BRAND OF THE WEEK: Madonna
Been a while since I did brand of the week. And after the halftime show at the NFL Superbowl, this weeks brand of the week goes to the very spritely at 53, Madonna.
The press (miming aside), have been almost universal in their praise. Upshot? Queen of Pop comes back to reclaim crown. Gaga who?
Much whipping of excitement, just before an album launch. My, how convenient. But of course it is. Madonna has always been a master manipulator. Even more Machiavellian than the Dark Lord Cowell himself.
So what was so genius about the performance?
If you ask me, not much. The sheer spectacle and staging were impressive. But her marketing masterstroke? A youthful shot in the arm for her tired, fading brand / star (delete as applicable), courtesy of the young guns.
LMFAO. Nicki Minaj. MIA. Cee Lo Green. And the bouncy internet superstar gymnast. Quite the supporting cast list.
By appearing on stage and paying their dues to pop’s Queen, they send word to their legion of fans. This old-lady star is worthy. They extend to her their own credibility. Their cool. The sneaky and subversive message to their younger fan base.
Look at me performing with Madonna. This is a woman I love. And you should too.
It’s one of the commodities she craves the most. That and an Oscar for film. But let’s be honest. That’s never going to happen. So, for my money, here are marks out of ten for the performance.
- Likelihood the album will go straight in to number 1 in many countries: 10/10
- Jay Leno ad: 7/10, for being relatively amusing
- The guest stars: 9.5/10, very well cast. All played their supporting roles exceptionally well (short of getting on their knees and chanting ‘we’re not worthy).
- The miming: 2/10, because after all the practise, she should be a hell of a lot better at it than that
- The dancing: 5/10, as she’s starting to look like she needs cod liver injections into all moving joints that haven’t been filled.
- The surgery: 4.5/10, because it’s starting to get more than a little creepy
- Likelihood Gaga will do something massively outrageous to try and reclaim headlines: A very tiresome 10/10
- The macrobioticness: 0/10. S’just too try hard…
Iain G. Morrison remembers the scene from In bed with Madonna where they all joked about Madonna still writhing about to Like a Virgin at 50. Oh how they all laughed….
Madonna vs. Gaga
Time for a little musical frippery, courtesy of CharlieHidesTV.
Favourite line: ‘My name is Madonna and I’ve not been relevant in five years’…
Pre-packaged pop is the musical equivalent to junk food. Often fills, rarely satiates. I’d rather have me an Adele / Winehouse sandwich…
Iain G. Morrison is the head of marketing for leisure’s most succesful social enterprise. And if he were a betting man, I’d have a fiver on Madonna being gutted Gaga came along before she had a chance to launch Lourdes…
Spotify overpay Lady Gaga…
Saw this on Brandrepublic this morning. And it’s $167 too much if you ask me…
Interesting times ahead for the Spotify brand.
Whilst I still think they are well placed to carve themselves a future in the digital music space, but they are going to be up against some heavy record industry legal muscle…
Iain G. Morrison is a senior marketer in the British Tourism Industry. And an avid lover of Spotify. Even more today than yesterday, but likely not as much as tomorrow (etc).
The Gaga Saga continues (and she doesn’t have man bits)
Let me just start with a plain, simple point. I am not a Lady Gaga fan. (Quick note, some viewers may find some of the content in the video mildly lesbionic and arguably unsuitable for <18’s).
That said, she is beginning to show all the hallmarks of a recording artiste who appreciates that she isn’t the best looking, nor is she the best dancer, with nothing more than a slightly above average voice. So what’s going in her favour?
A masterful grasp of the modern media landscape and how to manipulate it deftly. Remind you of anyone?
So, what does this 9 1/2 minute video really tell us about Lady Gaga?
- Beyoncé actually has a sense of humour (particularly after the apalling videophone track)
- Lady Gaga (allegedly) has no man parts and is indeed female
- Kodak will be bringing back the Polaroid shortly (Gaga’s installation as Creative Director was nothing short of a masterstroke of genius)
- Many big brands (I counted 12 I think), clearly believe in the money-making prowess of the Gaga. This vid is dripping with (often not so subtle) product placements . And I imagine this will do Diet Coke far more favours than the Duffy spot did
- The record company have spent a small fortune on this (on the face of it) pretty average song. It shows that they not only believe it’ll sell big, but they are investing their money where they see potential for greater longterm returns. The Lady Gaga brand…
I was foolhardy in my attempts to write her off as a one hit wonder (as I also did with Steps and I was way off the mark there despite serious offences to decency and taste that should have been tried in a court of law).
If this lavish video tells us anything, it’s that Lady Gaga (somewhat like her mentor of years gone by), will be around for some time yet.
If the big brands are moving in just off the back of album one, the Gaga juggernaut is becoming a serious cash cow. Ripe for milking the world over. Whilst wearing high heels and ‘outrageous’ outfits.
Obviously…
Iain G. Morrison is a senior marketer in the British Tourism Industry. And is expecting a full Gaga Pussy Wagon merchandising range to be launched shortly…
The greatest social climber since Cinderella…
Gaga?
Don’t panic, I’m not going all Lloyd-Webber on you, promise! However…
If you have become embroiled in any of the hype surrounding Lady Gaga, you’d be forgiven for thinking that her debut album would:
A) change your life
B) reinvigorate the world of pop
C) make you more attractive to members of the opposite / same sex (dependant on preference)
D) all of the above
How disappointed was I then (hoping for at least a smidgen of D), that the album (of some 16 tracks) had 3, perhaps four tracks which were just OK. Not amazing, life-changing slices of pop perfection in all it’s glory.
Just OK.
No stand-out pop-anthems, a few signs of promise, but nothing to warrant all the hype surrounding the US’s latest pop export. But what she does represent, is a shining example in how successful PR in the music industry really can make a massive difference.
With pop stars, there is a greater than average importance on the attitude (which she has in abundance, not many popstrels perform in their bikinis, which opens up a whole new can of worms with the feminists, not going there today!).
Journo’s have been waxing lyrical about her (and occasionaly her music), which goes to show that both she and her people really get the importance of media manipulation. But call me old fashioned. The songs go a long way in maintaining the career of any wannabe popstrel.
For every Madonna, there is 100 desperate fame hungry rejects consigned to the pop dustbin weekly, that no amount of PR (or jungle loving a la Katie Price) will help…
My advice? If you haven’t already, buy LadyHawke’s album instead.
Iain Morrison is a senior marketer in the British Tourism Industry. And thinks the aforementioned Lady is more Googoo than Gaga…
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