Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Catherine's post #4






Victoria’s Secret is retaining its reign as the leading dictator of “what is sexy”. The brand continues to do so by presenting a “What is sexy? List” and awarding sexy female celebrities with an award from the brand. The categories are sexiest: actress, international import, hair, songstress, bikini body, style, smile, sporty style, sense of humor, legs, lips, mom, eyes, curves, summer glow, TV cast, cyber stars, tweeter and up & coming bombshell.

The brand came up with a video of their models (a.k.a angels) presenting the awards to those celebrities in Victoria’s Secret lingerie and bikinis. By having such a wide range of categories and celebrities, the brand is able to cash in on their fame and remind audiences that they know sexy best. I think it’s a really clever strategy that really capitalizes their brand image of sexiness.


The short video showed that Victoria’s Secret is responsible for over 50% of profits by Limited Brands, the company that owns the brand. The success of the brand also caused their “angels” to take up 6 of the top 10 spots in the richest models list. What interested me was how profitable the brand Pink under Victoria’s Secrets was and how the controversies surrounding the brand actually boosted profits even more. Pink is targeted at females aged 15-22 while the general Victoria’s Secret brand is aimed at women above that age. Pink was criticized for targeting young women and encouraging their sexualization. Although Pink has pulled the ads, data show the controversial marketing may have paid off, in spite of—or because of—the publicity it sparked. It certainly got traders hot and bothered: The stock price closed the day 4.3 percent higher.

Victoria’s Secret is no stranger to being provocative but this makes me wonder if companies cross the lines a little on purpose to get publicity or are just less careful about those lines because they know that even bad publicity can boost sales too.


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