Interview with Laine Rosenberg

Hi Laine,

1. Please tell us a little bit about what you do in the fashion advertising industry?

I’m an independent casting director that is hired by advertising agencies, producers, designers, photographers and magazines to cast for print advertising, editorial, commercial and runway shows. Depending on the client, I will be asked to find models, actors, kids or often times real people with specific backgrounds or professions to be featured in various media. I’m passionate about my work and love to street scout and find undiscovered talent.

2. Do your advertising clients ever make a campaign with a social cause behind their products?

Yes.

3. Have you ever worked with a client that did use advertising in that matter, like Dove does for example? If so, please let us know that experience?

Yes, and I found the experience incredibly rewarding. I was hired by Arrow (part of Phillips-Van Heusen) to cast men, women and children who had a direct link (family member) who had come through Ellis Island. The brand had partnered with SaveEllisIsland.Org that season to help restore the deteriorating buildings at Ellis Island that make up our nations history. The campaign (print and commercial) was shot on Ellis Island and everyone involved had a story of how their ancestors came to America to build a better life for themselves and future families. In order to prove the lineage talent were asked to bring in a brief family history of where their roots came from, how they got to America, and what they did to survive once they arrived– vintage photos, ship documents, journals and name changes were all submitted as evidence to support their family history.

4. When you take on project like these what are your expectations?

I think the key word in this project was HOPE. That is all it took for hundreds of thousands of people to move their families over seas in the HOPE of a better life. I, too, HOPED to find some very interesting, inspiring people who could live to tell their stories or the stories of their parents and grandparents experiences coming to America for the chance of freedom. What I didn’t expect to find was how many people’s ancestors came through Ellis Island and how proud they were to re-tell their stories. I was beyond moved by the struggles and hardships people endured to make it to America. I also learned about my own families history in the process. It was an incredible experience.

5. How often would you say that either your clients, or other companies participate in social awareness or social engaging campaigns?

Its becoming more popular each year. I believe with the rise of “reality” tv and it’s popularity, a lot of advertisers are jumping on the bandwagon of featuring regular “real people” in their campaigns. It allows the everyday consumer to feel a closer connection to the brand when a more approachable / realistic person is featured in the campaign opposed to a model whose beauty standards are unattainable for the average person.

6. From your experience in advertising, what would you say is the main reasons clients engage in such advertising?

To generate awareness for a cause that someone in the company feels tied to or compassionate about. Arrow is one of the oldest classic American sportswear brands so the connection to Ellis Island made sense. The CEO of the brand was also featured in the campaign as his direct family heritage came through via Ellis Island as well. Over 40% of Americans can draw direct lineage to Ellis Island so the campaign further strengthens that bind. Americans will know that a percentage of the money they spend on Arrow clothing will go to support a worthy cause rebuilding an American landmark.

7. Do you think the fashion world and the advertising campaigns from the industry influence society in a positive or negative way?

Often times both positive and negative depending on the nature of the individual campaigns.

8. Would you say that people in the industry have become more charitable and engaging in social awareness campaigns over the past few years, or has it remained the same or even decreased?

I believe that it has increased over the past few years and hope that this trend continues. Part of the reason for that unfortunately is that it is cheaper to feature a real person in an advertisement than to pay a model their day rate. Due to our economic downfall over the past 2years advertisers will try to save money any way they can, and talent is one of those things they can pay less if they are using unrepresented models opposed to modes with representation.

9. In your opinions what are the main reason clients engage in this type of advertising?

You get more attention for being different then doing the same campaign season after season.

Support a worthy cause or increase awareness.

In addition see answers to #5, 6 & 8.

10. Is there anything else you can add about your experience or your colleague’s experiences in the fashion industry with socially beneficial advertising or causes?

It is a very rewarding experience and I highly recommend being a part of it. It’s a project that does more than sells clothes it helps restore or rebuild an incredible cause. I have met some incredible people with amazing stories along the way and that is priceless.

Thank you for your time.

Link to Laine's website

Here is the one of the Save Ellis Island Commercial Laine is speaking about in the interview.

This Country Was Not Built By Men In Suits

The Levis campaign "Go Forth" came out in 2009, with a very romantic feel was meant with the purpose to relive the American pioneer spirit and get people to connect with their country and roots again. With the economic crisis and sales down Levi's wanted to reach out to their core market, the average middle class Americans, that were suffering a lot with the tough times surrounding them.

While the article below believes this was not a wise advertising strategy because the consumer could not appreciate the richness of the ad, I think the writer missed an important point behind this campaign. The ad speaks to the public's patriotism and even their self-esteem and dreams. Even if the campaigns did not make people go run to a store and get a new pair of jeans, it touched on a much more important point, that this too shall pass. Levi's spoke to people's fears and insecurities and through these ads gave them some hope. Wieden & Kennedy's campaign provided comfort and a reminder of calmness, freedom and happiness, and in times of despair that is a social good.

