Karl Lagerfeld x Coca Cola

Coke has done yet another co-branding project, this time with Monsieur Karl Lagerfeld, the man behind the fashion label Chanel. I'm not convinced that Mr. Lagerfeld actually drinks Coke, but does it matter? Surely all the French fashionistas will be flocking to their nearest grocery store to stock up on some of these come April 28! (!)

(wwd.com)

Ikea redecorates the Paris Metro

This week, Ikea has decided to give the Paris metro system a little facelift by installing "living spaces" in the metro waiting areas. This was done in efforts to declare to the Parisians that spring cleaning may involve purchasing some new Ikea furniture in lieu of keeping around old and stuffy pieces. Modern living room furniture adorned busy metro stations (Saint-Lazare, Champs Elysées Clémenceau, Concorde, and Opéra) and trompe l'oeil posters of living rooms were plastered behind the colourful sofas and lamps. This project should really put Ikea's furniture quality through the test of time. Although the pieces will only be installed for a week, I wonder if the pieces will uphold to thousands of passengers (and maybe a few homeless people)'s abuse. (!)

via Fast Company.

Tropicana Brightens Inuvik's Sunrise Festival

BBDO Canada has teamed up with Tropicana to film an advertisement in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, where people spend 30 days in the winter in darkness, literally. A helium balloon filled with light was suspended into the air to recreate a sunrise during Inuvik's Sunrise Festival, a celebration for the sun's return. This ad has been viewed on Youtube approximately 50,000 times, so unfortunately, I don't feel too ahead of the crowd by posting this video. However, I wanted to point out the effective "shock value" of the ad; most likely, the people of Inuvik will never see this spectacle again, so imagine living in almost 30 days of darkness and waking up to a helium ball of light! Tropicana distributed free cartons of orange juice to each household, which interestingly sells for $12-$13 per carton. (!)

Business spotlight: Opening Ceremony

Opening Ceremony is a boutique in New York City full of contemporary clothing including its house brand and various collaborations with brands and artists. Nestled in between Soho and Chinatown, it is a must-see for every tourist and a hip place to shop for the locals. I was compelled to share this business with you all after watching their interview with VBS. What intrigued me was how their unique buying strategy has helped to keep the brand relevant and innovative in the eyes of the consumer, year after year. The owners, Humberto Leon and Carol Kim, travel to a destination and bring back approximately ten designers to showcase in their store, ensuring that one brand showcased is in popular demand to drive sales, bring in-store traffic and to expose the other, lesser known but equally as interesting brands. Although many of you already know that an established brand (sales and traffic driver) + up-and-coming designers (brand building attributes such as trendy, innovative, forward thinking) = a recipe for a successful retail boutique, it was the use of this strategy backed by interesting co-branding and collaboration opportunities that really established a differentiated position for the Opening Ceremony brand - a brand which has now grown to three locations, an online store, and a network of boutiques globally which stock and carry its house brand.

The owners' vision of fun and fashion is clearly communicated through their unique product curation, branding, co-branding, collaborations (with Chloe Sevigny, Levi's, and Keds to name a few), and mission of bringing pieces of the world back to New York, creating a space for idea generation and sharing. Maybe this is allusion is a bit farfetched, but Opening Ceremony reminds me of the positive side of globalization in the way the brand chooses to bring cross-cultural ideas closer together in one space. Unfortunately, I am having video embedding issues. Click the links below for the interview which talks about their roots, strategy, and new projects such as their collaboration with Ace Hotel in New York. (!)

Opening Ceremony VBS pt. 1

Opening Ceremony VBS pt. 2

coca cola co-branding collage

Packaging sells. Well, maybe not to everyone, but packaging is the selling point for me in many battle-of-the-brand scenarios. I'm always persuaded by packaging that something is superior than another. Even though I'm a marketing major, Coke persuaded me, with packaging, that these products were superior to "normal" cokes. More after the jump. (!)

Coke x 100th anniversary Selfridges UK

Co-creation is so hot right now.

Axe has teamed up with 25 college-aged customers to create the ad for their new fragrance, je m'excuse, body spray "Lynx Twist". The scent supposedly changes throughout the day (AdAge). As I think of locker rooms and high school jocks when Axe comes to mind, this ad is actually pretty cool and hip which are obviously great aspirational values for Axe to promote. Anyway, let's skip the talk and admire the great collaborational efforts from Axe. (!)

Gaga x Polaroid

Lady Gaga has been recently signed as the Creative Director for Polaroid - a brand that indisputably needs reviving. With Gaga's global outreach and her reputation for avant-garde, creative self-expression, will Gaga's brand associations successfully transfer over to Polaroid to help bring the brand back to its high point of instant photography craze? I am actually excited to see how this will work out. The collaboration is definitely a bold but smart move for Polaroid, as Gaga is seen as not only an idol, but a creative maven by millions (be they fans or not). (!)

(luxor)

I feel famous.

Nokia ad in South Korean metro station equipped with motion sensors that triggered the flashbulbs of paparazzi cameras to go off when people walked by the display. It was used to promote the launch of the D700 model in the South Korean market. (!)

(coolhunter)

Victoria's Secret, there's a rival in town.

Victoria's Secret bears the #1 brand recall position in my mind when we speak of lingerie fashion shows. However, Sonia Rykiel for H&M's collaboration gives the lingerie brand a run for its money. Using a different fantastical approach - one that includes a bit of whimsy, Sonia Rykiel mixes in her Parisian chic attitude with H&M's mass appeal in a genius way. H&M invited 200 bloggers to the show for strategic infiltration of media in the blogosphere and the company also streamed the show online. Although Victoria's Secret's show arguably remained in the spotlight, the fashion spectacle was a successful move for H&M to snatch a piece of the pre-holiday season pie while everyone was still thinking about underwear.

Since this topic is a bit 2009, I'm filing it under inspiration (more pictures after the jump). (!)

Objects of Mass Consumption + Art

The idea of mass consumed objects and art may have its roots in mere screen prints of a Campbell's soup can signed by Andy Warhol to be sold and consumed by the masses; but today, the idea has evolved to the point where consumers can consume art while they are in the act of consumption.. sound a bit confusing? Just look at the photos after the jump. (!)

(flickr)

Spread Happiness

As January marks the beginning of a new semester - and hence, another 3 months of a junk food diet, marketers armed with this fact are eagerly seeking ways to target the student body.

Despite having read that Coca-Cola is abandoning further social media platforms (FastCompany), this video caught my eye the other day. Can Coke come to McGill next? Because I'm sure that we all could use some caffeine fixes as the exam and midterm season is, well, approaching faster than we think. (!)