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18.01 Polaroid's gone Gaga
Posted by Tim on Monday 18 January 2010
The recent news that Lady Gaga is to become Polaroid’s creative director is another example of ailing brands shoe-horning celebrities into unfamiliar roles for the sake of nice big slug of publicity.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/jan/08/lady-gaga-polaroid-creative-director
It’s no longer enough for celebrities to be seen wearing or using a brand, they’re being positioned as vital cogs in the creative process. Presumably the, let’s be honest, tenuous party line is that these celebs exude ‘creativity’ in the purest sense of the word, so it doesn’t matter whether they sing, act, cook or knit, they can successfully apply their innate creativity to any media or project.
Not buying it? No, neither am I, although there is clearly a strong feeling that the punters will. There has certainly been a vogue for these sort of appointments in recent times with Gaga’s new role following hot on the heels of the train wreck that was Lindsay Lohan’s appointment as ‘creative consultant’ at forgotten fashion label Ungaro. Not to mention the spate of celebrity guest editors at a number of newspapers - does anyone treasure (or even remember) the edition of Metro edited by James Blunt? Thought not.
Granted the Lohan appointment did get Ungaro an instant press fix that got the brand noticed again, but with headlines ranging from ‘Lohan’s Debut Deemed Disasterous’ to ‘Critics Rip Lohan’s Collection To Shreds’ and the founder himself labelling the whole idea a ‘disaster’ it’s fair to say that the ‘any press is good press’ adage doesn’t really seem to apply here.
It remains to be seen whether Gaga’s hands on approach will be a bit more successful, and with the Polaroid camera now largely obsolete it’s clear that the brand needed to do something to reinvent itself for the digital age. But, and call me boring if you will, I can’t help feel that investing this money in a nice big slice of digital advertising would be a bit more of a canny move? Now the cameras are gone, does anyone even know what Polaroid actually produces or stands for anymore?
What next? Jedward signing acts for Sony?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/jan/08/lady-gaga-polaroid-creative-director
It’s no longer enough for celebrities to be seen wearing or using a brand, they’re being positioned as vital cogs in the creative process. Presumably the, let’s be honest, tenuous party line is that these celebs exude ‘creativity’ in the purest sense of the word, so it doesn’t matter whether they sing, act, cook or knit, they can successfully apply their innate creativity to any media or project.
Not buying it? No, neither am I, although there is clearly a strong feeling that the punters will. There has certainly been a vogue for these sort of appointments in recent times with Gaga’s new role following hot on the heels of the train wreck that was Lindsay Lohan’s appointment as ‘creative consultant’ at forgotten fashion label Ungaro. Not to mention the spate of celebrity guest editors at a number of newspapers - does anyone treasure (or even remember) the edition of Metro edited by James Blunt? Thought not.
Granted the Lohan appointment did get Ungaro an instant press fix that got the brand noticed again, but with headlines ranging from ‘Lohan’s Debut Deemed Disasterous’ to ‘Critics Rip Lohan’s Collection To Shreds’ and the founder himself labelling the whole idea a ‘disaster’ it’s fair to say that the ‘any press is good press’ adage doesn’t really seem to apply here.
It remains to be seen whether Gaga’s hands on approach will be a bit more successful, and with the Polaroid camera now largely obsolete it’s clear that the brand needed to do something to reinvent itself for the digital age. But, and call me boring if you will, I can’t help feel that investing this money in a nice big slice of digital advertising would be a bit more of a canny move? Now the cameras are gone, does anyone even know what Polaroid actually produces or stands for anymore?
What next? Jedward signing acts for Sony?