We all know that 2020 was a difficult and historic year. When last year's Super Bowl aired on February 3, 2019 the first coronavirus death in America (February 6, 2020) was yet to be recorded. When Super Bowl LV aired on February 7, 2021 America had lost 463,000 lives to the virus. Polarization The United States has been a divided country for the last many years. Red and Blue. This year even more so. The country continues to be divided on issues like guns and reproduction, but now there is a fundamental difference in how Americans see …
Ralph Lauren: Maintaining a Brand During a Pandemic
I'm a Ralph Lauren aficionado. Long a fan of the brand and its overarching idea, "The World of Ralph Lauren," I continue to think it is the best articulated and most consistently executed brand in the fashion, apparel and retail sector -- and beyond. I've written several articles about Ralph Lauren for this publication, beginning in 2014, explaining how the brand is defined and controlled in every aspect -- from an identifiable product, to romantic and aspirational advertising, to its relationship with customers across media. Ralph Lauren's …
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Ralph Lauren: Icon, Image Maker, Movie Star
When I saw Very Ralph, HBO's documentary about Ralph Lauren, I realized I'd forgotten about the ads. In the 80s and 90s, consumers and some advertising people (me on both counts) looked forward to the multi-paged color or sometimes black-and-white spreads in the glossy magazines introducing Ralph Lauren's latest seasonal collection. From Hollywood's 1930s and 40s vision of glamour - Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn -- to an old fashioned, well outfitted African safari, from the Western ranch to the Atlantic …
What Super Bowl Ads Say About Us
Many fans look to the Super Bowl for a great game and a celebratory event. A party with friends or a party of one. Always a time to snack and drink beer. This year's Super Bowl marked the first-time victory for The Kansas City Chiefs in 50 years with an exciting 4th quarter finish that was viewed by 102 million people. Viewership for Super Bowl 54 was up 1.5 percent over last year and was the tenth largest audience in Super Bowl history. The Super Bowl is television's largest communal viewing event. Fox priced commercials at $5.6 million for …
Cotton Goes To Montauk
Montauk lies 118 miles east of midtown Manhattan, at the eastern tip of Long Island. Purchased in 1648 by British settlers from the Montaukett Indians, Montauk served as grazing land for settlers' cattle herds for over a century. George Washington commissioned the Montauk Lighthouse in 1797, where it stands today, to warn ships off the rocky coast. In 1882, Stanford White built seven shingle style houses along the coast, also still standing. The Long Island railroad reached Montauk in 1895 making it accessible for Metro types. In the 1920s, …
Ralph Makes a Cup of Coffee
The Polo Bar, owned by Ralph Lauren, is a club-like, well-reviewed restaurant featuring Ralph's personal "Madeline" memory from his childhood in the Bronx, the Reuben sandwich, corned beef on rye with melted Swiss cheese and coleslaw, along with a menu full of comfort food, in what is called the "best lit" room in New York. The restaurant is frequented by celebrities and A-list socialites, those New Yorkers who know one another and slip in and out of places many of us will never visit. The Polo Bar is difficult to get into, guarded on the …
What We Can Learn from the Super Bowl Ads
The Super Bowl is the single biggest television event of the year, both in terms of viewership and dollars spent in advertising. This year's 53rd Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams, while considered a somewhat boring game, still scored 98.2 million television viewers, with an additional 2.6 million live streaming, for a total viewing audience of 100.7 million. The Super Bowl television audience was down 5 percent over last year and 12 percent since 2017, but the cost of advertising -- $5.25 million for a …
Ralph at 50
In September 2018, Ralph Lauren celebrated his 50th Anniversary with a fashion show and black-tie dinner in Central Park's Bethesda Fountain and courtyard, not far from the twin Ralph Lauren mansion stores flanking the corners of Madison and 72nd Street. Models descended the 1842-era stone steps to enter the courtyard lined with Persian carpets for the occasion. Guests were seated in rows configured so that somehow it seemed that everyone had a front row seat. The couture fashion was well received: women in patchwork velvet, bejeweled and …