So, have you seen the ad from Free People clothing?
If not, watch it here…
So, what do ya think?
Honestly, I’m divided. I could connect to the dialogue, whether real or fictional. The dancing I thought, well she’s just going with it and being free, maybe she had limited instruction and doing the best she could and just moving from the heart, which I think is beautiful. I mean not everyone who is dancing from the age of 3 is of the level of Osipova, Makarova, or Baryshnikov. Maybe she takes only a class a week? Then she went en pointe and I thought an ankle was going to be broken or a knee twisted.
I don’t really know who the model/dancer is and if her “story” is real or just a story. As an adult returning to ballet, I want to be supportive and do not want to tear her down. She did her best in the ad. She is a beautiful young lady who obviously takes care of her body and looks fit. I saw some really nasty comments on YouTube and other places on the web where this ad kept creeping up. You can be critical without being an “arse”.
My issue is more about the company than the dancer. Who knows what this company was wanting to convey with her story. Maybe they didn’t want “perfect” maybe they wanted someone with imperfections, which is all of us, to make us more relate-able to the products? I do find the pointe technique concerning and not responsible of the company or the dancer’s instructors, but who knows the full story, it’s just an ad.
If you go on their website, they do have a selection of ballet clothes, which are really pretty. They aren’t like “traditional” ballet clothes but barre wear, like for a barre exercise class maybe? Some not are my style for ballet class but look really comfy. They look nicely made as well. I liked their website but I doubt their price points will work with many dancers. Some of the product pictures have 15 second videos of her dancing. You can tell on her face she is enjoying herself. Dance isn’t always about perfect technique but the joy and beauty from the heart, and she does convey that to me. From a consumer/marketing perspective, while the pictures of the dancer/model are really pretty some I find take away from the clothes because of the technique.
Here is an example of the pointe technique that just makes me cringe and I think it takes away from the beauty of the clothes…
Free People Image
If this is their idea of ballet then…perhaps a bit more research on ballet when they want to sell something to the ballet world? It seems many in the ballet world are offended by the ad, and I can understand it. So, would you want to buy something from a company who represents ballet like this? I think of Cloud and Victory and Discount Dance Supply, among many others, who utilize dancers for their advertising campaigns, which in my opinion, lends credibility to the products they are selling.
The real story is…we are all talking about it. 🙂 I had never heard of them until this ad came out. Would I have heard about them if she had been a more “perfect” dancer? Would I find the clothes more appealing if the dancer had better technique? The jury is out on that one…
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