What Do Lotus, Aston-Martin And Reebok Have In Common?
The easy answer: desperation. More literally though, all three have recently employed the talents of hip hop producer Swizz Beatz in more or less desperate attempts to recapture some much-needed cool. Unfortunately for Lotus, the most recent employer of Mr Beatz, they’re not only getting “sloppy thirds,” but they have to actually share promotional space with Reebok, of all brands. So why did Lotus, a brand with loads of heritage and under-the-radar cool, hire a guy to pass along such brilliant advice as “the key is to infiltrate the market in a cool way” and “for a premium sportscar, they want the flash”? According to Lotus’s release (with video)
1. Like Group Lotus , he means business: He’s a risk taker with considerable credentials including music producer, rapper, designer AND painter.
2. Like our cars, he’s multi award winning: This year he shared a Grammy Award with Jay-Z.
3. Like Group Lotus he keeps good company: This man regularly works with the likes of Bono, Kanye West, Beyoncé and Alicia Keys.
Even if you think Lotus should avoid the “enthusiast trap,” this is a bad call. Having already pimped for Aston-Martin, Swizz’s automotive-sector cool has been spread thin… and does Lotus really want to be associated with his other comeback client, Reebok? The answer: no, but it’s already too late. Lotus was already putting the cool cart before the new product horse, and hiring a prominent and over-booked shill certainly won’t help.
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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We here at Lotus want a car with attitude. It's edgy, it's "in your face." You've heard the expression "let's get busy"? Well, this is a car that gets "biz-zay"! Consistently and thoroughly.
...so lotus thinks they need more focus on marketing than development and production, relative to their historic values; fine, that's a reasonable business proposition...the problem is that they're doing it all wrong: any-publicity-is-good-publicity b-list endorsement only works amongst the bottom-feeder market, in fact it tends to backfire against the rareified upscale clientele they've chosen to target... ...this doesn't make lotus look composed and confident; it makes them look pitiful and desperate...
Here's a prediction. The only Lotus's being made in 25 years time will be the various kit cars which look like the 7. Lotus itself will have collapsed in up it's own arse by then.
Doing it wrong, exhibit A: Mr Bahar.