Online Videos: Free People (clothing) youtube video ad

[Lady Elle]

Have any of you seen this? i'm not sure if it's okay to post so I won't but you can look it up on youtube. Its a ballet focussed video - eek!

[Hillary1]

The sickled foot at 0:55 made me want to gouge my eyes out.

[dancemaven]

It is making the rounds on Facebook, so really don't think we need to add it here. Advertisement for a clothing line. Yep! pretty doggone bad imitation of a ballet dancer . . . . The pointe sequences are simply ridiculous and painful to behold. Too bad they didn't just use an actual dancer for their promo spot.

[Clara 76]

But I LOVE freepeople clothing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If I could afford it, I'd buy one of everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[starlightdreamer]

I agree with you Clara!! Too bad they used this video...

[greyhound]

They are getting lots of free advertising and getting people to talk about their clothing. It's all over Facebook, everyone is reposting. Smart advertising.

[Doubleturn]

However, even if it is all over the place it risks making the brand seriously uncool!

[diane]

Perhaps this was all on PURPOSE!

 

Maybe they are trying to cater to the people who do not want to appear "elite"?

 

 

-d-

[ascballerina]

There's an article here that puts a different take on it:

 

 

Imagine a Gatorade ad where a kicker misses every field goal, or a Nike spot where a runner trips over hurdles. It would be a little bizarre.

Something similar, though perhaps not as obvious to the average viewer, happens in this ad from Free People clothing, and it has many trained dancers in an uproar. The spot and the print ads all feature a model in beautiful Free People clothing and pointe shoes, but it's painfully obvious she's not an experienced dancer. Dancers do not go on pointe without having extensive training—and frankly, really strong ankles.

 

I didn't think about it in the context of the way sports are portrayed in ads and films.

If I'm not allowed to post that link, I apologize!

[MJ]

I found the words spoken were pretty awful as well.

[trythis]

I could very well make a commercial with me (completely untrained in ballet, but pretty decent on a social dance floor IMHO) in cool looking clothes, stretching and moving and showing the complete and utter joy that can be felt when dancing like no one is watching. And that could have captured the mood and feel of the "do what feels good, have fun while you move" sentiment that I think this ad campaign was trying to go for. But they lost all that when they put her in pointe shoes.

 

The fact that they used someone with little formal training and put her in pointe shoes says to me that the people making the clothing don't understand at ALL what it means to train in ballet for pointe, AND further that they don't think the rest of the world would know either, AND that they didn't think the ballet dancers would notice or care.

 

I can't think of another discipline that might compare except maybe music. I have a friend who plays many instruments and I said "There is probably a singularly correct way to finger an instrument, to hold it, to draw your bow across it, or to blow into it, isn't there?"

"Yes."

"And can someone play a tune or a melody with out learning that correct finger placement or technique?"

"Yes"

"And can a well trained musician hear the difference?"

"Probably"

 

I have a feeling that this commercial was made using "someone I know who dances." rather than having actual casting calls. There are a lot of models out there with ballet training in their backgrounds and I think they would have stood out in a casting.

[Noodles]

I would just throw out there as food for thought, that Free People very likely said yes to this campaign which was designed by a marketing company, cast by a casting agent and then filmed by a film crew. The ball was dropped between conception and execution...casting should cast a real dancer but was trying to find someone who conveyed the right look for Free People. Bummer that they did not grasp that you can really fake it with some things, ballet is one of those.

 

Not saying that they are faultless, but I think they were led astray.

[twinkletoez16]

Free People just relaunched this campaign using Ballet Zaida and the pictures are now gorgeous!

[Dansant]

Relaunched the day after it goes viral? Are they are guilty of ignorance, or manipulation?

[Clara 76]

Can you link us to the new ad?