Levi's Target Unlikely to 'Go Forth' and Buy Its Jeans

Wieden Spot Too Romantic for Audience Sensitive to Being Manipulated

Posted by Bob Garfield on 07.06.09 @ 08:19 AM

There is something quite special about the new Levi's campaign from Wieden & Kennedy.

It is an exquisitely wrought example of design, language, mood and spirit (indomitable spirit, to be precise). It is also visually and tonally consistent across all media platforms. And it is obviously grounded in research that discovered a romantic and idealistic tug among the target audience for the good ol' American pioneering imperative.

The flawless integration of design, strategy and theme, however, isn't what makes the campaign so special. What makes it special is that, more likely than not -- at least in the U.S. -- it will generate little more than a rolling of eyes on a mass scale.

Those words are difficult to spit out, because worldwide we are so awash in poor craftsmanship of strategically empty ideas that you just want to applaud people who know what they're about. You certainly want to applaud those who hear the simple, emotive beauty of Walt Whitman's "America."Yep, it's no good because it's too good by half.

Centre of equal daughters, equal sons,

All, all alike endear'd, grown, ungrown, young or old,

Strong, ample, fair, enduring, capable, rich,

Perennial with the Earth, with Freedom, Law and Love,

A grand, sane, towering, seated Mother,

Chair'd in the adamant of Time.

It's a stirring poem, and is even more moving in Whitman's own voice, as played from an old wax-recording treasure underneath the images.

If the language is too grandiloquent or elusive, Wieden offers its own more accessible version of similar sentiments. To wit: "I am the new American pioneer. Looking forward, never back. No longer content to wait for better times. I will make better times." And so on. The slogan, amid economic extremis, is "Go forth."

Let's just for a moment suppose that this inspiring, uber-optimistic worldview somehow addresses Levi's biggest marketing problem: its image of being a declasse discount-store jean amid premium-denim hipsters. Of that possibility we are dubious, but let's just say. The larger question is whether the bootstraps ethic will find a receptive audience in a dustbowl economy, and whether even the romantic admonition to "go forth" has any relevance to a target demographic that increasingly is going forth from their old bedrooms at Mom and Dad's to their places of under- or unemployment.

Levi's sales weren't down 12% in the last quarter for no reason. Do people who can't figure out how to cover the car payment, much less imagine the proverbial white picket fence, really want to be offered, as an alternative, some 19th-century concept of manifest destiny? We think not. So that's the first problem.

The second problem is the excessive-craftsmanship issue. Maybe it's refreshing to finally see an ad campaign aimed at people under 30 that doesn't get all self-referential and postmodern, that isn't ashamed to imbue a brand with something beyond irony. The fact remains, though, that this audience is sensitive about being manipulated.

That's why postmodernism abounds: It's a way to trick the audience by flattering them into thinking that they can't be tricked by plain old brand messages.

Who knows? Maybe potential Levi's customers will view all this high-flown, can-do-spirit stuff and be tricked into thinking that the unabashed romance of the appeal is flipping the bird at the smart-asses who think they can trick people into thinking they aren't being tricked.

Go back and forth all you like. It'll get you -- and Levi's -- exactly nowhere.

Link to article

Stella McCartney- The Quintessence of Eco-Friendly and Organic Fashion

This is an interview with Stella McCartney done by Suzy Menkes for The International Herald Tribune in March 2009. Stella McCartney is one of the few designers that focuses on making all of her clothing and even in running her business in a very ecological manner. Stella's choice of material for her collection ranges from bio-degradable suede to organic cotton, and she never uses animal derived products such as leather or fur. As she states in her interview, a lot of her shops and their headquarters are powered by wind power instead of electricity, and most of the shopping bags are made either with biodegradable corn or recycled paper. McCartney is very careful to fully embrace her ecological ideals and social responsibilities in all areas of her business, she takes a step further in not only creating a beautiful garment, but a beautiful garment that will not harm the environment or any animals.

While some may say, her stance is a little extreme, it is nonetheless a noble and idealist approach to fashion design and a very appealing social marketing cause. Her whole brand identity is enticed in this vegan, green, pure, social conscious way of life. Stella is constantly striving to find new materials that have a lower impact on the environment and to incorporate them in as many pieces of her collection as possible. Bellow is another interview done with Stella speaking of these issues and her social responsibilities as a designer. It is very refreshing to see such an influential and successful designer dedicate herself so passionately to such a crucial social cause.

Fashion conscience: Stella McCartney

Matilda Lee

1st May, 2009

Stella McCartney talks to Matilda Lee about designer activism and the release of her second 'eco collection'.

