AR WEAR - branding a very delicate matter!!

Have you ever heard about AR WEAR? – I had not heard about it until two days ago where my friend showed me a video, which she had found on a Danish news page.

AR WEAR is short for anti rape wear. It is a line of clothing, which ranges from workout shorts to underwear and has indestructible material around the thighs, waist and crotch. It is, in essence, a modern day chastity belt. But only the woman wearing it has the key. She can lock and unlock it by positioning the hands of a tiny clock on the front of the garment, sort of like a gym code combination. 

AR WEAR has definitely chosen the blue ocean strategy when developing their product. Instead of diving into the red ocean where underwear producers are competing on price, comfort and sexiness they have chosen to differentiate themselves by selecting a niche, which is “rape preventing“ underwear. Choosing to focus on a practical matter instead of the cost, comfort or sexiness could give them a competitive advantage as first movers. Depending on the popularity of this product they could end up retaining this niche by themselves.

Their brand so fare is defined by an add on the crowd funding page Indiegogo.com, where they present their product with written facts, pictures and videos. Their aim was to collect 50.000$ in funds to start the production of their line of clothing and as I’m writing they have raised 51.472$. Therefore also in their branding strategy they are differentiating themselves by being crowd funded and thereby supported by the consumers, which gives them credibility.

Although it seems like a good strategy to differentiate themselves they have gotten criticism for their branding, especially for the videos. Here is an example of the criticism which I have found on the web publication Pandodaily: 

"In the Indiegogo campaign video, attractive Caucasian models pose provocatively in front of mirrors in their anti-rape wear before slinking into sexy black dresses. They head out into the night, dancing and slinging back shots at a dark nightclub. Then, a man shows off the technology of the material, trying repeatedly to cut it with giant scissors or slash it with a knife. He straightens it out to show — tada! — nary a dent was made. To wrap up the accidentally hilarious video the models pose in the tight little shorts, tossing their hair and twisting their hips. Hands creep into the shot and try to pull the shorts off, demonstrating that they remain firmly in place. While watching it you may find yourself wondering, “Is this a joke?” The answer — no."

This is one of many examples of criticism, which shows that their branding is not working for everybody. But criticism or not I will let the 51.472$ of crowd funding speak for it self.

For more information or to watch the promotional video: 

Written by Josephine Kruuse Eriksen