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Economy
In reply to the discussion: STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Friday, 23 May 2014 [View all]Demeter
(85,373 posts)10. Detroit: the bankrupt city turned corporate luxury brand
http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/may/14/detroit-bankrupt-brand-ad-chrysler-nostalgia?CMP=ema_565
...to an advertiser's eye, Detroit is cool. Gritty. Tough. Resilient. Authentic in its struggle. True in its American spirit of hard, honest work, ruins and all.
That's where it gets uncomfortable for Detroit, The Brand. Detroit, the American phoenix rising from the economic ashes, is sitting on a valuable natural resource: street cred. This has not escaped the notice of profit-driven companies see the city's rebirth as a chance to brand themselves and sell authenticity.
The airwaves and billboards are plastered with ads from Chrysler (a Detroit native), Redbull (from Austria), new vodka brand from the giant French Pernod Ricard group, Our/Vodka, and luxury watch and bicycle company Shinola. They present a romantic, nostalgic take on grit a highly effective spin, which presents poverty and urban decay as cool. The nostalgia element is all the more evident in that ads by Shinola, Redbull and Our/Vodka are often filmed in black and white.
Shinolas spot features bike riders and a beautiful, blonde, white female model hugging a (presumably local) young, black girl. Redbulls spot aired during this years Grammy Awards features local artist Tylonn Sawyer telling a compelling story of beauty and resilience. Our/Vodkas launching ad includes Detroits beautiful, eerie, abandoned Michigan Central Station, stating the brand is rooted in people and community.
These are brands that Detroiters, even the hip newcomers, likely can't afford. It's hard to imagine that many in Detroit could afford a $1,950 bicycle or a $900 watch, irrespective of whether or not the latter now comes with a lifetime warranty....
...to an advertiser's eye, Detroit is cool. Gritty. Tough. Resilient. Authentic in its struggle. True in its American spirit of hard, honest work, ruins and all.
That's where it gets uncomfortable for Detroit, The Brand. Detroit, the American phoenix rising from the economic ashes, is sitting on a valuable natural resource: street cred. This has not escaped the notice of profit-driven companies see the city's rebirth as a chance to brand themselves and sell authenticity.
The airwaves and billboards are plastered with ads from Chrysler (a Detroit native), Redbull (from Austria), new vodka brand from the giant French Pernod Ricard group, Our/Vodka, and luxury watch and bicycle company Shinola. They present a romantic, nostalgic take on grit a highly effective spin, which presents poverty and urban decay as cool. The nostalgia element is all the more evident in that ads by Shinola, Redbull and Our/Vodka are often filmed in black and white.
Shinolas spot features bike riders and a beautiful, blonde, white female model hugging a (presumably local) young, black girl. Redbulls spot aired during this years Grammy Awards features local artist Tylonn Sawyer telling a compelling story of beauty and resilience. Our/Vodkas launching ad includes Detroits beautiful, eerie, abandoned Michigan Central Station, stating the brand is rooted in people and community.
These are brands that Detroiters, even the hip newcomers, likely can't afford. It's hard to imagine that many in Detroit could afford a $1,950 bicycle or a $900 watch, irrespective of whether or not the latter now comes with a lifetime warranty....
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