Misunderstood: Kenneth Cole's Ad Campaign

I was so inspired after a class discussion about a controversial Kenneth Cole ad that I decided to blog about it this week. Our class discussion stemmed out of the following advertisement and campaign website:


The class was, for the most part, extremely opposed to the ad campaign and didn't see the connection between fashion and politics. They thought that it was too controversial, too risky, too distant from traditional fashion brands.

I could not have disagreed more with my classes' general consensus.

I think that with this ad campaign, Kenneth Cole has really tried to create a brand, not just a fashion line. They are saying that the people that buy Kenneth Cole merchandise are people with a cause. People who shop at Kenneth Cole are looking for more than just clothes, they are people who care about politics and hot-topic issues like gay rights and abortion.

Some of my classmates thought that the ad campaign was Kenneth Cole's way of making a political statement, or rather THEIR political statement, but that was, in my opinion, completely opposite of their point. I believe the point that Kenneth Cole was trying to make is that their target audience has a stance, not that that stance should adhere to a certain end of the political spectrum, but that they should have opinions, whatever those opinions may be.

This political ambiguity can be seen in the issues that they chose to feature on the ad campaign's website. The four topics -- Gay rights, War, Pro-Life and Guns -- are issues from both sides of the political spectrum and each features it's own page with a discussion board where viewers can agree or disagree and explain why.

Kenneth Cole's ad campaign is obviously extremely controversial, and there are MANY people who would be completely turned off by their ads. Despite it's controversy, I still believe it is an incredible example of creating a true brand as opposed to simply a company.