Fashion etailer BrandAlley’s Alice in Wonderland-themed campaign is designed to show that luxury on a budget is no fantasy.
However, its overly abstract theme risks confusing consumers.
The print and online campaign, named ‘Alice All Grown Up’, features three adverts - Alice at a Mad Hatter-style tea party, another with her falling down a rabbit hole, and lastly her reading the novel.
The ads look attractive and showcase the clothes in smart, opulent surroundings, giving an air of luxury. However, the Alice in Wonderland connection is not immediately obvious. The tea party works as an upscale backdrop, but fails to distinctly evoke Lewis Carroll’s novel.
The ad in which the model is holding the book makes the theme more obvious, but only if it is used large enough that shoppers can clearly see the title as the text is small.
The connection between the campaign’s theme and the retailer is that, with Alice all grown up, the fantasy of luxury fashion is now a reality. However, consumers may not make the connection.
Even if the campaign’s nod to the novel is unclear, the ‘Live your dreams’ strapline and ‘Up to 70% off’ promotion effectively communicate the retailer’s offer of attainable aspiration. The ads will have to counter the sometimes-held perception that the two don’t go together though. Competitor Net-a-Porter’s merchandising director, Paul Brennan, recently maintained: “It isn’t fashion and it isn’t luxury if it is on markdown.”
BrandAlley will hope shoppers can be convinced otherwise with the campaign’s message that discount luxury fashion is not a fairy tale.
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