It may not yet be a major earthquake, but there seem to be rumblings that luxury goods are undergoing some sort of seismic shift.

As Fashion Week was at its height in New York, instead of watching hemlines fashionistas were watching stock prices, as luxury apparel maker Burberry saw its shares drop over 20 percent Tuesday on issuing its first profit warning since 2008. It was an especially bitter pill to swallow for a brand that in January was named "International Retailer of the Year" and, in April, took the mantle of greatness from a bankrupt Aquascutum.

Bloomberg Businessweek labeled Burberry's slide as "an end to a three-year rally in the luxury-goods industry as wealthy shoppers cut back on past indulgences." While Burberry's report may have helped pull down shares of luxury giant LVMH and other luxury brands such as Prada and Richemont, it does appear demand for luxury goods has been softening recently.

Harry Winston indicated last week that there was lower interest in its luxury products, and last month, Tiffany projected lower profits for the year. Stacey Cartwright, Burberry's CFO, told Bloomberg Businessweek that she had spoken with other luxury goods marketers. "We know we are not alone in terms of what we've seen in the last couple of weeks," she said.Continue reading...

Forget martinis and even Heineken if you want to Be Bond. Coca-Cola would like you to think, and drink, Coke Zero to get your 007 on.

When the twenty-third James Bond film, Skyfall, hits screens worldwide on October 26, Bond and brand watchers will paying close attention. The upcoming movie got an unprecedented plug from the monarch atop Her Majesty's Secret Service during the opening ceremonies for the London 2012 Olympics. The film also created a bit of stir to fans of the series because beer giant Heineken struck a deal to get some product-placement within the film, even though Bond has long been known as a fan of mixed drinks, particularly the martini.

You might say fans were shaken, not stirred, by the news — but thanks to the marketers at Coke, they have a non-alcoholic way to imbibe Bond.Continue reading...

A warning by the FDA over anti-aging claims is causing a furrowed brow at L'Oreal and its competitors.

Beauty creams, especially those that target the effects of aging on the skin, are the cream of the crop when it comes to getting consumers to . In 2011, the market for these typically expensive premium skin care products grew by 15 percent vs. just 1 percent for mass market products, according to research firm Euromonitor International.

Now one of the leaders in the market, L'Oreal's Lancome brand, is getting its manicured hand slapped by America's Food and Drug Administration over product claims the agency says have gone too far. The products are sold under the Genifique, Absolue, and Renergie brand names.Continue reading...

The September issues of fashion magazines tend are closely watched because of September's annual fashion frenzy, but at least one October fashion magazine issue is garnering attention. And not for its take on hemlines and the new runway collections, but for one of its ads, which will play a video. In print.

The October issue of Marie Claire UK incorporates a black-and-white commercial for Dolce&Gabbana fragrance, the first UK display advert of its kind. Appearing on pages 34 and 35 in a limited run of a few thousand copies of the issue, a male and female model pose in a coastal scene and when the page is opened, the 45-second spot (directed by Mario Testino) automatically plays. And hopefully won't remind readers of those annoying greeting cards that play music upon opening.

D&G's description of the spot: "In the campaign that launches the Dolce&Gabbana classic fragrances Pour Femme and Pour Homme, Mario Testino sets a scene of fairytale romance, as the backdrop for a tale of love and transgression, like a gem of ancient storytelling. Starring Laetitia Casta and Noah Mills, and set to the strains of 'Città Vuota' by Mina. Shot on location in Sicily in the magnificent baroque village of Erice and the beach of La Riserva Naturale dello Zingaro."

The underlying technology that whisks them from the screen to the page is produced by Americhip, which has been developing multisensory advertising and marketing technologies since 2001.Continue reading...

Tata Group long has been one of India's most successful enterprises, a family-owned industrial conglomerate with its fingers in many aspects of a booming Indian economy. That included Tata Motors, which made (mostly) inexpensive little cars, including the "world's cheapest," the Nano.

But when Tata took over Jaguar Land Rover by buying the double-headed bastion of Britishness from Ford for $2.3 billion in June 2008, few western analysts gave the company a chance of succeeding where a huge American auto company had not been able to. Previous forays by powerhouse companies from emerging markets buying western outfits hadn't fared well, including Tata Steel's own acquisition of Corus Steel in 2007.

Doubters sniffed that Tata Chairman Ratan Tata, a car buff, had become too enamored of buying global brands, as Tata acquired Tetley Tea, Daweoo Commercial Vehicles, and the Pierre Hotel in New York. But Tata Motors has confounded those skeptics.Continue reading...

Coca-Cola is capping its London 2012 Olympics sponsorship with its biggest giveaway ever in the U.K., where it's also sponsoring the 2012 Paralympic Games.

The soft drink giant is running a one-day promotion, Monday Sept. 3rd only, giving away 500ml bottles of Coca-Cola, Coke Zero or Diet Coke at Boots and Superdrug stores to those who register first online. It's being promoted with a 100-foot tall vending machine in London's Brick Lane, as you can see in the TV spot which features "Anywhere in the World," the brand's original London 2012 song created by producer Mark Ronson.

As part of its top-tier Olympics sponsorship, Coca-Cola underwrote the London Olympics torch relay and launched "Move to the Beat," a music-based global marketing platform, in addition to installing a giant interactive Beatbox pavilion at the London Olympics site.

A peak audience of 11.2 million watched Channel 4's broadcast of the rousing opening ceremony for the London 2012 Paralympic Games, titled “Enlightenment.” An average 7.7 million tuned in to see the four-hour show on August 29th. (Not coincidentally, the Queen entered the stadium at 8:45pm, when viewing peaked.)

The British broadcaster reported that it was its largest audience in more than 10 years. "Last night's opening ceremony was a spectacular start to the London 2012 Paralympic Games," said Channel 4's Jay Hunt. "I'm delighted that so many viewers enjoyed it with us." 

The ceremony, inspired by Shakespeare’s The Tempest and following on from the "pandemonium" of the London 2012 Games Opening Ceremony, focused on the story of scientific discovery and education.

Sir Ian McKellen danced to a stirring version of "I Am What I Am," as the stadium was transformed into a representation of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland. Accompanied by narration from physicist Stephen Hawking, a new musical piece based on Newton’s Principia Mathematica underscored the theme of the Games: ability and achievement come in many forms.Continue reading...

David Beckham was all over the London 2012 Olympics, bringing the torch to the Olympic stadium in a boat, photo-bombing Adidas-sponsored local marketing, "directing" the brand's last commercial, hyping Samsung's Galaxy III and cheering on wife Victoria's Posh Spice revisited turn at the Closing Ceremony. He was even projected onto England's iconic white cliffs of Dover wearing only his H&M skivvies, a controversial stunt that foreshadowed the latest phase of his underwear campaign for the brand that continues this week.

Nine larger-than-life 11-foot statues of Beckham are coming to Los Angeles, New York's Flatiron District and San Francisco as H&M looks to drive sales of Beckham's bodywear line. (Follow the hashtag #HMBeckham for details on a related contest.) He's also the Paralympics brand ambassador for British grocer Sainsbury's, with a new campaign breaking Thursday that promotes the Games' UK telecast on Channel 4. Check it out below.Continue reading...