Matilda Lee: What prompted you to design an eco collection using organic and recycled fabrics and low impact dyes?
Stella McCartney: I would always touch on an element of a sustainable or eco collection in everything that I do. So in my lingerie collection, I have a part of the collection that is organic, or with my Adidas collaboration again there are organic materials or recycled materials in the bags or shoes, and every part of my design at some stage comes into contact with that. But what I wanted to do was isolate the collection and in itself make it completely sustainable, because I really wanted to bring all those elements together and show the importance that it has within the brand.


What do you find most alarming about conventional cotton and dyes?
I guess it’s just a very inefficient use of resources and it’s damaging. In saying that, I’m not perfect. I do use conventional dyes and cottons in the collection, but I think it’s important for people to know that. I’m a great believer that something is greater than nothing, and it’s difficult once you find out information about the consequences of the fashion industry to turn a blind eye. I think it’s important to educate oneself, to try to provide a high-quality product for the consumer and not to lose any of the desirability, and yet also to try to be more responsible in the way that you think and the way you source your materials.


How did you manage to source enough organic materials for your eco collection? Did you have difficulty finding enough raw materials that were organic?
We have a great rule that once we run out of organic fabric, that’s it – we can’t buy any more. So in a sense it’s always slightly a limited type of collection. That is something that really appeals to me anyway, that kind of philosophy that you shouldn’t just buy billions and billions and billions of the same jacket in the same colour. I think that that’s not a very modern way of looking at anything in life any more.


What was the most challenging thing about designing and producing your eco collection?
The most challenging thing was trying to play by the rules. It’s slightly more limiting: you have less colours available, you have less fabrics available, they’re a different quality to the type that you’re used to… I wouldn’t say there are restrictions, but there are definitely challenges. I think again it comes back to anything being better than nothing. So if I have 200m of something in storage that we didn’t use up in previous collections I will always turn to use that again before ordering more fabric. I think that it’s just a different way of looking at making things and creating a product.


The Design Council has said that as much as 80 per cent of a product’s environmental impact is decided at the design stage. As a fashion designer, would you agree with this?
Yes, probably – I would say that, yes. In fact I would say that designers of every industry have to be aware of the impact [their products] have later on down the road. Certainly in the car industry, the aviation industry, in housing – in everything. Designers are at the top of the pyramid in terms of creating products and they should know. It would have less of an impact on the environment if the creative teams were more educated about the impact the products they design have on the world we live in. In the fashion world I think that most designers know fur is wrong. More and more of them also know about the huge environmental impact of [producing] leather, in terms of the use of chemicals for tanning and dyeing. The land mass that is needed just to raise enough leather, enough skin for one handbag is far greater than growing a crop – bamboo, for example – that is sustainable. I think the consumer also has to be aware of these things and has to act responsibly in terms of the things he or she buys, and to start limiting the demand on products that are environmentally unfriendly.

What role can/should designers take in minimising harm to humans, the environment and animals?
Designers should get information and make adult decisions based on this information. Also they should try to avoid or simply avoid using any animal products – it’s not a huge task. As far as I’m concerned that goes for the food industry, the beauty industry and the fashion industry. Billions of animals are killed every year for ridiculous things. A lot of it just gets thrown in the bin.

Is your eco-collection just a one-off or the first of many Stella McCartney eco collections?
It’s not a one-off. We’ve been doing it for many years now and we intend to continue, and every year make a larger percentage of the collection more environmentally friendly.

You’ve been on the outside of the mainstream in your refusal to use fur and animal products in your collections, and in many ways have put the spotlight on animal welfare issues. How do you feel when other fashion designers are critical of your ethical concerns?
Number one, I’m not aware of it. I don’t really listen to a lot of that. How do I feel when they are critical? I feel disappointed, I guess, and surprised, but I haven’t really been aware of fellow fashion designers being critical of my ethical concerns – not in public anyway. 

To date, fashion buyers, press and the public haven’t really held designers to account in terms of their impact on the environment. Do you think there should be more awareness of these issues in the fashion industry?
Yes, absolutely. It is the responsibility of journalists and buyers, but at the end of the day it is also the responsibility of the consumer. It’s like any industry: if people don’t buy something because they don’t believe in it then that’s the biggest impact you can have in getting your message across.

Your eco-collection is beautiful and sexy. Do you think the press/ public should finally relent in calling eco fashion clothes just for wearers of woolly socks and sackcloth?
I mean, yes. One of my biggest passions on this side of my collection is that ‘eco’ shouldn’t be a word that immediately conjures up images of oatmeal-coloured garments or garments that are oversized or lacking in any sort of luxury or beauty or detailing or desirability. I think that’s something that really needs to be broken down, and there should be no compromises from the design point-of-view. Your products should not be compromised in any way just because they’re environmentally friendly.

What did you learn through doing all this?
Every single day something is changing, somebody’s inventing a new material or giving you a new piece of information, either good or bad, so you’re learning a million things all the time. I guess the main thing I’ve learnt is that this is the right thing to do, and that decisions I’ve based on my beliefs and upbringing have served me well. I feel in my heart that this is the right way to work and it’s the right direction to take our business.

