So I saw a Facebook ad for the trailer of the Norwegian Wood film, and clicked on it. It took me to the beautiful site and I enjoyed a glimpse of the beautiful cinematography.
I looked around the site. I quite liked the design comp and the guerilla book distribution. I saw Uniqlo are doing a range of Norwegian Wood t-shirts. I clicked, liked them all and bought a nice purple one.
Hang on a second? When did I so readily start accepting this clothing brand into my consumption of gorgeous stories?
Something about it all fits surprisingly well. OK, Japanese author, Japanese story, Japanese brand. But it's more than that. Cleverer people than me have written about what a culturally digital brand Uniqlo is. That's what I think it's about. I've become used to Uniqlo talking to me in small, adjacent or contextually relevant ways.
Being next to something, rather than being the something.
Is it smart or insidious? Personally, I like this. They aren't assaulting me for attention. It's polite marketing, like BERG/Dentsu's media surfaces film. To the point where I actually do buy the t-shirt of the movie of the book.
james hogwood's blog 