Photo credit: PacificCoastNews.com

As I was speed walking up Madison Avenue the other day, this delightfully provocative shoe display at Barneys jumped out at me.  Although Barneys adjacent display of 500 stilettos racing around a multi-level track, aka the “Barneys 500,” certainly caught my eye, it was this “Swimming with the Louboutins” display that really stole the show.  It’s difficult not to notice highly sought after, sky high Christian Louboutin heels submerged in a tank of pink goldfish.

These displays play on pop culture references- the Indy 500 and a memorable quote from The Godfather, exemplifying Barneys traditional tag line, Taste, luxury, humor, (or wit, depending on your personal preference).  One of the fashion world’s favorite styling strategies in the past few years has been employing a combination of high and low priced items into one ensemble.  Perhaps Barneys is creating its own high-low ensemble by advertising a high priced product with what New York Magazine, publisher of a weekly approval matrix that discriminates between high brow versus low brow, would likely deem a low brow cultural reference?

Visit Barneys to view videos of these fantastic displays, or, better yet, visit in person.

Barneys:  660 Madison Avenue, New York, NY

Have any store windows or other forms of advertising caught your attention recently?

What are you feelings about these displays?  Do you have any insight into the meaning behind the displays?

In your opinion, does using a “low brow” cultural reference to advertise a “high brow” product diminish the prestige of that product or does it make it even more desirable?

How relevant is the creativity and humor/wit of a product’s advertising to your decision to purchase a particular brand?