This is Tommy Hilfiger.
He took the world by storm overnight, but not because of his clothing.
Here’s how a genius marketing stunt put Hilfiger on the map before his designs did:
(this story blew my mind)
Meet George Lois.
The man who sent Tommy Hilfiger’s brand to the top of the fashion industry.
In a couple of hours.
With one ad.
It's 1985 and Tommy Hilfiger is a nobody.
He wanted to become a well-known brand in the fashion space, so he came to Lois for help.
And he wanted results as quick as possible.
So Lois came back with a wild idea:
Compare Hilfiger (an unknown designer) to the veterans of the veterans:
→ Ralph Lauren
→ Calvin Klein
→ Perry Ellis
Tommy nearly had a heart attack when he heard Lois’ pitch.
He wanted absolutely nothing to do with it.
Compare Tommy to the greatest American designers of all time?
“I can’t do that, it’ll sound like I’m bragging. Those are the gods.”
Lois sat him down and said "listen..."
“If you want a name in fashion you’ll need millions of dollars in ads.
And it’ll take years.
But if you want to be recognized tomorrow.
We need something outrageous.”
“You should look at something and think it’s a little crazy.”
That was Lois’ philosophy.
So they decided to run this ‘outrageous’ ad in Times Square New York.
Even though Tommy was still dead against it.
People lost their minds.
All of 7th avenue nearly had a heart attack too.
“Who does Tommy Hilfiger think he is? Comparing himself to Ralph, Perry, and Calvin?”
The week after, Tommy made his first guest appearance on the Johnny Carson show.
Tommy was still embarrassed and apologetic in the midst of all this attention.
But he had to live up to the image Lois had created for him.
So he worked harder than ever to live up to the expectations.
Quickly becoming the world-renowned designer he is today.
George Lois turbocharged Tommy Hilfger’s rise to stardom.
My main takeaways from this story?
• Outrageous ideas get attention.
• Outrageous ideas sell when they’re backed up by the product.
• Even well-intentioned clients will try to kill good ideas out of fear.
Found this valuable?
Drop a follow @jeremykuoo for more principles to become a top 0.1% marketer.
This is Tommy Hilfiger.
He took the world by storm overnight, but not because of his clothing.
Here’s how a genius marketing stunt put Hilfiger on the map before his designs did:
(this story blew my mind) Meet George Lois.
The man who sent Tommy Hilfiger’s brand to the top of the fashion industry.
In a couple of hours.
With one ad. It's 1985 and Tommy Hilfiger is a nobody.
He wanted to become a well-known brand in the fashion space, so he came to Lois for help.
And he wanted results as quick as possible.
So Lois came back with a wild idea: Compare Hilfiger (an unknown designer) to the veterans of the veterans:
→ Ralph Lauren
→ Calvin Klein
→ Perry Ellis Tommy nearly had a heart attack when he heard Lois’ pitch.
He wanted absolutely nothing to do with it.
Compare Tommy to the greatest American designers of all time?
“I can’t do that, it’ll sound like I’m bragging. Those are the gods.” Lois sat him down and said "listen..."
“If you want a name in fashion you’ll need millions of dollars in ads.
And it’ll take years.
But if you want to be recognized tomorrow.
We need something outrageous.” “You should look at something and think it’s a little crazy.”
That was Lois’ philosophy.
So they decided to run this ‘outrageous’ ad in Times Square New York.
Even though Tommy was still dead against it. People lost their minds.
All of 7th avenue nearly had a heart attack too.
“Who does Tommy Hilfiger think he is? Comparing himself to Ralph, Perry, and Calvin?”
The week after, Tommy made his first guest appearance on the Johnny Carson show. Tommy was still embarrassed and apologetic in the midst of all this attention.
But he had to live up to the image Lois had created for him.
So he worked harder than ever to live up to the expectations.
Quickly becoming the world-renowned designer he is today. George Lois turbocharged Tommy Hilfger’s rise to stardom.
My main takeaways from this story?
• Outrageous ideas get attention.
• Outrageous ideas sell when they’re backed up by the product.
• Even well-intentioned clients will try to kill good ideas out of fear.Found this valuable?
Drop a follow @jeremykuoo for more principles to become a top 0.1% marketer.
