Generally speaking, people have very strong feelings about Buzzfeed. Some loathe the seemingly simplistic listicles and click-baity headlines that the website has become known for. Just as many people love – and love to share – the content on the site.
We love watching Dov Charney finally get his come-uppings as the most depraved CEO ever to sexually harass his staff, but more joy comes from proof of what we’ve all been feeling for a long time: American Apparel’s advertising sucks.
Sure, the provocative photos seemed edgy, a bit, in 2003. But when you consider that Calvin Klein had already been pushing the amateur porn trope years earlier, Charney’s in-house photo spreads, often shot by the CEO himself, seem hackneyed, at best.
While the brand started with some enlightened ideas — made in America, anti sweatshop, gay friendly — it was never a true fashion house. AA followed its basic, comfy T-shirt with tacky, retro ugliness that could never be more than a fad — oversized glasses, leotards, and leg warmers.
American Apparel’s imagination void is most obvious when you consider its stagnant and stale marketing. Pictures of half clad young people in prurient poses are fine, but for more than a decade, that’s all we got.
It’s well documented that Dov Charney is a sex addicted lothario, but after losing money for four straight years and a stock trading for pennies, the real question is for AA’s board of directors: What the hell is your excuse?
“Humor in advertising is like a gun in the hands of a child. You have to know how to use it. Otherwise, it can blow up on you.” (Miller, 1992)
I’m willing to admit a weakness: I am usually ready to forgive and look past almost any shortcomings or personality flaws if someone has just one characteristic—they have to be able to make me laugh.
For me—and for a lot of people—a good sense of humor holds a lot of currency. If someone can make us laugh, we find it hard not to like them and want to associate with them. We even subconsciously think they’re smart.
The Wall St Journal had a story recently that discussed a new trend of financial firms using video and social media in their marketing. This idea is fraught with concerns of violating regulations or simply coming off badly.
A nice piece on Washington Post offers advice from a guy who bet on e-books, and knew he had to win over book lovers.
Here are two interesting tools to help businesses get their marketing into different channels.
The first is bMobilized, which very quickly creates a mobile version of any website. Our site looked a bit crappy in their demo, but once inside the full app there are many customizing options.