Advertising: taking the good with the bad

Louis Vuitton: Iconic. Established. The Monogram.

There won't be a single fashionista out there who won't be familiar with the name, the brand or its products. 2010 marks Louis Vuitton's 125th anniversary - and the celebrations included last night's widely advertised and hotly anticipated launch party of the iconic brand's flagship "London Maison" in New Bond Street.

Fashionista has heard that the fabulous, the famous and the beautiful all rubbed shoulders at the event. Gone are the days when we have to rely on next day press write-ups, as LV fans around the world were able to share in the glamour of the red carpet event as it was happening by watching it play out on the brand's Facebook page. A savvy move, exploiting social media to maximise the accessibility of a brand - reaching millions with a simple upload. An instantaneous, interactive and very effective form of advertisement.

Certainly more effective, Fashionista muses, than two Louis Vuitton adverts which the Advertising Standards Agency has today declared misleadingly implied that Louis Vuitton's products are hand made. The full report on the ASA website highlights the importance of giving careful consideration to the implicit message in ads, as the two Louis Vuitton ads were pulled after the ASA received only 3 complaints.

Fashionista invites her readers to judge for themselves whether or not the ASA has got it right or is the ban the result of overzealous censorship when faced with the smallest hint of complaint. Does, for example, an image of a woman using a needle and thread to stitch the handle of a bag together with the text "... infinite patience protects each overstitch ... One could say that a Louis Vuitton bag is a collection of fine details. But with so much attention lavished on every one, should we only call them details?" mislead consumers into believing that LV bags are stitched by hand?

The decision also highlights the importance of retaining evidence relating to a brand - its products, designs, know-how and manufacturing processes (to name but a few) - to help defend claims made against it. Fashionista has seen the issue of evidence retention come up again and again when brandowners have sought to rely on copyright in fabric patterns or design right in shoes and handbags, and the difficulty faced when they have not kept hold of sufficient background materials to prove their rights or substantiate their case. The ASA claimed, in this case, that because they had not seen evidence from Louis Vuitton to show the extent to which products may, in fact, be hand made, the ASA had to conclude that the ads were misleading.

The ban suggests that someone, somewhere, got this one a little wrong. Whether it is the complainants and the ASA or Louis Vuitton is open to debate. Whatever your opinion, the old adage "all publicity is good publicity" springs to mind. Perhaps the ban will make Louis Vuitton seem contemporary; exciting; pushing boundaries; not forgotten. After all, a brand which can survive 125 years in the fast changing, often fickle world of fashion and brand loyalty - and retain a luxury reputation throughout - must be doing something right.

It's a Twittering frenzy!

We know Demi and Ashton do it. We know Susan Boyle of Britain's Got Talent became an overnight sensation because of it. We all know David Cameron's dismissive views of it. Like it or not, Twitter seems to be taking the online world by storm. The need to be constantly up to speed with everything drives the website where people write about everything they are doing. All the time.

Something that started out for friends to keep in touch has morphed into an inexpensive, hugely accessible, mass marketing/advertising tool and fan club for brands. YSL is paving the way for luxury brands having signed up to both Twitter and social networking giant Facebook, and promises to update followers on the YSL fashion shows, products and celebrity fans of the brand.
Although the constant need to update information can seem like a bit of a chore, Fashionista can see why brands are buying into this. Having a Facebook group is nothing short of having a fan club. It gives rise to a sense of solidarity for a fashion brand's fans. People like to feel popular or that they are part of a "club" of like minded people. The bigger the Facebook group, the better things are going to look for the brand: everyone wants to be on its team.

Ditto for Twitter. The constant "stream of consciousness" posts will create an affinity between brand and fan. Before the advent of online social networking sites, luxury brands were somewhat more etheral - like the Monarchy - a presence that you know is there but you only have access to what they want you to know or see, in the case of luxury brands through advertising in glossy magazines or from the products displayed in their exclusive boutiques. It was a one-way relationship.

YSL's move to Twitter means that we can know what YSL are up to on a daily basis. For the first time, brands are actively interracting with consumers. And this draws us in. It makes us feel part of an exclusive circle. It makes us understand them better. The result: it may make us prepared to part with our cash more readily than we would otherwise have done - and for a relatively low cost for the brand.

Although she hasn't yet succumbed to Twitter herself, Fashionista can certainly see why YSL has done, and why other brands are likely to follow...

What price Duck and Fcuk?

BrandRepublic reports that fashion brand Duck and Cover has opted to harness the power of social networking by launching its own online community The Clan. A digital marketing campaign is now underway on Facebook ('John wrote at 10:28am on January 31st 2009 "Highly under-rated brand Excellent coats and shirts!"' -- nice one, John, says Fashionista) and on YouTube.

Lovely idea, but once you let a brand loose in the social networking environment you are handing over to the mercy of your biggest fans, who are often also your biggest critics and who sometimes get up to all manner of imaginative things online that may not be quite what the brand owner has in mind. What's more, if the social network works it will need some vigorous monitoring/moderation -- which isn't easy -- and if it doesn't work it will look really sad. And just wait till punters who mix-and-match Duck and Cover with French Connection come up with the visually appealing Duck and Fcuk ...