Brandjack News

By Quentin Langley

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and that is why brands will pay a fortune for admired, aspirational, figures – David Beckham, Tiger Woods, Maria Sharapova – to be photographed using the brands. But what happens when rather less admired figures are seen using the brand:

Anders Brevik (L), arrested for the Norwegian bombing and shootings, wearing a Lacoste shirt

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Reports suggest that Lacoste has contacted Norwegian police and asked them to stop Brevik wearing the Lacoste brand. It isn’t clear to Brandjack News how the police would do that, other than by requiring Brevik to wear prison clothes, which would be concerning in itself. If forcing the accused to wear prison clothing is not the norm in Norway, then it could be thought to prejudice Brevik’s right to a fair trial. (Granted, Brevik seems not to be disputing the facts, so it may be that a trial is not necessary, but this cannot be presumed). We probably also ought to ask why the police would do this as a favour to Lacoste.

The BBC also suggests that Abercrombie and Fitch has offered to pay the cast of an MTV reality show not to wear their brand. This also seems to pose problems for a brand, offering the possibility of non-aspirational celebrities deliberately associating themselves with brands in order to be paid to desist from this activity.