Howard Davidson Arlington MA - surprise, surprise burberry targets rich white people Howard Davidson from Arlington Massachusetts is marketing guy who helps brands connect with target audiences. www.howardjdavidson.com Howard Davidson writes about about advertising, social media and marketing with a touch of sarcasm.

1. Surprise, Surprise: Burberry
Targets Rich White People
by
Howard Davidson, Arlington, MA
Slide By :- Howard Davidson Arlington MA

2. In a move that is sadly not a surprise,
Burberry’s new ad is an exercise in
excess aimed at rich white people.
Slide By :- Howard Davidson Arlington MA

3. Burberry’s official statement on their
new video spot says, “The Burberry
festive film is inspired by the golden age
of cinematic musicals.” Okay, I’m with
them so far, as this does aesthetically
hearken back to the Hollywood musicals
of the 1950’s. Then: “It tells the tale of a
young couple falling in love, against a
theatrical backdrop of London.”
Poppycock, I declare!
Slide By :- Howard Davidson Arlington MA

4. So you can save yourself four-plus
minutes, I’ll tell you what really happens.
This is not some epic love story. There’s
not even really a coherent narrative to
speak of. The entire runtime consists of
fur-coat clad dancers frolicking in the
snow, with David Beckham’s son running
around for absolutely no discernible
reason.
Slide By :- Howard Davidson Arlington MA

5. The music sounds like a bad, raspy Coldplay
wannabe (which I assume to be the British
corollary to a Nickelback clone). The visuals
are impressive, but they never change. This
would probably work pretty well as a 30-
second spot, but at four-plus minutes it’s
simply self-indulgent nonsense.
Slide By :- Howard Davidson Arlington MA

6. Near the end of the spot, Beckham
shows up wearing a hideously shiny,
floor-length gold jacket that only
James Brown could ever dream of
pulling off. Speaking of James Brown…
Slide By :- Howard Davidson Arlington MA

7. Can we talk about this spot’s race issue?
Among the dozens of dancers, I spotted one
black man, who appears in the background
of three shots throughout the spot’s nearly
four-and-a-half minute runtime. Every other
person is as white as the fake stage snow
they’re dancing in. Burberry may as well
have added the tagline, “Clothing for
wealthy white people.” That’s not a message
I’m comfortable with in 2014.
Slide By :- Howard Davidson Arlington MA

8. If you like your advertising to be elitist,
race-exclusive, self-congratulatory
garbage masquerading as art, “From
London with Love” is for you. (The sad
part about all this is that part of me thinks
Burberry absolutely nailed their target
market.)
Howard Davidson Arlington
Massachusetts
Slide By :- Howard Davidson Arlington MA