How Not to Sell Expensive Handbags

Never Normal strikes again

Advertising and BDSM - a match made in hell

From our new, exciting! Sesame Street collection

If you just love Gwyneth Paltrow's 30K bondage chaise, there's more good news. Nope, still hasn't sold out, if that's what you mean. You can ridicule fimdoms all that you want for their bad taste - the most expensive one is the best - but nothing beats a luxury brand in distress.

Selling stuff used to be simply. Here's a quality product and this is why you should buy it. But what if the stuff on sale isn't actually worth the money. Add some contrast but whatever you do, don't mix kids 'n' kink. Of course Balenciaga did use child models to promote its bondage teddy handbags. In the spirit of the season. And no Balenciaga is not the name of a football player in the world cup.

This is how commenter Babylonian She-Devil phrased it in The Guardian:

"Cannot understand what is going on here, the fashion industry is a complete mystery to me, any time I catch a snippet of a fashion show, and it is a snippet because I quickly turn onto something else, I see miserable young people clomping along like horses wearing outfits I never see anyone wearing afterwards because they are totally ridiculous and inappropriate. Am not surprised, however, that adverts aimed at the idle rich have used tactics better suited to ancient Rome when slaves were set alight as human torches, because decadence has always been about over indulgence to the point of crossing over the line of legality or humanity. When one has everything what could one possible want, well, it seems that teddy bear bondage is the latest thing!
The world is starving, climate change is destroying the planet, but the rich want their gee gaws and their vices."

Or if you like it more concise, here's Kevin [Posades], who works in advertising.

"A lot of senior people will have seen the drafts, greenlighted them and presumably thought it was OK to sexualise children. An amazing lack of reflection and insight."

Sadly, I'm afraid this campaign was designed to upset people. Free publicity and so on. I've argued before how kinksters are mere props in a vanilla world, whether it's for advertising or their shock value as freaks in TV shows. But the biggest freaks are the people who actually buy these handbag.

All I want for Christmas? Is a kite.

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Face the music

Vijf december, pakjesavond. De Sint neemt al een tijdje geen stoute kinderen meer mee in de zak naar Spanje maar toch. Zou daar mijn liefde voor bondage door komen? 

Henk en Henk (Het Goede Doel) - Sinterklaas, wie kent hem niet (click to listen)

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Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis tweeted out that his message to fellow NATO foreign ministers is "Keep calm and give tanks."

And throw in those ATACMS missiles (range 185 miles or 297km) and GLSDB's (94 miles or 150km).

I can invade your country, but you can't mine for fear of escalation? That's like turning the other cheek to Putin.