I was in junior high when CK One hit the market. While I was too poor to own a bottle, I always wanted one. As I grew older, I couldn’t have cared less when CK Be came out, and even less when CK One’s Remix hit the market in 2004. If you didn’t notice, you probably weren’t the only one. In an attempt to recreate previous success and define a generation, Calvin Klein is launching a new fragrance, in2u.
The success of Calvin Klein’s fragrances hinge on typical marketing research: they research the mood of the country, and compose a name intended to capture the audience. Point proven with Obsession, Euphoria, Eternity, and Truth. The New York Times has reported on Calvin Klein’s latest attempt to capture our attention, and what might be the house’s greatest mistake.
Now attempting to capture the attention of another generation, the millennials, Calvin Klein is poised to launch in2u with a sexual attitude and graphics featuring words like “today”. By using a bottle design spun off the ipod and a name mocking an instant message, Calvin Klein looks as stale an old bottle of CK One: “a casual invitation to sex so immediate as to imply there was no time to spell it out: “in to you.” Does CK really think that by sexing up an ipod with a lame sexual invite they can gain our attention?
“She likes how he blogs, her texts turn him on. It’s intense. For right now.”
CK trademarked the word “technosexual” in hopes of creating buzz (and sales) for in2u. What they’ve done instead is make a mockery of the house of Calvin Klein. Apparently, our generation is “defined by technology and the casual hookup”. If you were born between 1982 and 1995 as I was, you are the destination for in2u.
By using text messages, ipods, and sex to market to our generation, companies are only turning us off. While we may enjoy gadgets and blogs, we still deserve to be treated as intelligent adults. Our generation is expected to be faster, stronger, more attractive, and move our way up the corporate ladder more quickly than any previous generation. Perhaps a little more respect would serve Calvin Klein better than sexing up a text message and calling it a slogan.
