in action. I'll show you guys how it's done. A fast food chain my be a good brand partner here. Yes, this is totally bad for you, but that crazy saturated fat tastes good doesn't it, so WHO CARES!
Tiger most likely you'll have to do a bit of both.
My recco? Just play good golf buddy.
What Has Alice in Wonderland the Movie Got to Do with Branding? EVERYTHING...
Submitted by Valerie Donati on Thu, 03/25/2010 - 22:43
I just saw Alice In Wonderland, the film, and though I have not read it in years I think I may have missed something.
I was looking forward to seeing Alice peek out of a doorway too small for her newly big self and glimpse a verdant vista, hedges and lawns and brightly colored flowerbeds. Of course in this well done but not surprisingly creepy Tim Burton version, verdant anything was kept at a minimum. And then there was the big-time creative license TB took with the various creatures and overall timeline. To be expected? Probably. That's TB for you.
Here's the thing... AIW is a classic, and as a fairly strong brand you can do what you want, the song remains the same, so to speak. So, Tim Burton could borrow elements from Carroll poems, insert them in the story line and voilà! It works, no matter how random. Like I said, that's a strong brand for you.
So, how did AIW become such a strong "brand?" First, I think the story tapped into a place we all go at one time or another, our dream life. It did a nice dance with our various inner selves, the ego, id and all that, and then produced an adult parable masquerading as a child's fairy tale. But here's the important part, it gained followers. Maybe not so many at first, but the cult gained momentum overtime, as cults do.
Brands, steal a page from Carroll's fable - make it mean something, stand by it and never lose heart. Even Tim Burton can't mess up your version of the truth...
ANNA AND MICHAEL: Is 16 The New 18?
Submitted by Valerie Donati on Tue, 03/30/2010 - 18:33
So, I guess our favorite lady of fashion, Anna Wintour, and our runway critic extraordinaire, Michael Kors, are making news these days debating, or maybe agreeing, (can't keep it straight) on whether or not 16 years of age is an appropriate cut off time for runway models. First of all, is it ever a good age to be a model? Maybe that's the real question. Tough life, ultimately, bad on the ego, generally. But that's another story...
16, what was I doing when I was 16? What wasn't I doing when I was 16 is more the question. Honestly it being the 80's in Miami and me being your normal teenager, I'm sure I was doing more than I should have been doing.
Which gets to the point (at least sort of) here. 16 is actually both very young and quite mature in today's society. With access to just about everything thanks to the internet and a general sophistication in terms in what these kids know and are often exposed to (think proliferation of media and relaxed "standards") 16 really is like going on 40, not to mention 13, 14 or 15.
If you're under 16 and your parent consents to your involvement in a runway show have at it. BUT PARENTS BEWARE you may be setting your young one up for a future of insecurity, bad body issues, etc. Oh gosh, was I a runway model and didn't know it? Lol...
Best age yet? 47!