Monday, February 4, 2008

WTF? DKNY PR FUBAR & DOA


Gothamist reports on the ripoff of yet another activist campaign by a corporate entity.

Donna Karan New York, aka DKNY, is usurping a grassroots campaign to memorialize cyclists killed in New York City's traffic, with a guerrilla marketing campaign to push their (overpriced) product. Above is a picture of several orange-painted DKNY bikes, first widely noted at Bike Blog.

To this date, Ghost Bikes have remained relatively unmolested by city agencies, who recognize that they are memorials. That involves a certain level of respectful goodwill among the citizens of New York and law enforcement. The hijacking of the memorials' medium could possibly spoil that detente. In our opinion, DKNY has crossed the line from "edgy" to "despicable," by co-opting grassroot memorials to dead people as a gimmick to peddle clothes.


For info on the real bike campaign, visit Ghost Bike.org

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