Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/06/08

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Subject: [Leica] Pretentious?
From: leica at cinemaminima.com (Austin Burbridge)
Date: Thu Jun 8 01:15:05 2006
References: <20060605150557.54254.qmail@web33801.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

On Jun 05, 2006, at 08:05, G Medina wrote:
> Gibson is an odd character who seems very confident
> with his vision. Perhaps he's too commercial for the
> taste of us, but you have to give the guy credit for
> finding a way to live and survive on photography
> alone. Looking through his site I see many great
> photos that will continue to be studied by photography
> students for the next 50 years. I suppose the Gibson
> MP is no different than a pair of Air Jordan's
> sneakers, but imagine if he'd also requested a UV
> filter permanently affixed to his Summilux Asph.
>

I agree -- and I do not think that "cashing in" must be the same  
thing as "selling out".

What was Leica marketing thinking? Probably something like, "Sell the  
benefits, not the features," and followed by, "Thank Heaven we  
finally ditched those timid, amateurish campaigns which nearly drove  
us into bankruptcy...." Recall the "Leica Precision" campaign -- a  
textbook example of what not to do -- "precision" is a feature, not a  
benefit; taking cool  pictures is the benefit. It's the same reason  
why Apple's successful iPod campaign shows people enjoying music --  
the benefit -- while rarely (if ever) even mentioning the device's  
functions.

Maybe Leica ought to do even more endorsements -- why not *really*  
let Kyle build a signature edition -- it might do the brand a power  
of good. By the same token, where's the Ted Grant signature edition?  
And -- yes -- the Tina Manley signature M? What was Leica marketing  
thinking!?

Regards,

A U S T I N ,

Austin Burbridge,

Blog http://cinemaminima.com/leica
Sprezzatura http://sprezzatura.editthispage.com/
flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/sprezzatura/
Cinema Minima http://www.cinemaminima.com/

###

> --- Tina Manley <images@InfoAve.Net> wrote:
>
>> LUG and LEG -
>>
>> This makes me physically ill.  Can you say
>> "pretentious"?
>>
>>
> http://www.ralphgibson.com/boutique/?% 
> 20tm_session=f125ed027ad521d4010f36c0be311258
>>
>> What is Leica marketing thinking?  Barf!!!
>>
>> Tina
>>
>> Tina Manley, ASMP, NPPA
>> http://www.tinamanley.com
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for
>> more information
>>


In reply to: Message from leicamshooter at yahoo.com (G Medina) ([Leica] Pretentious?)