I'm in the process of launching my very own website that I designed and built from scratch! I am very excited about this, as it will be an online portfolio and a way I can get my name out there. During the process of developing this website, I have been going through all my work samples and refining them. One very special piece that I love is an advertising critique I wrote last year while studying abroad in Australia. "Manolo's & The City" is an article about the product placement of Manolo Blahnik shoes in the popular Sex and the City television series. It is an excerpt of a 75-page magazine I developed called "The New York Critic" for this course that required me to creatively assemble a critique of ten advertising campaigns. The first of ten is below. The text post is posted first for an easier read, followed by the actual article spread as it appears in my ad magazine. To view the storyboard examples from the actual show portraying Manolo Blahnik, click read more. Enjoy :)
Suzy
Manolo's & The City
By: Susan Mosejczuk
When the sensation that became 'Sex and the City' (SATC) was born nearly ten years ago in 1998, the four main characters probably did not plan on sharing the spotlight with a fifth star. Carrie Bradshaw, Miranda Hobbs, Samantha Jones, and Charlotte York became an overnight success and soon thereafter so did Manolo Blahnik.
In 1973, Mr. Blahnik began transforming his designs into real life art by investing ₤2,000 and buying a London brand by the name of Zapata. He never imagined that his sketchbook full of vintage men's shoes would one day lead to a worldwide buzz in the realm of high-fashion women's shoes. But thanks to the writers of Sex and the City, it did. And soon the two household names became interchangeable with one another -- the most popular women's television show of the new millennium and an overlooked shoe designer anxiously awaiting his big break.
The shoe brand and television show coexisted with one another for all six seasons, and even after the very last episode aired, the two continued to see unprecedented success. The advertiser in this sense obviously being Manolo Blahnik and the product being the brand and its array of fashionable shoe wear. The method of advertising was ingenious because women everywhere related to these four New York fashionistas and soon enough, they wanted to wear exactly what they did no matter the cost.
Product placement became crucial to the positioning of Manolo Blahnik as a desired brand. Product placement is the most utilized form of brand-funded entertainment and usually reaps great benefits. Rather than direct in-your-face advertising, product placement allows a partnership to develop between a television show or film and a brand, and it cultivates the brand throughout. The use of Manolo Blahnik in SATC was subtle enough that viewers were not overwhelmed, but put the brand front and center and enticed women worldwide.
What is the purpose of the advertisement?
The purpose of Manolo Blahnik is to strategically gain brand awareness through this medium that leads to results without harassing individuals or forcing the product upon them. Through product placement, viewers develop their own taste for the brand, just with a little help. As seen throughout the storyboards for both "A 'Vogue' Idea" and "A Woman's Right to Shoes", Manolo Blahnik is advertised subtly through SATC. A simple mention of the brand name or a camera zooming in on the name written across a box of shoes. Or through the written lines of the show, where a character is ranting and raving about how much they love the brand. All of these mechanisms significantly impacted viewers worldwide and repositioned the company as the best of the best.
What is the target audience of the advertisement?
The target audience refers to the individuals that can be reached through this medium of advertising - television. Sex and the City brought in a wider audience than most people expect a show following the lives of four 30-something women amidst the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple. The gender of the target audience is obvious, primarily women. But don't be fooled because statistics show certain men to find SATC just as guilty of a pleasure; particularly homosexual men and men in relationships who accompany their significant others in weekly indulging. The age range of the audience is more fascinating, as it shows how this series was able to captivate all generations worldwide during its lifespan. The best indication of the advertisements target audience are those individuals who packed into theatres on the opening night of the Sex and the City movie. After six years of dedication to the show, women of all ages, races, and classes turned out to see where New York's "famous four" would end up. Starting with Generation X and continuing up to women in their late 60's, Sex and the City reached a wide audience. Whether the women were accustomed to the lifestyle or simply intrigued by it, no one in the theatre could turn away.
What is the target market of the product?
