The news that Max Factor is going to be killed off in the USA (although it seems to be largely dead already!) ruins one of the examples I had often used of having a powerful, competitive Big Idea over time in various trainings and projects I have worked on. How annoying.It seems that "the makeup of makeup artists" no longer appeals. So what happened or is going on?
In some ways, it is probably largely a sign of the times. Just as Lux (the choice of stars) in Western markets died when the studio system and the glamour associated with big screen stars died as times changed.
Today, with the advent of reality shows and instant and transient celebrity we seem to have lost that small, exclusive and highly glamorous world that the stars of movies used to represent. A world when a few cherished stars and their personas were carefully crafted and managed. Their image and stories carefully managed. Remember this is from time when studios controlled the stories and image so well that a star like Rock Hudson was not even suspected of not be a charming, good looking womaniser.
Now we have a more transient celebrity world. Celebrities still are very powerful as brand spokespersons, but are they seem to be doing more of a job in helping a brand achieve stand out in a cluttered world these days - than selling aspiration and glamour. You can, after become a celebrity yourself much easier than ever before.
So I do wonder if the role of celebrity and those associated with them has fundamentally changed over the last 10 plus years with the emergence of shows like Big Brother (in its 10th year in the UK) and the such like.
Even there we see names rise sharply and burn out just as quickly. Celebrity and stars as a currency and ally for brands is now less about adding to long and medium term values, and more about short term news and fast awareness.
It is the nature of the way we live and how media chases, builds and throws celebrities aside. Possibly the most telling thing is we don't really talk about "stars" anymore - we talk about celebrity.
Of course when chosen well and timely they have a big impact on awareness and trial. But maybe like the makeup artists of stars, they are not as likely to add glamour and aspiration over time as much anymore? I am sure there are many other issues related to Max Factor like products, pricing and distribution, but it still seems that the shine faded as the nature of celebrity and glamour associated with it faded and became less relevant.
Max Factor TVCs
1986 Max factor Ad with Jacklyn Smith talking about the glamour of Marlene Dietrich. The pay off line is "The glamour goes on", so linking to the glamour associated with the old movie stars (as the nature of stars changed even in the 1980s they struggled to have a glamour face as of old).
Watch on Youtube: click here or on the blog posting
TV ad based on the film "memoirs of a geisha" from that linked the brand to it's roots in film. Click here to watch on YouTube or on the blog posting:
This short clip is how Bloomberg reported the news of Max Factor being pulled from the USA: click here to watch on YouTube, or watch on the blog posting:
1 comment:
That is pretty sad because it does well in many countries....the Asian countries also use this brand and the products are pretty good.
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