Saturday, December 29, 2012

Trend Alert : Cartoons + Fashion Editorials

You've probably heard it already, print media is suffering from readership losses. People are getting their news online and Twitter doesn't let you share anything that includes more than 140 characters. Therefore, you need a project that that has great 'mass' and high 'velocity' in order to obtain a large digital momentum. Or in other words, if you're dealing with a print magazine, you need an editorial that goes viral.
You are probably right if you tell me that editorials with Kate Moss gets the most retweets but there should also be a limit to the number of editorials you can use her for. So what's your Plan B? Cartoons.

1. Simpsons for HARPER'S BAZAAR
Illustrated by Julius Preite, the Simpsons go to Paris with Linda Evangelista in an editorial of Harper's Bazaar. In one illustration, Homer and kids arrive in Paris with Louis Vuitton trunks. In another one, Marge meets Donatella Versace. Then we see Homer become the student of Karl Lagerfeld and together they dress Marge & Linda in Chanel Haute Couture.
This little project does not only make up the 'mass' but also help the 'velocity' of Harper's Bazaar as thanks to the buzz it created online, more people talked about the magazine. So for the digital momentum of the magazine, this was a very positive move. Well, Harper's Bazaar staff must have thought the same as they replicated the project with The Smurfs. Read below.

2. The Smurfs for HARPER'S BAZAAR
Shot by Jeffrey Westbrook for Harper's Bazaar following the success of The Simpsons editorial, the Smurfette tries on different designer dresses in this editorial. The titles read: 'She's mad for Marc', 'She's lovely in Lanvin', 'Dancing in Dolce' and 'Prancing in Vuitton'. This editorial was a great detail in the marketing strategy for the launch of the movie, The Smurfs.

3. Disney for ELLE Spain
Ulrich Schröder's illustrations turn famous fashion designers into Disney charachters for Elle Spain. Karl Lagerfeld turns into a top dog, Stefano Gabbana & Domenico Dolce into Mickey Mouse & Goofy and Donatella Versace & John Galliano into ducks.
This, again, was a great initiative for increasing the 'velocity' of Elle Spain as pages off the editorial were shared frequently on various social media networks. (Yes, you guessed it right, Tumblr was loaded with these pictures.)

4. The Muppets for INSTYLE
Meet 'The Notorious Pig' as Instyle put it. Shot by the photographer Dan Forbes, Miss Piggy wore Prabal Gurung, Opening Ceremony and Brian Atwood. This editorial was published around the time that the movie, The Muppets, was coming out so it was a good marketing effort to increase the 'velocity' of WOM.





5. Agathe & Seraphine's House for GARAGE
Although this is not a cartoon, it happens to be my favourite editorial in this genre. From the minds of Nick Knight & Dinos Chapman comes a beautiful editorial 'Agathe & Seraphine's House' for Garage magazine, featuring the model Lily Donaldson. The doll wore dresses from Mary Katrantzou, Dolce & Gabbana & Marc Jacobs mixed with various accessories from brands like Meadham Kirchoff, Manolo Blahnik & Louis Vuitton.
These are all global editorials with famous cartoons however this strategy can easily be localized. Example? Well... Asterix for a French magazine, Lupo Alberto for an Italian magazine or Mafalda for any European magazine... Any other suggestions? Which cartoon would you like to see in your local fashion magazine?

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