Fashion

In this week's 30-Second Spots column, Levi’s suspends ‘youthful rebellion’ ad in U.K., Simon Houpt discusses topics ranging from what affects the London riots are having on marketing campaigns to Kenneth Cole's latest hot button ad campaigns...


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The term "social currency" may not have been coined to reference the current online space, but it certainly applies. Offline, the general concept is that everything from knowledge about sports and popular culture to sharing a meal can incite social interaction, and has the potential...




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Every brand has a unique personality. It may be the product of careful image and identity management as it applies to everything from logo and packaging to signage and ad copywriting, but it's primarily an association made on behalf of the consumer. Your brand's personality can be defined by...

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In this week's Adhocracy column,"Blowing the whistle on men's marketing," Simon Houpt explores new thinking illustrated by several spots run throughout the Super Bowl that are reflective of a new approach to advertising directed at men. These spots appear to spurn the typical male stereotypes that have dominated advertising through the decades.




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Pantone LLC, "the global authority on color," announced yesterday that you can colour 2010 turquoise.

Not just any turquoise, of course. Rather, the colour of the coming year will be Pantone 15-5519.

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HAS DON DRAPER QUIT SMOKING? A cigarette held suavely in his right hand is as much a part of the ad man's identity as a highball and a leer. But in Canadian transit ads for AMC's Mad Men, Draper's smoke has been cut out of the iconic silhouette, the victim of local anti-tobacco laws. "Smoking is a big part of the show," said Jan Diedrichsen, the senior vice-president of affiliate marketing at Rainbow Network Sales, which reps the network's shows abroad."But it's much more important for us to get promotion for the show than to stick to our guns and have cigarettes on there."

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Can Photoshopped fashion ads be hazardous to your health?

Evidently, some French politicians think so. Reuters reports that more than 50 of them are proposing a law to help combat "what they see as a warped image of women's bodies in the media...

"Under the proposed law, all enhanced photos would be accompanied by a line saying: 'Photograph retouched to modify the physical appearance of a person.'"

Although its proponents claim that the law should apply to any enhanced photos, including those used in packaging, publications and political campaigns, its main target seems to be fashion ads.

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The Globe's Marina Strauss recently surveyed the state of Canadian retail promotions--and it seems she liked what she saw.

That's because owners and managers have come up with a number of inventive ways to attract shoppers using the Internet, in-store events and special promotions.

Vaughn Mills Shopping Centre, for instance, has created a series of Webisodes for its fashion site StyleAgents.ca. As of last Saturday, the account director at VMG Cinematic, which produced the video, tells Strauss, "four segments had got more than 61,000 online views, including 35,000-plus on YouTube.

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A new Mark's Work Wearhouse in Edmonton offers winterwear shoppers an ingenious change room.

The Globe and Mail's Katherine O'Neill reports that shoppers "can now test first-hand how warm the clothing really is in a custom-made walk-in freezer."

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Today on Media in Canada's Web site, Melita Kuburas provides a detailed close-up of the state of fashion magazines in Canada. And you know what? The news is actually pretty good.

For its upcoming September issue--traditionally the largest recipient of ad dollars for any fashion and beauty magazine-- "Fashion...closed at 196 pages this year, only slightly thinner than last year's 206-page book," Kuburas writes. Meanwhile, "Elle Canada, which last year was 242 pages, is running at 216 pages this year, while Flare (which last year was 232 pages according to a Leading National Advertisers Canada summary report for 2008), will actually be bigger this year."

Considering all the dire reports we hear about U.S. fashion magazines--rapidly shrinking ad revenues, increased layoffs, and all the moaning and gnashing of teeth that accompany such calamities--these numbers are quite respectable. So why is our market doing so much better...and can it last?

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Marketing magazine's executive publisher and editor-in-chief Christopher Loudon recently chatted with Bonnie Brooks, the Bay's high-profile new CEO.

One of Canada's most respected retail executives, Brooks has her work cut out for her. The Bay is a storied brand with an impressive history. But it's also a little worn around the edges, and it's clear that the current economic climate is not the optimal one for brand reinvention.

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She doesn't look a day over 17, but she turns 50 this year.

And while Barbie may owe her eternal good looks to the miracle of plastic, she owes her iconic status to something far more transcendent.

When she was launched in 1959, Barbie the brand struck a chord in little girls that resonates just as deeply today. It's as if her face, form and fashion sense connected with something primal in our psyches. Sure, she has her detractors, but you can't deny that she's as much a 20th-century feminine archetype as Dietrich, Marilyn or Madonna.

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