Can a Knock-Off Ever Be a Tip-Off?

All over the world we see pervasive brands chewed up and reconstituted so that they retain familiarity but are nonetheless unsettlingly wrong; the process of creating knock off items widens up the pool of potential consumers by making premium products available to all. Some of these products are so far off the mark that they are hilarious; their extension of a brand's vision into new and previously unconsidered territories appears ridiculous. Yet can they ever be insightful? Can the scattergun approach of distorting and manipulating an existing brand lead us into unchartered innovative waters?

Knock offs target a vast stretch of society, yearning for the security and status of branded items but unable to possess them due to financial or geographical limitations. These people show us that brands seep into all corners of society all over the world and that a life without a knowledge or attachment to any kind of brand is a rare one, no matter where you are.

Brand-mimics such as the spread to the right, wonderfully titled, "Unbelievable- This Is Not Butter", show us that even everyday items that we would distance far from desirable luxuries have a place in the knock off industry. "This Is Not Butter" tells us that buying the right butter may not be a nostalgic recall to childhood meals that were laced with buttered toast and jam, but a social statement. What is in your butter dish might just be a sign of whether or not you have made it.

Another intriguing interpretation shown by a knock off is the Sonia headphones pictured. The producer is not only drawing on the Sony brand to create a confidence in the product, but also feminising the offering. The creation (or attempted creation) of a sister brand for Sony may be more insightful than we first thought. Have Sony ever considered that their offering is phallocentric? Televisions, cameras and phones may be targeted at both genders but perhaps Sony need to reconsider their communications strategy and asses to what extent it is accessible to women.

Sony's latest advert for its new tablet features the dulcet tones of Louis Armstrong and the flouncing vitality of several female burlesque dancers at the beginning. As the advert progresses a man unravels the marvel of the new tablet, watching high-octane clips from an action film and gaming on the device.

This boys-only club atmosphere of Sony's communications is something into which the creators of Sonia headphones may have unwittingly tapped.

Apart from the communications strategy, knock offs may illuminate the mucky waters of market research for big brands.

        

"Johns Daphne", "Hike" and "Johnnie Worker" may give as perceptive insights into consumer thinking as the most stringent research agency ever could. If Jack Daniels were aware that their "Tennessee" branding could be so easily transposed with "Tenderness" would they rethink their segmentation? If a corner of the world associate the deep south with gentleness and a caring attitude then the real JD could do worse than to bottle this and try to communicate it globally. Similarly the Jonnie Worker brand shows us that the whiskey may fulfil the need state of afterwork drink all over the world; Is this something that can be propelled further or is this the sentiment of a niche that can be targeted with a more budget offering? "Hike" is I think the most interesting piece of brand-sabotage. The term demonstrates that the brand resounds with echoes of physical effort and  prolongued energetic expenditure, yet this is maintained on a leisure wear item. The vulgarizaton of Nike shows us the extent to which a brand can extend beyond a product and encapsulate a state of mind, rather than a possession.

In fact that is surely what all of these imposters are doing, showing the value of brands for their innate properties rather than their individual products. Some brand-borrowers may not provide the same level of clarity however:

This reworking of fashion house Dolce and Gabbana produces no quick answers but shows us that sometimes our brand desires just can't be unpeeled.