Thank the iPod, the little device that could. And did.
This machine's proof-positive that certain brands travel in packs. Apple, Volkswagen, J.Crew, Puma — look at ANYTHING any of these companies (and others) have marketed in the past year and I bet you’ll see something that looks straight out of Warhol’s White-on-White period. Interesting, as they all share the exact same target demographics. Hmmm.
“Vacant, vacuous Hollywood was everything I ever wanted to mold my life into. Plastic. White-on-white.”
The Gap's in-house agency could've made that quote. In fact, their addiction to the white stuff pre-dated the iPod (i.e., their late-90s/early-00s campaigns). But it took the iPod to inseminate the global "cool" culture with white. My guess is that it's the result of a Holy Trinity effect that manufacturers/marketers of any product anywhere would do anything to have happen to them — the combination of Apple's effective marketing visuals à la TBWA/Chiat/Day (contrasting the white machine and earphone cord against the black silhouette of the listener); the fact that they're EVERYWHERE today (easily noticed because the white sticks out like a sore jog-wheel thumb); and that the product is effin' great.
Not only has the iPod mutated the music and computer industries in its wake, but fashion and advertising too. Everything’s gone white.
White shoes and suits are no longer the domain of used car hucksters or lounge lizards. And it ain’t just for after Memorial Day anymore. Anything with wires inside seems to be white outside. Every VW you've seen in the last two TV campaigns has been white. Every :15 spot comprising the latest Puma TV campaign is set in a white seamless soundstage using white stage props.
The iPod has done this, and I find that incredible. White is now the new black (high fashion) or silver (high technology). Something as out-of-nowhere as a portable MP3 player has now made the distinct lack of color THE color. And the yuppie-friendly brands which all chase me (yes, I’m a slobbering fan of all of them) have blindly followed suit.
Come on, guys. Have some guts. Use your intuition. Find some calling card of your own. The iPod’s amazing success has made a cottage industry of white paint, but it’s whitewashing (er, homogenizing) message-senders and their wares. It’s almost embarrassing to me as a marketer to witness these amazing marques all coalescing to capitalize on the “idea of white” begun by Apple, the king brand of all VW-drivin, soccer-lovin, Puma-wearin, Europe-travelin, slightly artsy yet safe clothes and hairdo and music-ownin Gen-Xers.
Again, I hate to admit that I’m one of them. Which may have been why I was recently asked by someone who doesn’t even work in commercial communications, “Why do you think so many Apple users drive VWs?” His consumer intuition spider-sense was right on. And the riot of white that’s ensued has only made the ugly truth of bedfellow-brand-imitation more obvious.
Come to think of it, sheep are white.
No comments:
Post a Comment