Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Coach Pups? Yes!


I know what you're thinking: she's writing about Dalmatians. Good guess. Wrong. But a good guess. When I think of Coach Dogs I think of Dalmatians. They are eternally associated with coaches and fire trucks. Look again. I wrote Coach Pups because my attention was captured by a new advertising campaign being rolled out by Coach, Inc. the leading New York design house of modern luxury accessories and lifestyle collections.  The ones I drool over like a Newfoundland who is about to be fed.

Coach is going to the dogs in a pretty neat way for their Fall Collection. Their advertising will feature canine stars in a series of portraits photographed by Steven Meisel. We should all be so lucky.  The campaign celebrates the dogs in our lives and captures each one's unique personality as they model Coach's Fall 2015 star bags. Star bags?  Ask Coach, not me.  I'm more inclined to think the dog portraits are the real stars. 

Above is the very first portrait to kick off the campaign and the only pup to be revealed so far. The others will be announced "shortly."  (Your guess is as good as mine.)  The Coach Pup pictured, an utterly adorable French Bulldog, Miss Asia Kinney, is the little dog who owns Lady Gaga and has her own social media following. She models the Edie and the Rucksack bags in the campaign.

The campaign is art directed by Fabien Baron and styled by Karl Templer. I can assure you that no one has ever written a similar sentence about me. 

"I am so proud of Miss Asia," said Lady Gaga.  "She's a natural in front of the camera, and we're both so excited that the iconic Steven Meisel shot her for Coach's pup campaign! I really love getting to watch my best friend be a star!"

Stuart Vevers, who is Coach's Creative Director certainly enjoyed the experience, "I've never had so much fun on a shoot," he acknowledged. "The combination of Mr. Meisel and the pups was an extraordinary, surreal, special moment. We wanted to create playful images that make you smile. We were inspired by some images from the Coach archive, which featured Eddie - the dog that starred in the TV series, Frasier [Tell that to Kelsey Grammar!] - to create something joyful, with humor and character. That's a spirit that's uniquely at the heart of Coach."

Now for what I consider the "best" part: the new initiative will also introduce the social campaign #coachpups, including a range of online activities for fellow dog fanciers, opportunities for Instameets, special talks and other events hosted by the great and the good of the canine world. (These are Coach's words. I have not been made privy to who they might be. You know that I only advocate positive training and grassroots organizations.) This will also mark the debut of the Coach Snapchat account.

Here's something I can get behind: Coach has made a donation to Chicago French Bulldog Rescue (frenchieporvous.org) on behalf of Miss Asia Kinney and Lady Gaga.

Coach was established in New York City in 1941.  You can find them at: www.coach.com


NOTE: I received no payment of any sort for this blog post. 


3 comments:

Gordon Brice said...

I found this blog very interesting, Darlene, moreso because I have not actually heard of Coach.....nor Coach Pups.....before. To be honest, I look forward to seeing the pups.....forget the bags. LOL!
Many thanks for sharing and I hope your blog receives many views.

Darlene said...

I'm glad you found it interesting, Gordon. I thought Coach would be sold on your side of the Pond but, perhaps you have to be in London proper to find their bags and accessories. I, too, look forward to seeing the pups and I love the idea of donating to breed rescue! Thank you for commenting.

Rescuegal said...

What an interesting concept you have shared with us in your latest blog, Darlene Arden. I have not heard of Coach or Coach Pups (other than the Dalmatian variety), so I am intrigued by this campaign they are doing. I am not a purse person, but totally look forward to seeing all the pups. And, like you, I am thrilled that Coach is making donations to breed rescue. That fits well with my love and involvement of rescue in general.