Household objection

Just how attached to music do consumers want to be?

What?: Music is moving in on everyday objects, but just how close a connection is the public willing to accept? Some of the campaigns currently positioning music at the hands on end of the spectrum are:

* Just in time for summer, Rihanna is launching her own umbrella line in conjunction with manufacturer Totes. The umbrellas will come in five styles and range in price from $14.99 to a $50.00 limited-edition model. The basic design features an emblazoned Rihanna logo on the outside and a bright pink inside.

* Ministry of Sound label Hed Kandi – who recently offered tailored flights to Ibiza – is moving into the perfume and toiletry marketplace. The campaign is set to tie in products with music releases and social networking sites.

* A number of Beatles fans have got their nappies in a twist over a new ad campaign by Procter & Gamble for its brand of Luvs diapers. The product, which offers ‘’premium leakage protection”, uses a famous Beatles track under the tag line ‘All You Need Is Luvs?’

So what?: We’ve had Paul Newman salad dressing, the Hulk Hogan Ultimate Grill and even the Bill Wyman metal detector. But do consumers really want the mundane branded? These products seem so far
removed from the celebrity lifestyle their attachment is supposed to suggest.

Hed Kandi toiletries are entering a crowded marketplace but are at least targeting the brand’s demographic. As for Rihanna’s inevitable umbrella line, she seems to have missed the mark by a good two months; and who would actually buy one anyway?
Wearing the perfume or clothing line of a celebrity may offer the consumer a feeling of lifestyle association, but standing under a weakly-branded umbrella probably won’t. This isn’t the ‘80s and logos aren’t enough on their own any more. If it played the song
when it opened, for instance, at least that would offer some add-on musical value.

Meanwhile Michael Jackson (joint copyright owner of the Luvs track in question) will happily dangle the Beatles legacy out an open window for a fiver.

All he needs is cash.

www.totes-isotoner.com

http://beta.hedkandi.com

www.luvs.com