“The new Lambretta fragrance, L47 takes its name from the first year the world famous Lambretta scooters coasted off the production line.”

Now, I’ve got no problem with taking an iconic brand, and (marketing speak coming up, apologies) ‘leveraging’ it into different categories. The owners of the Lambretta brand name have clearly made quite a few quid from doing just that.

What I do object to is prostituting a brands heritage… some superficial research has come up with the fact that Innocenti made their first Lambretta model in 1947. Can’t be bothered to find an image for that original, “Model A” Lambretta? Not a problem. Use a silhouette of a generic, modern scooter instead. No one will notice. Hmm. Doesn’t quite work. I know… take the front wheel off, and replace it with a ‘mod roundel’. There we go… perfick!

Now I know, Lambretta riders aren’t the target market of the people making this product, but with a little more research, and a little more thought, this packaging could have been a lot better. To those that own and love the Lambretta, the vast majority of these ‘brand extensions’ are simply a joke. They offend me as a Lambretta rider, and it offends me as a designer. It’s just lazy, if you are going to play the heritage card with your brand… for goodness sake get it right… or at least tell a consistent, congruent story.

I may well get one of these sets for Christmas (I got some Lambretta socks last year!), but I know one thing… I’m chucking the box away.

Sorry for the small picture. If I find a bigger one I’ll post it.

EDIT: Just a thought… if anybody involved in Lambretta branding wants a “sense check” on this kind of stuff, I am available… I’ve got a pretty unusual skillset – for my ‘day job’ I am Creative Head at a Design and Marketing agency specialising in Branding, Corporate Id, and Packaging… So I’d be happy to be involved (for a small fee, naturally) in helping you make sure future faux pas such as this one are avoided. The email is crocodilejock@gmail.com