What the Ritz-Carlton's New Ad Campaign Can Teach Tableware
The luxury hotel giant the Ritz-Carlton will be running a new series of edgy commercials, according to today’s Wall St. Journal. If the hotel were a tableware brand, which one would it be? Maybe Bernardaud (the hotel does use this brand). The difference though between Bernardaud and other luxury tableware lines like it and the Ritz is that the Ritz is smart enough to change. The new ads will be fun, creative, and contemporary. According the WSJ article, one the commercials is about a bachelor party "could be a scene from "Entourage," but this is no television show. It's a short film, or a very long commercial, depending on your view. It is also Ritz-Carlton's riskiest ad campaign yet, and part of a larger effort to loosen the stiff image of the deluxe hotel chain as it seeks to broaden its appeal among young professionals and families."
One retailer that is approaching the marketplace like the Ritz is Michael C. Fina. The company places inserts in the New York Times almost every week that show a man and women who are wet (with rain?) kissing passionately. Hillary Donahue wouldn’t keep running this week after week if this wasn’t producing sales. One may respond that MCF 's ad is geared towards young brides. That's true. However, the Ritz Carlton is aiming for everyone, not just brides, and they are taking this approach, too.
I surely don't want to see an issue of Tableware Today full of wet, kissing couples promoting Royal Doulton, but I would like to see ads in Tableware Today–and in the tableware marketplace in general-that are less stodgy and old school. I’d like to see more fun, more food, and more ideas. I may have to put aside some time to consider how to do this and check into the Ritz.
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