Ralph Lauren – the story continues

Posted by jameswdcrawford on October 14, 2009 under PR | 2 Comments to Read

If you have read my blog recently you will have seen that I have been following the Ralph Lauren PR ‘crisis.’ See previous posts:

http://jameswdcrawford.wordpress.com/2009/10/07/ralph-laurens-pr-argument-is-a-little-thin/

and:

http://jameswdcrawford.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/ralph-lauren-post-an-update/

Now it seems that things are going from bad to worse, with Boing Boing reporting that the model in question has been sacked:

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/10/14/ralph-lauren-fires-p.html

On the face of things the latest state of affairs seems like a PR crisis.  But is it?  Do fashionistas TRULY care about the size issue?  After all Karl Lagerfeld has recently said, “Only fat, potato chip-eating moms hate thin models”.  And there hasn’t really been much outrage in the conventional media either.

Unconsciously do Ralph Lauren customers, and fashion lovers in general I hasten to add, feel thinner when they purchase the brand’s clothes because, “if they fit into a nice designer outfit then they must be as thin as a model”?

This is a far too complicated an idea to get my head around, but I can see it working as an unspoken machination of the fashion industry.  It’s a dangerous line to tread though.

Ralph Lauren post: an update

Posted by jameswdcrawford on October 8, 2009 under PR | Read the First Comment

I’ve been following the Ralph Lauren advertisement scandal (see previous post: http://jameswdcrawford.wordpress.com/2009/10/07/ralph-laurens-pr-argument-is-a-little-thin/) and today on Boing Boing the following statement appeared:

On Thursday, Polo Ralph Lauren released the following statement about the retouched ad: “For over 42 years we have built a brand based on quality and integrity. After further investigation, we have learned that we are responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman’s body. We have addressed the problem and going forward will take every precaution to ensure that the caliber of our artwork represents our brand appropriately.”

Has Ralph’s PR department done enough?

Ralph Lauren's PR crisis

Posted by jameswdcrawford on October 7, 2009 under PR | 3 Comments to Read

Ralph Lauren and blog BoingBoing.net are today at each other’s throats over images used by the fashion brand showing a rather skinny looking model.

The image, Boing Boing claims, has been touched up in photoshop and today on the blog another picture was published showing how a graphic designer had “unworked” the advert to show a healthy looking woman.

Read about it here:

http://craphound.com/10-2-09LettertoPriorityColoinrePRLInfringement.pdf

So assuming Ralph Lauren is in the wrong, what can it do to halt the damage to its reputation? (note I say assuming, but it looks pretty certain that this woman is not this shape through exercise alone!)

1.  Speed is of the essence.  Deal with the problem and deal with it quickly before it gets worse.  Ralph Lauren can’t stop the story getting out but it can halt interest in it.
2. Get to the bottom of what really happened.
3. Provide a statement accepting that Ralph Lauren made a mistake.  (We all make errors!)
4. Show some humanity.  Perhaps try ‘empathy’…  Show that Ralph Lauren understands the damage anorexia and bulimia causes.
5. Demonstrate that this is a one off incident.  (make sure it is first)
6. Demonstrate commitment to an anorexia charity and / or create company guidelines on the manipulation of digital imagery.  This can’t be tokenistic, so be generous.
7. Follow up the crisis a month later with media relations to show that Ralph Lauren “meant business” when the fashion brand said this wouldn’t happen again
8. Continue to be proactive on the topic of eating disorders, photoshop distortions, and skinny models

(I’ve assumed that Ralph Lauren have got all the basics in place. E.g. a crisis trained spokesperson, a crisis manual has been prepared prior to this event, media monitoring is in place and an international network of PR agencies is ready to support the brand)