How can you help ensure that eco fashion becomes an underlying trend or movement and not just a one-off seasonal fashion trend?
Anything – this subject or in general – is in danger of becoming a trend or a one-off. The important thing is that everyone keeps an interest in it, and there is a vested interest because we live on this planet and we need to look after it, as without it, we have nothing. So it’s just not the fashion industry, it’s every single industry and I really think it’s important for me to stress that I am not perfect. I repeat: I am not perfect!

Could you see yourself increasing the amount of organic/recycled materials used to the point where all your collections are ‘eco’?
Yes.

Who are your heroes in the eco fashion world? Are there any designers or campaigners that are a source of inspiration to you?
Yes, I have tons of heroes outside the fashion industry, but I can only think of Katharine Hamnett who is championing this kind of thing. I don’t have enough information about what she’s doing, but I think she is very vocal and very talented and I think she’s a cool woman. Unfortunately I don’t have enough peers who are thinking this way – I wish I could list you a million heroes in the fashion industry in the eco-world, but unfortunately I can’t think of many.

Stella McCartney’s eco collection is available from Stella McCartney, 30 Bruton Street, London W1. 020 7518 3100 www.stellamccartney.com

Matilda Lee is the Ecologist’s Consumer Affairs Editor

Link to Stella McCartney brand ideals

Link to interview

The Lady In Red

This is one of Benetton's first social awareness ad dating back to September 1989 and the campaign that has won Benneton several awards in Cannes and Italy. The image shot by photographer Oliver Toscani, is meant to promote equality between white and black, however due to US slavery history many critics thought it resembled too much a slave being forced to breast feed their owner's baby, as was common in those days. Nonetheless, the image is beautiful showing the loving nurture between the woman and the baby, one of the most intimate moments a woman can share with a child.

By having a black woman breast feeding a white baby and not the other way around, we see the historical reference that some have criticized; however this only makes the image stronger. It shows that regardless of the abusive past slaves suffered, there are no hard feelings and no reason for there to be discrimination now. Neither the woman's or baby's face are shown, which focuses on the bond between the two races and not this individual duo. The image is strong, concise and though-provoking, all crucial elements for a successful social awareness campaign. Its noteworthy to mention that this like most Benetton campaigns dispenses the use of any copy other than the brand's logo. With this imagery, it is understandable why they would do so; after all, an image is worth more than a thousand words. 

Link to Benetton campaign information

LV and Africa

The most recent Louis Vuitton campaign features Bono and his wife Ali Hewson getting off of a plane in Africa, wearing their own line Edun. Edun is a fashion brand with a very ethical brand mission, founded by Bono and Ali in 2005 to encourage sustainable trade with Africa and promote local economic opportunities. Their main goal is not to be just another fashion line, but to create a positive movement to help people in Africa by hiring them as artisans and manufacturing 80% of their products in the countries on Kenya, Tanzania and Kenya. Needless to say, in a continent with such extreme poverty this brand did a wonderful job in promoting local business and design. In 2009. Louis Vuitton acquired a substantial stake of the company and has since been collaborating with Edun to raise awareness about trade in Africa.

The brown bag featured above was a design collaboration between both brands, the silver charm in the bag was handmade in Kenya by a local company called Made, who also promotes fair and ethical trade in Africa. All the proceeds from this bag will go to Technoserve in Africa for the Conservation Cotton Initiative. The Conservation Cotton Initiative was created by Edun to build a sustainable farming community in Uganda, by providing funding, tools and training to grow a sustainable cotton business.

Seeing a prestigious and global brand such as Louis Vuitton join forces with a small local brand such as Edun to help Africa build their economy and trade is amazing. Being featured in Louis Vuitton's "Core Value" campaign this fall, Edun's mission and brand values received a lot of press and attention, further spreading the word. It is certainly a great sign that LV is now more involved in Edun's mission to create better working conditions and a sustainable economy in Africa, a continent that can definitely use all the help it needs.

Link to Edun Mission

Link to background info

Fashion For Haiti

In January 2010, the country of Haiti experienced a devastating earthquake and had its cities and population shattered. People had no food, clothes, homes, or even infrastructure; they had nothing left. The country was in absolute chaos and literally fallen to pieces. Among the several US and global organizations that sent rescue teams, food, clothing and money, the CDFA Fondation (Council of Fashion Designers of America) was one of them. Designers came together to design the following t-shirt and sell them for $25 a piece and donate all the net profits to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund. To promote sales they also made a video shown here with top American designers and celebrities asking consumers to support the cause and buy a T-shirt. In this video, while the advertising is very direct and explicitly asks consumers to make a purchase, they have all come together for a bigger global cause and are asking individuals to join them and help heal Haiti.

