The Apprentice's Raef - putting sweaty suitcase days behind him
When trying to publicise a new product, marketers should know that sometimes not having a celebrity endorsement is going to be better from your brand than having any old attention-seeking nobody desperately trying to piggyback your press release for some free publicity.
And the new Hybrid PA Bag from Live Luggage (a suitcase on battery-powered wheels that allow it to wheel itself around without its owner having to so much as flex a single muscle in their entire body, heaven forbid) is a perfect case in point as it recently unveiled posh boy Raef Bjayou, a contestant on ‘The Apprentice’ in 2008, as its ‘celebrity’ fan of choice.
As if the product weren’t gimmicky enough its creators seem to think latching some vaguely recognisable face onto the launch notes will be enough to propel it to the top of every traveller’s must-have list.
But then again anyone receiving said blurb could expect a few moments of amusement when glancing through Bjayou’s quotes: “As someone who is involved in both business and media, travel is very much at the centre of my life,” he boasts. “Not only does this hybrid powered luggage get me from A to B without so much as a bead of sweat upon my brow, it is also aesthetically pleasing.”
What’s that now? Business and media? Ah, he must be talking about his many television appearances that include being a reporter on ‘Richard and Judy’ (before it was axed), being a contestant in ‘The Underdog Show’ (remember that?) and appearing on not one but two cookery shows, namely ‘Ready Steady Cook’ and ‘Celebrity Come Dine With Me’.
How he ever got about between engagements before his suitcase equivalent of a mobility scooter, we’ll never know.
Comments
If the product has the appeal then it will be a success without the need for Z list celebrity endorsement. In this case, a motorised suitcase, I think they may have needed to go a bit higher up the ladder than an Apprentice loser from almost 2 years ago!
The only people who would buy this stoopid contraption are spanners like Raef. I mean really motorized suitcase. Jeez.
I’ve heard about these bags accidentally going into drive when placed on the carousel by baggage handlers, running in the opposite direction to the belt’s rotation, escaping and running onto the runways and into the paths of planes that are trying to take off or land or whatever. I can’t believe Raef is endorsing them!