The target market, or the people that are assumed to be in the market for Manolo Blahnik, does not vary greatly from the target audience for the show. The shoe brand itself is designed for a woman with status in her 20's-40's, that indulges in nothing but designer brands, as seen with the cost of a pair of Manolos. SATCBlahnik through SATC, the target market would still be considered to the higher class, when now middle women can experience this same joy from these heavenly heels.
Why is this advertisement EFFECTIVE?
The use of Manolo Blahnik in SATC is effective advertising for an array of reasons - the first and most rewarding being affective responses stimulated by the viewers of the television show. Because of the popularity of SATC and the amount of exposure it gained, women began to follow the series season after season. Once comfortable with the plot and characters, a woman could find herself identifying with either Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, or Samantha because they each represented a very different woman experiencing a different transition in life. But the one thing each of these women had in common was the brands they favored, particularly Manolo Blahnik for shoes. And if a woman was identifying with a character, sooner or later she would begin to have similar wants and desires. That is why the subtle product placement of Manolo Blahnik worked; thanks to emotional appeal generated by the show.
It's quite simple. Carrie wanted Manolos and if women wanted the success and happiness that Carrie had, they eventually wanted Manolos too. The SATC advertising was definitely responsible for a great deal of impulse buying. Women overlooked price tags and a pair of $400 dollar designer shoes that was in question initially, didn't seem so bad anymore. Effective? For Manolo Blahnik, certainly. For countless bank accounts worldwide, not exactly.
The second key to the effectiveness is brand transformation and this advertisement is a picture perfect example of that. Blahnik never anticipated his artwork to explode into his own international chain of shoes and a top name in the fashion world. After all, he started as a set designer for theatre and it wasn't until he presented his portfolio to the editor of U.S. Vogue, Diana Vreeland, that he was steered in a new direction. Until the mention of Manolo Blahnik in SATC, Blahnik gained most of his notoriety through collaborations with already established names in the industry. When SATC began to portray Blahnik as this exclusive and euphoric shoe, two years after the start of the show, the popularity of Manolos exploded. William Wells put it best when describing that brand transformation is when something goes "from a mere product into something special, something that is differentiated from other products in the category... for the brand to become the first choice of those consumers rather than everybody's second choice." Effective advertising and brand transformation took an name that before got easily lost in the world of Jimmy Choo and Christian Louboutin, and make it a reputable and unforgettable brand.
So now, would YOU buy it?
If you were to ask any 20-year-old young woman raised in New York whether she would jump at the chance to own a coveted pair of Manolos, the answer is instant... ABSOLUTELY! Now take that same 20-year-old young woman, who is on a limited budget and working her way through college. Probably not as likely if the only way these shoes were advertised was on the pages of a fashion magazine. Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire. You flip through, pause for a split second to admire, and make your way forward through the magazine, knowing the honor of owning these shoes was far out of reach.
The genius behind the product placement of Manolo Blahnik in SATC is this. Women of all ages have obsessed over the show since its start and even after it was laid to rest, fill their void through syndication. The idolization of Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha plays the lead role in how women who could not quite afford the Manolo Blahnik lifestyle start to convince themselves otherwise. You don't feel as bad giving into a product you cant afford when the advertising is so subtle, you don't even notice its being pushed upon you.
Until you find yourself lost... conveniently in a Manolo Blahnik boutique. Rather than just a typical day of window shopping, you make the brave gesture of stepping behind the glass. Once you have entered the sacred space, the rows of colorful masterpieces called "shoes" begin to transform you into a whole other world, and sometimes you find yourself speaking... to a pair of heels. But not just any heels. This feeling and satisfaction instantly gratified by owning a pair of these would never be possible without the help of SATC.
So ask me again if this advertisement convinces me to buy a pair of Manolo Blahniks? Without a doubt. If there's anything I would want in this world, its to be one of the "fabulous four" strolling down Park Avenue on a Sunday afternoon, hurrying to get to lunch on time with her three best friends. And not scurrying in just any shoes, but Manolos of course.