There are many occasions in which the fashion industry uses its social prestige and celebrity connections to raise money for social causes. This campaign was launched in February and during the Fashion/Winter 2010 New York Fashion Week (which also takes place in February) you could see the shirt being proudly worn backstage, at events, shows, and everywhere through out the city. It was a very touching video, the shirt was carefully designed and the fashion industry really embraced this devastating social cause and helped raise money to restore Haiti. Designers and celebrities used their fame and social influence for a greater cause, inspiring many others to do the same.

All Potential Carriers

Kenneth Cole is one of the main brands to have taken social cause advertising to another level. During the past few decades Cole's campaigns have touched themes of discrimination, gay rights, homelessness, gun safety, AIDS, current events, among others. In these 2005 ads, we see a unique approach to fight the discrimination against the disease. AIDS is one of the causes that Kenneth Cole has most supported, being one of the pioneers in raising awareness to the disease even when the first cases were still being explored. It is no surprise that Kenneth has been serving as a Board Member of the American Foundation for AIDS Research since 1985 and is now the Vice Chairman and Director of Creative Service for amfAR.

The goal behind these ads goes beyond promoting safe sex and getting tested, it touches on our compassionate side to not discriminate and realize this is not an individual's fight, but a social battle. Carriers of the disease have it hard enough without being discriminated and the first ad addresses just that. The copy says "We All Have AIDS, If One of Us Does" and in the fine print, they introduce a team of AIDS activists who raise awareness to the disease and fight the negative association to the disease. Along with this ad, Kenneth Cole also made two T-shirts that were available for sale, one with that exact same slogan "We All Have AIDS" and another with a slogan of "I Have AIDS". The idea with selling these shirts was the same as the concept of the ad, to fight the stigma that the disease only affects the people with the virus. Unfortunately, not a lot of people wore the "I Have AIDS" T-shirt, but the "We All Have AIDS" t-shirt was more widely accepted. In this New York Times article, we can see Kenneth Cole's hopes and disappointments with the campaign he created for a cause he is so passionate about.

From Kenneth Cole, a New Solidarity

By ERIC WILSON

Published: December 1, 2005

KENNETH COLE, who sometimes pushes the boundaries of good taste in his pun-laden, socially conscious advertising, will introduce a public service campaign tied to World AIDS Day today. It is one he anticipates will elicit more attention, and probably controversy, than any of his prior statements.

Stefanie Keenan

The actress Mena Suvari in a Kenneth Cole T-shirt.

The message of Mr. Cole's latest campaign, emblazoned on $35 T-shirts, which will benefit AIDS charities and will be carried at Barneys New York, Scoop, Louis Boston and other stores, is "We All Have AIDS." Some of the T-shirts are more provocative, stating bluntly, "I Have AIDS."

Mr. Cole said he hopes people, infected or not, will wear them as a gesture to diminish the stigma associated with the disease by subverting the notion that AIDS affects only those infected with the H.I.V. virus.

"There is a legend of the Danish king, Christian X, who, during World War II, when Hitler insisted all Jews publicly wear a yellow Star of David, would wear the star himself, hence making it difficult to differentiate who was Jewish," Mr. Cole said in an interview. "This is kind of like that, hopefully."
Some people might be shocked, he said, but he did not expect serious objections. "It's very hard to argue against the message that we all have AIDS," Mr. Cole said. "It's not hard to make the case that we all have been affected, both culturally and spiritually."

In a series of images put together over the last year Mr. Cole assembled a roster of celebrities, including Julianne Moore, Natasha Richardson and Richard Gere, who were photographed either barefoot, recalling Mr. Cole's AIDS awareness campaign of 1985, which included similarly posed supermodels, or wearing one of the shirts. But none of those who participated, with the exception of Zackie Achmat, a South African activist who has AIDS, would wear the first-person version.

"People were not jumping at it, which speaks to the stigma of AIDS," said Mr. Cole, who is also chairman of Amfar, the foundation for AIDS research. "Even in this country, where we think we are beyond this, I ask the question, 'Are we really?' "


Dressing the Thin Man
Three years ago Joseph Reid, who worked various jobs in theater management and public relations, met Chad Vo, a fashion designer, at a downtown club called Happy Ending, and discovered among their mutual interests an effusive love of shopping, and frustration that most stores did not carry their sizes or clothes that were sufficiently directional. These are men for whom the label Dsquared, which promotes revealing muscle T-shirts and men's bikinis, is considered conservative.

"And we were tired of seeing the same lines in Barneys, Jeffrey and everywhere else," Mr. Reid recalled.
Mr. Reid, 31, and Mr. Vo, 29, decided to go into business together and plan to open a store called Behaviour today at 231 West 19th Street. It will cater to a customer they describe as the "petite male," and by that they mean slim.
"We are in the heart of Chelsea, so this is for the body-conscious," Mr. Reid said, pointing to the stereotypical residents of that neighborhood. "We're stocking a lot of small and medium sizes and labels that are really hard to find."

