Essay Question
(Fashion) Marketing encourages desire
and aspiration through the construction
of images of perfection. Is this
acceptable?
To sell products to consumers, retailers must use a range of
tried and tested marketing techniques. One technique is to portray a product in
a certain favourable insight or concept. So quite obviously fashion super
brands want to ensure that their consumers see a product as the perfect dress,
shoes accessory or whatever it may be, for a perfect life. What is the impact
on the consumer? It works for fashion super brands as they are selling large
quantities of merchandise. Do these images create unrealistic images and
lifestyles that the audience attempt to recreate?
Ray-Ban
is a super brand who make sunglasses and optical glasses founded in 1937 and
from 1999 they were sold to be part of the Luxottica Company. They are most
known for their sunglass design the ‘Wayfarer’ and ‘Aviator’. Ray-Ban has gained
their high-end status by featuring their sunglasses in films, music videos and
through celebrities wearing them[1]. The brand values convey a laid-back
attitude and outlook.
One of Ray-Ban’s most
famous campaign is “Never Hide”. One of which they have been using since 2007
and are still continuing to use. The concept behind the campaign is to never
hide behind fashion trends or brands. Never hide from being who you are and
expressing your individuality and uniqueness, the brand Ray-Ban make trends not
follow them. When the campaign first started they used musicians in the marketing
but not famous musicians. All the models in these print adverts are very cool
and fashionable looking; they reinforced their image of a ‘laid back lifestyle’
and tried to communicate this to the consumer showing anybody that wears
Ray-Ban can have a chilled lifestyle and can look as cool as the models in the
poster because they are wearing Ray-Ban.
The
executive creative director, Chuck McBride, of Ray-Ban released this statement
about the campaign ‘Never Hide’. “Never Hide behind fashion labels.
Never Hide behind fashion trends. But most importantly, Never Hide has currency
in today’s world. Never Hide is a modern rally cry to be creative, be
exploratory and be experimental. It’s authentic. It’s real. It’s bold. It’s
stylish.” [2] in this statement Chuck McBride is saying that they
want the brand, Ray-Ban, to be individual and nothing like any other super
brand. They want to be raw and edgy but through this mission statement McBride
is contradicting himself saying he wants Ray-Ban’s audience to “hide” behind
the brand, by wearing Ray-Ban people are “hiding” behind their fashion trend.
Many
fashion super brands have been in the news over airbrushing their
advertisements. Researching Ray-Ban they have a clean record. Even in their
pictures it is clear they have not over airbrushed and in some cases not even
bothered about the airbrush. They have often used a cartoon/drawing as their
advertisement. This can show the consumer that they don’t focus on the models
that wear them, just getting the product across to the consumer. Because of
this it has given Ray-Ban a better name and more desired within the public
because they are not fooled by the advertising of the product. Even though
Ray-Ban aren’t using the image of perfection such as models, they still are
promoting a desirable lifestyle as shown in the marketing. I.e. rock star’s
lifestyle or an adrenaline junkie jumping out of planes.
Ray-Ban’s
demographic is for the younger generation of 18-30. This demographic is known
to be a lot more fashion conscience and confident. By promoting Ray-Ban
products in films, music and sponsoring celebrities they are targeting the
things young people are interested in. When Ray-Ban placed the Wayfarer style
in the film ‘Risky Business’ in 1983 with Tom Cruise, they targeted all the
younger people by this because Tom Cruise was a big icon in the 80’s lots of
people aspired him.[3]
In
conclusion with Ray-Ban’s marketing and advertising I believe that through
their adverts they do encourage aspiration and desire of a specific lifestyle
not perfection. The way in which they advertise their sunglasses shows it as a
lifestyle, but not just a product. The type of lifestyle they are promoting is
one that isn’t achievable for people everyday living their life and earing a
living. People that can’t just become a rock star or someone that goes jumping
out of planes. I think that Ray-Ban
don’t want to be seen as perfect, I think they want to be seen as cool and
confident, of which they are selling through their marketing.
Abercrombie
and Fitch is a clothing retailer founded in 1892. The original Abercrombie and
Fitch were an elite outfitter of sporting and excursion goods created by David
T. Abercrombie and Ezra H. Fitch. In 1976 Abercrombie and Fitch filed for Chapter
11 bankruptcy and closed its Manhattan flagship store in 1977. The name was
later revived in 1978-79 and since 1997 the company have kept a high profile in
the public eye through their marketing strategy. A&F are part of the sister
brands of Hollister, Abercrombie Kids and Gilly Hicks.
