Team Canada’s extravagant Lululemon drip

Via your classmate Jeremy:

Lululemon, one of Canada’s most well-known and beloved apparel brands, has recently signed an exclusive deal with the Canadian Olympic Committee. The deal gives Lululemon exclusive rights to be the supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic-branded clothing and gear until 2028. This involves the 2022 winter games that recently ended in Beijing, as well as the addition of the next three Olympic games that will take place in Paris, Milan, and Los Angeles, respectively (Evans, 2022).

While Karen O’Neill, CEO of the Canadian Paralympic Committee, mentioned that she was delighted with this partnership because it is “work being done to ensure accessible and inclusive clothing,” many Canadians seem to disagree. The high price points of the official Olympic gear are not accessible for many individuals who may not have the financial means to spend large amounts on what is essentially superfluous clothing. On social media, many users have voiced their opinions of frustration regarding the pricey Olympic apparel. For instance, one user stated, “My God. You’ve basically taken away the ability for any middle-class family to participate in the Olympics via clothing. 68 bucks for gloves? I used to buy these from the Bay for 15-20. Ridiculous. This is not what celebrating is about.” (Twitter @ChromeMonster).

The backlash that Lululemon has received can be connected back to the Customer Based Brand Equity Model. Canadians are finding it hard to justify the high price points for Olympic-themed gear that has relatively basic style, design, and physical features; this is an example of unsatisfactory brand performance as the functional needs of consumers are not being met. The credibility of Lululemon may also be tarnished, as many Canadians believe that the brand is stripping them of their patriotic Olympic traditions, an example of negative judgements towards the brand.

Despite the backlash received, Lululemon’s partnership with the Canadian Olympic Committee is actually a part of the brand’s diversification strategy in reaching an even larger target segment through a line extension into menswear. Being the official supplier of the Canadian team’s Olympic gear aids the company in generating nationwide brand awareness for its athletic wear and more specifically, generates brand salience for menswear, not just the womenswear that Lululemon is widely known for.

While it is evident that Lululemon has come under scrutiny amid their deal with the Canadian Olympic Committee, it is clear that this deal is a strategic branding move on the part of the apparel company. Whether or not consumers are satisfied with the extravagant Lululemon Olympic gear, the partnership is here to stay until 2028.

Sources: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/lululemon-canada-olympics-clothing-1.6185681 https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/lululemon-olympics-gear-price-1.6343926

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and…M&Ms?

‘M&Ms go woke with new versions of characters to reflect ‘a more dynamic, progressive world’
illustration from Daily Mail Online

via your classmate Cady

Mars Inc, the parent company for the candy-coated chocolate known as M&Ms, has announced a refresh for the characters previously featured in many of the brand’s marketing communications.

The focus on the character makeover was to promote inclusivity, given that two of the M&M’s seem to represent ‘sexy’ females, given their long eyelashes and high-heeled shoes. In the announcement, Mars indicated that a change is coming for all characters, with an objective of having “more nuanced personalities to underscore the importance of self-expression and power of community through storytelling” (Mars Inc., 2022).

Some of the changes to the characters include giving the M&Ms arms and legs that match their shell colour (rather than a single flesh-tone), and a change to the attire of the feminine brown and green M&Ms. These have sparked a debate among some twitter users, with many expressing their strong preference for the female M&M characters to remain as is.

Specifically, many memes on social media began circulating regarding the green M&M, who’s iconic knee-high boots will be replaced with plain white sneakers. These included popular tweets with thousands of likes, such as “why did they reverse yassify the green m&m” (Twitter @mattxiv), and “they told green m&m she couldn’t go to euphoria high school anymore” (Twitter @alex_abads), a reference to a popular Netflix series whose storyline often includes the sexual activities of its teen characters. Additionally, a petition on change.org has accumulated over 19,000 signatures to keep the green m&m sexy (https://www.change.org/p/keep-the-green-m-m-sexy).

This story is a very interesting example of how companies adapt to try and stay relevant with current customers. Currently, brands are becoming increasingly consciousness of issues of inclusivity, and consumers are becoming increasingly aware of related trends, such as body-positivity and gender inclusion (see link below with Mars’ statement on inclusivity). This example indicates that Mars is trying to adopt these views and relate to its customers through M&Ms’ characters.

https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/mms-are-getting-new-look-become-inclusive-people-jokingly-think-hotter-rcna12935

https://www.mars.com/news-and-stories/press-releases/mms-announces-global-commitment-inclusivity

https://www.mms.com/en-us/experience-mms/characters?color=green