Behaviour will carry several labels that will be new to New York customers, including Unconditional from London, a favorite of David Beckham, and Franklin Marshall from Italy. They also expect to carry a collection called Company of Unorganized People and other nonmainstream labels like Rice and Beans, Topless California, King Baby Studio and Green Apple Tree, mixed with a selection of their own vintage Gucci finds and Hermès ashtrays.
"We're looking for clothes with more personality," Mr. Reid said. "If it's been in a Black Eyed Peas song, we are not going to carry it."


Link to article

Link to background information

Shopping to the Rescue

In September 2009, in an attempt to help the fashion and retail industry bounce back from the recession Vogue magazine, the City of New York and Council of Fashion Designers of America joined forces to create an event to promote shopping. Several stores participated and the advertising was extensive with billboards throughout the city, bloggers blogging away, a taxi tv advertising, a t-shirt with the event's logo for sale, models promoting the event, celebrity appearances at stores and a party atmosphere in all participating stores. More importantly they made this event global, cities such as London, Los Angeles, Sao Paulo, Tokyo, among others all participated in this event with a sole purpose, to boost their sales so retailers would not have to start shutting their doors. Below are some of images used to advertise the cause.

The advertising done for this cause was very successful. It went beyond the traditional message of just trying to generate more business. With the collaboration of retailers, designers and celebrities Vogue, New York City and CFDA made Fashion Night Out a shopping event to remember. In this New York Post article we can see some of the events that were put together for the event, such as the Olsen twins being bartenders at Barneys. The event was such a success that in 2010 they did it again. This time in a bigger scale and with one of the largest fashion shows ever made in the history of fashion with 150 models, including Gisele and Naomi! Here is a link to the video of the show.

It is also relevant to mention that the creation of Fashion Night Out in 2009 was not only to help retailers bump up their margin of sales, but 40% of the profit made by selling the Fashion Night out shirt was donated to National September 11 Memorial & Museum and there was also a clothing drive to donate clothes to the NYC AIDS Fund. This event and its propaganda once again showed fashion's humanitarian side and the worldwide success a simple night dedicated for shopping can generate.

Link to NY post article

Link to Fashion Night Out site

Presidential Campaign in Paris shows

The 2008 presidential elections was one of the most exciting elections the United States has ever experienced. The advertising for both candidates were extensive, but it was Barack Obama who really took the spotlight. The country was in awe with this young, charismatic, black politician who was creating such a buzz among his followers and haters. Even the fashion world took a remarkable stance. In the picture above we see images from two Parisian Spring/ Summer 2009 Fashion Week runway shows in which designers Jean Charles de Caselbajac and Sonia Rykiel, not only supported the presidential candidate and made a dress with his picture and a sweater with his name, but they sent it down the runway a month before before the elections took place. Never before have we seen a political propaganda in a fashion show, especially overseas when both designers are French.

This a great example of fashion using its voice to support a social cause and in this case a political candidate. The 2008 elections was an election the entire world closely followed and it is interesting to see designers who typically are only concerned with displaying their best pieces on the runway, advertise a candidate so strongly. While fashion and current events have always gone hand in hand, in this case we see a mixture of political advertising, the desire to influence a country's political path while still displaying the originality and uniqueness of the clothing's design.

Anorexia

This is one of the most disturbing and shocking ads ever done by a clothing line to depict the problem of eating disorders, especially in the fashion industry. The Italian retail store Nolita, put up these ads in billboards and newspapers all over Milan during the September 2007 fashion week, to protest and call people's attention to this deadly disease. The previous year, 22 year old Uruguayan model Luisel Ramos died from anorexia right after walking down the catwalk, a month later 21 year old Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston also died from the illness, and the next month a 14 year old Brazilian model who was just starting her career starved herself to death. Due to the unfortunate deaths of these young girls, in September of 2006 the Spanish Fashion Association decided to ban any models with a BMI under 18 to walk in their runway shows. Later that year, Italy agreed to start a campaign to raise awareness to the problem and embrace fuller body models. So it shouldn't have been such a shock when Nolita's campaign came out.