A&F
have been known for their print advertisements but not always in a good way. With
every advertisement they conduct they create the image of ‘perfection’. But
this doesn’t stay in their adverts, they bring this image of perfection into
their stores as well. All of A&F’s advertisements are to only promote their
new season wear and most of the time people would not be able to tell what
season they are promoting because they are always half dressed, but also they
are selling a lifestyle. A ‘perfect’ lifestyle, in the print adverts everyone
is beautiful and always having a good time, in this way of marketing they are
also showing their consumer when you wear Abercrombie and Fitch you can also
have this fun easy lifestyle because all of the models are. In all of their
adverts each model is half naked. A&F’s image of perfection is reflected in
their advertisements. Each model has the same perfect six-pack, ruffled hair
and smouldering look, they also bring this into the store when they class their
workers as ‘models’ not sales assistants because of their ‘look policy’[4].
This also reinforces their brand value as an elite high-end fashion brand
exclusive to people who can afford this and become their image of 
perfection. They take
their brand value so serious they paid the cast of ‘Jersey Shore’ not to wear
their products because they felt it effected their image of an elite perfected
brand[5]. Some young people who look at these images of perfection aspire to
become this. By buying Abercrombie & Fitch consumers feel like they belong
and are part of an elite group of people who also wear the brand. The CEO of
Abercrombie and Fitch Mike Jefferies gave a statement about the brand values.
“in every school there are the popular kids and there are the not so cool kids.
Candidly we go after the cool kids. We go for the attractive all-American cool
kid with great attitude and with lots of friends. A lot of people don’t belong
in our clothes and can’t belong, exclusionary? Absolutely.” [6] To sum up
Jefferies quote A&F are over in their desire to be a certain type of
consumer – they want to ensure that people who wear their clothes contribute to
promote their brand values of perfection.
perfection. They take
their brand value so serious they paid the cast of ‘Jersey Shore’ not to wear
their products because they felt it effected their image of an elite perfected
brand[5]. Some young people who look at these images of perfection aspire to
become this. By buying Abercrombie & Fitch consumers feel like they belong
and are part of an elite group of people who also wear the brand. The CEO of
Abercrombie and Fitch Mike Jefferies gave a statement about the brand values.
“in every school there are the popular kids and there are the not so cool kids.
Candidly we go after the cool kids. We go for the attractive all-American cool
kid with great attitude and with lots of friends. A lot of people don’t belong
in our clothes and can’t belong, exclusionary? Absolutely.” [6] To sum up
Jefferies quote A&F are over in their desire to be a certain type of
consumer – they want to ensure that people who wear their clothes contribute to
promote their brand values of perfection.
Abercrombie
& Fitch’s demographic is 18-25 year olds. In many of their advertisements
they are selling to college students, but the students who have a lot of money
and attend colleges like Harvard and Yale, with rowing clubs and the best
football teams, as this is all in their adverts. They target this demographic
because its at this age where teenagers are at their most youthful looking and
perfect looking and this is what they want their clothes to be shown on as
proved in their adverts. They know kids around this age group are desperate to
fit in and look the image. On the BBC Three program The Secrets Behind Super
Brands, a young boy commented. “ it’s really popular. You’ve got to fit in, if
I didn’t have it I’d feel left out.” Young people know the exclusivity of this
brand and know if they have it they will feel like they fit in. The impact they
have on their consumers when they create this print adverts can change people
to be desperate to look their image of perfection because they want to fit in
and be a part of it.
In
conclusion Abercrombie and Fitch does encourage the aspiration to become
perfect through their advertising and in store. I don’t believe it is right how
Abercrombie and Fitch market themselves as a brand. Its wrong how they have to
rely on their way of marketing these images of perfection to keep their
high-end status, they shouldn’t have to and it’s not necessary. Its too obvious
they aspire to have beautiful looking people wearing their clothes so they make
their advertisements so perfect looking people will try their best to be able
to become this. In reflection to fashion brand Ray-Ban its two complete
opposites. Ray-Ban doesn’t try to promote the image of perfection, they just
promote their product and people just want their product not their look. Where
as A&F go to an extreme to be able to create their image of perfection so
people aspire to become what they have created.
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