Luxury: Ralph Lauren Has Much to Think About Over the Weekend

It has been a difficult week for Ralph Lauren. Ralph Lauren, the man, turned 70 on Wednesday and Ralph Lauren, the brand, took a very public battering over an unfortunate advert featuring a tall skinny model (Filippa Hamilton) photoshopped to look skinnier still resulting in a grossly distorted female figure. Their ill-advised attempt to bully a handful of blogs into removing the ad from their sites not only backfired but emboldened the blogosphere which in turn attracted the attention of mainstream media creating an even bigger public relations mess.

The company eventually issued a statement acknowledging responsibility for the image and pledging to "(...) take every precaution to ensure that the caliber of our artwork represents our brand appropriately." Unfortunately for them, another badly photoshopped ad came to light shortly after they issued the statement making their tepid pledge sound all the more hollow. To make matters worst, Hamilton claims she was fired after the company told her agency she was too fat to fit into the clothing. She also suggests the grossly distorted image has been emotionally and professionally harmful.

It's rather difficult to feel sorry for either Ralph Lauren or his company as much of their pain has been self-inflicted. Moreover, a company which routinely features the American flag in its advertisements and which has long sought to portray itself as embodying the American ethos should probably know better than to trample all over that most American of values, free speech. As a consumer, I would have so much more respect for the company if they came forward with a genuine apology not just for the photoshopping escapades but for the way they've conducted themselves throughout the controversy. Ralph Lauren has built a veritable empire off his idealized version of the American spirit. It's time he took some of that spirit to heart and showed his customers that there is substance behind the image.

Sincerely,

The Luxe Chronicles

Comments

[Helene]

Interesting observation John Agee Paris - I agree (sadly) that once this controversy subsides, I suspect things will go back to the way they were. There are however a handful of eating disorder advocates calling for a boycott of brands who engage in this type of advertising tactic. See today's Huffington Post for an interesting analysis of the potential effect of the controversy (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/emme/industry-wide-interventio_b_321717.html).

Helene

[John Agee Paris]

What is so alluring about these skeletal girls they hire anyway? I remember when the runways of Europe and America were filled with healthy, fit looking amazons (albeit slim amazons) who strutted the catwalk with a confident, powerful air.

Unfortuantely for Ralph Lauren and many others in this business, it's very difficult to come down from the ivory tower and look at the world as it is. The funniest thing I've always found about this business is that the vast majority of people who actually open up their wallets and pay full retail for luxury goods are not size 2 and are mostly over the age of 40 (at least the really BIG spenders).

It could be a "teachable moment", but I have a feeling we'll go back to anorexic very soon with barely a ripple being felt.

[willowblue]

Isn't it bad enough that the mega brands terrorise the print media (mostly the glossy rags) into meek submission, with nary anything that can pass as vaguely critical in print, now they turn on the blogs.
This Ralph Lauren fracas is a litmus test of sorts. Blogs should not baulk at offering genuine opinions (not defamatory/libellous).
The other day, the editor of a woman's mag related her stressful working lunch with a brand rep who had a laundry list of demands for ROI and KPI (key performance indices) from their ad campaign.
It's so sad.