Ray-Ban is a luxury sunglasses manufacturer that has experienced consistent success over the years. Acquired by the Italian Luxottica Group for $640 million in 1999, Ray-Ban has worked to maintain an image of excellence, reliability and originality.
In March 2007, Ray-Ban launched its "NEVER HIDE" Advertising Campaign with the slogan, "Never pretend. Never be afraid. Never give up. Never Hide.". The campaign portrayed ordinary individuals living their day to day lives with the courage to express themselves and their individuality. The campaign attempted to illustrate Ray-Ban's assertion that the most fashionable thing to be is yourself.
Unfortunately, the creative approach and execution of the NEVER HIDE Campaign produced advertisements that were noticeably paradoxical. As the above images show, most print ads of this campaign simply depict an individual wearing a pair of Ray-Bans and the super-imposed slogan "NEVER HIDE" emphasized near the top of the ad.
Although the phrase "NEVER HIDE" may express Ray-Ban's company objective and intended consumer message, it actually manages to render the final advertisements as rather self-contradictory in terms of product use and benefit- a crucial aspect of an ad's overall presentation and success.
If individuals were asked to identify reasons behind their sunglasses use, common answers might include an inclination to avoid being seen by someone or the desire to conceal a brutal hangover at work following a wild party the previous night. A woman may don her Ray-Bans to prevent her friends from seeing her blood-red eyes resulting from yet another night of crying over her ex-boyfriend. A security-guard at a concert may wear his Ray-Bans to survey the crowd in great detail while being able to remain unnoticed.
In other words, sunglasses can often serve as a protective barrier of sorts for individuals against their external surroundings. Sunglasses protect an individual's vision but also enable them to observe their environment without being noticed.
Taking the deviously helpful nature of sunglasses into consideration, Ray-Ban's decision to use the slogan "NEVER HIDE" to promote their line of high-end, unique sunglasses doesn't seem to make much sense. As most Ray-Ban consumers probably view the product as more of a fashion accessory as opposed to a visual-health protectant, the term "NEVER HIDE" may support their perception of Ray-Bans as a stylish product of iconic individuality. However, the NEVER HIDE Campaign's incongruous depiction of the product's utility renders the ads fairly unsuccessful and/or significantly inaccurate to say the least.
If consumers use Ray-Ban sunglasses to conceal their identity or camouflage a nasty hangover, how should they feel about being told to "NEVER HIDE" by the very company which provided them with the stylish shields?
If anything, the campaign could have used the phrase "HIDE HAPPILY" to at least properly identify the product benefit which serves as the motivation for consumers to choose Ray-Ban luxury eyewear in the first place.