Yet, the public was quite shocked with the choice of imagery and many thought Nolita was crossing the line. The picture is meant to be shocking and thought provoking and the intention behind it, especially due to the timing of the campaign, is to remind fashion designers not to cast unhealthy girls in their shows. However, despite all the media campaign against underweight models on the runway and the claim that they would like to feature fuller bodies, in practice not a lot of fuller bodies models were seen in the shows. The models continued just as skinny as they were in the previous years and only now in 2010, do we see a slight change in the casting of runways and even magazines such as LOVE. Eating disorders is a somewhat taboo topic in the fashion industry, because the girls are expected to have a 34-24-34 body proportion and while instructed to eat healthy to maintain that structure, some opt for a more drastic and quicker approach. The pressure to maintain the slim figure can be very overwhelming and many times if they can't fulfill it they will resort to desperate measures. Girls need to maintain that measurement because for designers those are the best measurements to display their clothes on, and when the models do not fit into that proportion they will not get the job. The problem is that because of this expectation to be so skinny a lot of young girls are endangering their lives to succumb to the industry's social pressure. This campaign is meant to address that issue not only in the fashion world but more importantly to the consumers that look at these campaigns and magazines and want to look like the models. The social standards of beauty and body image are highly shaped by the entertainment and fashion industry, so when a fashion company presents this message, that company is certainly doing a good and brave social deed. Nolita's ad did a great job in portraying the urgency of this fatal illness and fashion taboo, hopefully opening the eyes of many girls that struggle with their body image.

Dove's Beauty Campaign

While Dove isn't a fashion brand, the beauty, hair and skin products it sells are all very important aspects of the fashion industry. The reason I picked to portray Dove's campaigns is because the brand has done extensive research on their primary customers and through those results developed two large campaigns on beauty awareness and self-esteem. Dove asked their primary target consumer, women between the ages of 15-64 from all over the world questions about what beauty meant to them, what were social expectations and definitions of beauty and how the felt about their own beauty. Above we see a picture that supports some of the data found in the research, on the right side we see the original picture, what the model really looked like, while on the left we see the picture that was placed in the billboard after the make-up, the hair styling and photoshop. The difference is drastic, and only supports the idea that the social standards, as per magazines and campaigns is not only unattainable but unrealistic.


With the results from this research, they didn't only developed a campaign and a foundation to help women built their self esteem, but built their entire brand image around this cause. Low self-esteem and distorted perception of beauty, can cause several problems such as depression, eating disorders, low engagement in social activities and unhappiness.  By helping these girls and women become more confident and feel more beautiful, Dove is doing a social good and associating its brand with those positive feelings. Dove knows how important it is for women to feel good about themselves no matter what, by developing a campaign that didn't advertise a beauty product they needed to look better but instead aimed at making people feel better with what they already had, the brand really distinguished themselves from any other beauty brand. Below, we see a campaign that shows real girls as Dove's models, not really skinny, not all young and extremely made-up, just real women comfortable in their own skin with radiant smiles; a much more realistic beauty portrait.

Here is the copy of their research results and a link to a campaign made after this research: 

Dove commissioned The Real Truth About Beauty study as a way to explore what beauty means to women today. StrategyOne, an applied research firm, managed the study in conjunction with Dr. Nancy Etcoff and Massachusetts General Hospital- Harvard University, and with consultation of Dr. Susie Orbach of the London School of Economics. Between February 27, 2004 and March 26, 2004, the global study collected data from 3,200 women, aged 18 to 64. Interviews were conducted across ten countries: the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Italy, France, Portugal, Netherlands, Brazil, Argentina and Japan.

The study evolved out of a desire to talk to women around the world about female beauty. According to the study, “Dove knows that the relationship women have with beauty is complex: it can be powerful and inspiring, but elusive and frustrating as well. We sponsored this study in order to probe more deeply into this intricate relationship. Dove wanted to understand how women define beauty; how satisfied they are with their beauty; how they feel about female beauty’s portrayal in society; and, how beauty affects their well-being.” This was the first comprehensive study of its kind.

The following statistics are a sampling of results from the study:

• Only 2% of these women describe themselves as “beautiful”

• About 3/4 of them rate their beauty as "average"

• Almost 1/2 of them think their weight is "too high"

The previous findings are particularly the case in the U.S. (60%), Great Britain (57%) and Canada (54%).

• Almost half of all women (48%) strongly agreed (8, 9, or 10 on a 10-point scale) with the statement that: “When I feel less beautiful, I feel worse about myself in general.”

• Just 13% of all women say they are very satisfied with their beauty, 12% with their physical attractiveness, 17% with their facial attractiveness and 13% with their body weight and shape.

• The study revealed that women see beauty and physical attractiveness as increasingly socially mandated and rewarded. Almost two-thirds strongly agreed that: “Women today are expected to be more physically attractive than their mother’s generation was” (63%); and, “Society expects women to enhance their physical attractiveness” (60%).

Larry Koffler, the senior vice president of consumer brands at Edelman, maintained that the research was vital to the campaign: “Without having a foundation in the global research study, which showed that the image of beauty was unattainable, we wouldn’t have had the credibility in creating the materials, in pitching stories and being able to answer some of the folks that didn’t agree with the campaign.”

After the initial study, Dove commissioned two more studies, one in 2005 and one in 2006. The additional information furthered Dove’s research about women’s perceptions of beauty across several cultures.

