The Homa Files

Excerpt from BrandWeek “Cookie, Toothbrush Invade Fashion Week” September 8, 2008

You expect to see MAC or Tresemme at Fashion Week, but a Kraft cookie brand?

You won’t see Kraft’s Le Petit Ecolier school boy cookie doing his thing on the runway, but the food giant will offer complimentary samples of the sweet to visitors inside its LU Lounge during Fashion Week…Kraft sees the event, known for its stick-thin models, as the perfect venue to publicize its premium biscuit line.

Kraft isn’t the only brand that has a tenuous link to the industry to glom onto Fashion Week. DHL, American Express and T-Mobile all have sponsorship stakes in this year’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week…

Procter & Gamble…is taking both its Tide and Oral-B brands straight to the catwalk…Models wearing clothes washed several times with the new Tide Total Care line walk the runway this morning; and tomorrow, Dash/Smooch presents its latest pajama collection in conjunction with P&G’s new slim, rechargeable Oral-B Pulsonic toothbrush…

The presence of such supermarket-friendly brands makes Fashion Week look increasingly accessible. Critics say that could pose a problem…

Many brands see the event as a way to bask in the glamorous halo of New York’s premiere fashion event. In the case of Tide, P&G is trying to use the brand’s new Total Care line as a crossover from “fabric care to fashion care,” said company rep Kash Shaikh… Oral-B, on the other hand, is going after the consumer who wants a toothbrush that not only delivers whiter teeth, but is aesthetically appealing as well.

Evian was among the first brands outside the rag trade to see Fashion Week’s potential. Evian has been the event’s bottled spring water of record for 10 years straight (1993-2003). After a five-year hiatus…Evian reemerged as the venue’s official H2O sponsor this year. 

Edit by SAC
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As if the Kraft cookies weren’t enough, the Oral-B runway placement included models carrying toothbrushes down the catwalk and then pretending to brush their teach as they danced next to backup singers that performed during the show.  An equally odd pairing between McDonalds & the Olympics helped increase McDonald chicken sandwich sales this summer. Maybe models carrying chicken nuggets is the next unlikely pairing we’ll see on the runway.

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Full article:
http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/packaged-goods/e3i8f41b4ad7b54e9000311387db21d1441?imw=Y

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