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Even traditional glamour marketing has changed. In less than three years, Sweetface Fashion, Jennifer Lopez's holding company, zoomed from zero to $300 million in sales. This year's goal is in the neighborhood of $400 million. While the endless stream of J.Lo by Jennifer Lopez merchandise hardly creates a feeling of exclusivity, Lopez rarely appears in the promo campaigns, thus preserving some of her scarcity. Nevertheless, Bruce Tait of Fallon Brand Consulting cautions, "When any brand extends beyond its perceived core, consumers often look at it as a greedy move, and that can create animosity."
Lopez's marketers hope her target audience views her ambition and business smarts as the height of modern-day glamour. "In fashion, having momentum and timing is everything," says Denise Seegal, CEO of Sweetface Fashion. "We take our cues from our consumer, and they want J.Lo from head to toe." This is a radical departure from days of old, when poster girls may have always been ferociously ambitious, but it never showed.
Now let's talk about the gents. It's hard to say whether Queer Eye reflects a broader acceptance of gays and gay culture, but it does underscore the increasing pressure on men to be glamorous. The business opportunity is huge, as the billion-dollar market for sexual-performance-enhancing drugs and plastic surgery for men shows. To date, the marketing of male glamour almost without exception smacks of desperation. The Queer Eye targets are always hauled in by their women. The marketing of Viagra and Levitra is painful to behold, and indeed Viagra will soon hire a new advertising agency to manage its $100 million account.
By contrast, Sean (P. Diddy) Combs elevated hip-hop style to full-on male glamour in 1998 with the introduction of his modestly priced urban men's label, Sean John. Revenue has grown steadily, to $175 million. Unlike such labels as Phat Farm, Enyce Clothing and Rocawear, Sean John's line, which includes suits, offers a unique mix of old-school attributes. Combs' recent acquisition of a stake in Zac Posen's couture label reinforces the scarcity and mystery effects. Combs' brand also enjoys a slightly nasty reputation--that's good--not least for his star-crossed association with Lopez. What's more, his 2001 trial for bribery and weapons possession very quickly turned into a high-profile runway show, which somehow befits a corporate parent called Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group. (Combs was acquitted.)
So is genuine, old-school glamour a dead end as a marketing strategy? Has it been replaced by its chintzy cousin, glitz? While it's true that glamour is no longer reserved for the lucky few, the original definition survives more or less intact. Consumers respond to celebrity, individual style, mystery and scarcity. Snob-appeal companies like Harry Winston, Tiffany & Co. and Neiman Marcus certainly have an easier time, since they own the upper end, yet--in Tiffany's case--can still sell $50 trinkets.
If Whirlpool can pull off a glamorous product introduction, any brand can apply a little gloss. The mystery therefore extends to getting it right. The plethora of bad glamour out there makes good stuff look even better. Given the clutter that chokes our every day, real glamour may even be the last marketing strategy with any dignity.
Ellen Ratchye-Foster analyzes emerging consumer trends for luxury brands