The later studies revealed the following data:

• 90% of all women 15-64 worldwide want to change at least one aspect of their physical appearance (with body weight ranking the highest).

• 67% of all women 15 to 64 withdraw from life-engaging activities due to feeling badly about their looks (among them things like giving an opinion, going to school, going to the doctor).

• 61% of all women and 69% of girls (15 to 17) feel that their mother has had a positive influence on their feelings about themselves and their beauty.

• 91% feel the media and advertising need to do a better job of representing realistic images of women over 50.

• 97% believe society is less accepting of appearance considerations for women over 50 compared to their younger counterparts, especially when focused on the body.

• Nearly 60% of women believe that if magazines were reflective of a population, a person would likely believe women over 50 do not exist.

• 87% of women believe they are too young to be old.

Link to Research

Politics in Fashion

This is a great article by the New York Times that takes fashion advertising to a more thought provoking social level. This ad is almost a political campaign in itself, depicting the issues of communism, democracy, the physical and psychological barrier between the two, capitalism and even conspiracy in just one picture. Here we see the Soviet Union's last head of state Mikhail Gorbachev, in a limousine carrying a Louis Vuitton handbag with a Russian magazine in it, while passing by a part of the Berlin wall. The richness in this picture goes beyond selling a product or a brand, its selling a cultural change and a part of the world's history.

This as was so thought proving and unique by not only generating attention to the brand Louis Vuitton itself but  also to the controversy and speculation of Litvinenko's death, a hot topic in Russia and London. The execution was so brilliant and successful that the New York Times wrote an article about this inconspicuous magazine placed inside the LV luggage, generating even more advertising for the brand. This is a great example and alternative way for a brand to make a social statement, highlight a current event and penetrate the market in a former communist country by showing they understand their historical background and current social issues.

Louis Vuitton Ad Shows Gorbachev Accompanied by Subversive Text

By DAN LEVIN

Published: November 5, 2007

Even if you don’t read Russian, a recent print ad for Louis Vuitton is something of a visual joke: Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the last leader of the old Soviet Union, sits in a limousine as it passes a remaining part of the Berlin Wall, an open Louis Vuitton bag beside him.

Louis Vuitton

The magazine with the improbable headline.

If you do read Russian, the ad seems to be even more curious: poking out of the bag is a publication with the headline, “The Murder of Litvinenko: They Wanted to Give Up the Suspect for $7,000.”

The reference is to Alexander V. Litvinenko, the former K.G.B. spy who died last November after being poisoned with a radioactive isotope, polonium 210. On his deathbed, Mr. Litvinenko accused President Vladimir V. Putin of orchestrating his murder; the British authorities have accused one of Mr. Litvinenko’s associates, Andrei K. Lugovoi, of the crime, and have requested his extradition from Russia, which the Kremlin has refused.

Last week, as the translation of the headline in the ad started circulating on the Internet, some natural questions arose. Was the message placed there deliberately? And what did it mean?

Both Louis Vuitton and its ad agency, Ogilvy & Mather, were quick to dismiss any significance. “Our company has absolutely no intention to pass any other messages than the one on ‘personal journeys,’” the gist of the campaign in which Mr. Gorbachev appeared, said Pietro Beccari, director of marketing at Louis Vuitton, in an e-mail message.

Besides, he said, if the placement had been deliberate, the words would not have been put “upside down, in Cyrillic and in need of a magnifying lens to be read.” The ad was photographed on June 1 by Annie Leibovitz.

Daniel Sicouri, Ogilvy’s chief executive for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, also denied any political undertones, saying Ms. Leibovitz’s stylists brought Russian magazines to the photo shoot to make the pictures look authentic and any reference to the Litvinenko affair was coincidental.

“Remember, at that time, this was the news of the day,” he said. “Whatever the news of the day is includes political information.”

A representative of Mr. Gorbachev said he had been unaware of the contents of the magazine during the photo shoot. He “was perplexed by this thing when it was brought to his attention a few days ago,” Pavel Palazhchenko, Mr. Gorbachev’s personal aide and translator, wrote by e-mail.

“As a separate matter,” he said, “Gorbachev’s position on the Litvinenko affair is that it should be thoroughly investigated as a criminal case.”

But not everyone is convinced that this all was serendipitous. “In an industry where sesame seeds are hand-placed on a hamburger bun by food technicians before a shot, one would reasonably assume that this was not something that happened by chance,” said Robert Passikoff, president of a brand research consultancy, Brand Keys. “Ads like these get art-directed to the very millimeter and airbrushed so that the advertiser gets exactly what they want.”

Perhaps the advertiser is getting just that, Mr. Passikoff said. “Given that Louis Vuitton and Ogilvy are receiving precisely the kind of attention and buzz that is regarded as being the measure of success these days, it counteracts those effects if they admit to doing it,” he said. “Once you declare it was an overt and planned act, it has no meaning.” DAN LEVIN


Link to article