Don’t know whether to gag or go gaga over this

 Posted by on 7 January 2010  Modern Life
Jan 072010
 

Lady Gaga has been named ‘creative director’ at Polaroid?

*checks calendar* Nope, not April 1.

According to a statement on her website:

“I am so proud to announce my new partnership with Polaroid as the creative director and inventor of specialty projects,” said Lady Gaga. “The Haus of Gaga has been developing prototypes in the vein of fashion/technology/photography innovation–blending the iconic history of Polaroid and instant film with the digital era–and we are excited to collaborate on these ventures with the Polaroid brand. Lifestyle, music, art, fashion: I am so excited to extend myself behind the scenes as a designer, and to as my father puts it–finally, have a real job.”

“Lady Gaga’s broad creative talents and the way she connects with her fans in her own, unique manner made her a natural choice for Polaroid,” said Stephen Miller, co-CEO of PLR IP Holdings. “Polaroid has had a special connection with its customers for years, we are delighted to be partnering with Lady Gaga to continue with that tradition and bring new and exciting products to the next generation.”

If you cut through the media-release-ese, what you get is:

Lady Gaga: Polaroid is paying me big bucks because I’m relevant and ‘today’ while they may as well be making horseshoes.

Polaroid: Our core product is so obsolete, we shut down the factory, leaving us nothing except our brand in the digital era. Lady Gaga, herself, if pretty much all brand. We see this as “hitching our wagon to a winning horse,” to use a horseshoe metaphor ourselves.

Look for cross-branded products in late 2010. Now, will they be called “Gagaroid” or “Polagag”?

Grant Hamilton

  • MPot

    Polaroid, giving in to demand from photographers around the world, announced that they would still be making their film a while back (I know this because my stepson is a polaroid-obsessed photographer), so at least there’s some kind of product to attach to this new “creative director”. While I love Lady GaGa, though, this seems like an awfully bizarre pairing.

  • http://www.absurdintellectual.com/ Grant Hamilton

    You’re probably thinking of The Impossible Project, which bought an old Polaroid factory and spent a year reverse-engineering the chemistry behind instant film. Oddly, they’ve been hired by Polaroid to produce Polaroid-brand film.

    We’re both right!

  • thebanana

    Indeed you are. Polaroid, the Corporation is some sort of hedge fund operation that bought the name. The Impossible Project is attempting to re-manufacture some of the original emulsions produced by the old Polaroid company.

  • Colin

    Stunt casting. Pure and simple.

    This is some corporate dweeb trying to be “hip” and with it.

  • http://www.cgnoto.com Noto

    Ugh. Awful.

    I have no other comment except in the link you posted about half way down someone says “So what is he going to be doing for them?” I kinda chuckled at that.