Fashion advertising is an interesting section of the market, because how do you properly advertise not just a product, but advertise a brands aesthetic? And more specifically, their aesthetic for that particular season? It can often be difficult for fashion brands to change their advertising from season to season just enough so that it keeps the target market engaged but doesn’t deviate too far from their brand identity.
With a lot of fashion brands, all their ads become similar (both within their brand as well as similar to other brands). This can cause them to get lost in the sea of brands and lose customer interest. As well with higher end fashion brands, they know that the majority of the people viewing their ads will most likely not be buying their products at the end of the day. So, what exactly is the point of advertising then? Well, it’s in the hopes that people will keep this company in the back of their minds and if and when they may be able to afford luxury pieces, they’ll remember this brand and choose to purchase their items there.
There’s few companies that can keep themselves relevant season after season. They keep their audience interested in the advertising that they are putting out, and get people talking about their brand even if they aren’t going to buy it.
Gucci
One brand in particular that constantly reinvents themselves but keeps within the same aesthetic is Gucci. With the recent hiring of a new creative director in the past few years, they’ve completely revamped their brand to be super maximalist and fun but keeping that classic feel. And their Spring/Summer ‘18 ad campaign is no different. It features models decked out in Gucci clothes, in various settings. Which in itself seems pretty boring, until you realize that the entire campaign is paintings. This keeps within their maximalist aesthetic and takes it one step farther. One article even said, “This new Gucci campaign is pretty much as Gucci as it gets.” Accurate. But as well, Gucci Tailoring just did a campaign with Harry Styles in a fish and chips shop. Both are so different, but you immediately know that they’re Gucci ads just
Diesel Jeans
Another really interesting campaign from this past year was done by Diesel Jeans. In the past few years, it’s become really easy to get counterfeit Diesel products, so they decided to take full ownership of this problem and create Diesel. They set up a shop in Chinatown, NYC selling all Diesel products. Real Diesel products, but everyone buying them assumed they were fakes (they were sold at a discounted price as well). This garnered a lot of attention both for bringing the counterfeit problem to light as well as the shop workers shown in the video, accurately depicting what Chinatown is actually like when trying to get someone to buy an item. You can see the full video here: https://shop.diesel.com/deisel/?lang=default.
Prison Blues
Prison Blues is a denim company with an interesting new campaign. With a name like Prison Blues, you would think they would have hardcore ads, and they don’t disappoint (Their jeans are made by inmates at the Oregon State Penitentiary). Their new campaign is all about how rebellious their company is, one of the ads not even showing a pair of jeans. One headline reads ‘sometimes our jeans last longer than the guys who make them’ with an image of an electric chair next to it, implying that the guy who made the jeans was on death row. Why I find these ads so interesting is they’re not trying to shy away from anything and don’t care if it makes people uncomfortable.
Posted by Frances Pace, Marketing Intern at initiate-it, a digital first, full-service agency located in Richmond, VA.