Not irreversably. Not irredeemably, certainly. However, their first step seems to have been a stumble. Make a mental list of the things they could get wrong in establishing a Second Life presence. It appears that Armani have managed to check-off most of the high-points there. And it's a damn shame, because people expected better. Hallmark of quality and all that, right? That tallies up to another black mark.

Iris Ophelia takes a critical look at Armani's efforts, and both that and the comments that follow are worth the read, particularly the comment from Tenshi Vielle.

Second Style's Grazia Horwitz also weighs in on the matter, among others.

If this was Wal-Mart, or Joe's Hamster Hut, or even Seven-Eleven, I don't think that there would be such a problem. This is however, Armani, and the expectations of people insofar as the brand reputation just have not been met. It's not classy, or innovative. It's basically pedestrian, and fails to meet basic cost versus quality expectations.

It's not wretched. It's not awful. It's not bad. It's merely mediocre, demonstrating a lack of imagination, a lack of flair, and a lack of willingness to make the most of the tools.

That's not the image we associate with Armani - yet, there it is, for the world to see. It doesn't appear to have been a matter of cost, so much as a shortage of excellence.

I hope Armani will reevaluate their approach and attempt to improve. Few will hold it against them if they do.

This article aims to warn RL companies that there will likely be knockoffs of their products in SL, many of which might even make use of their unmodified logo. I'm less interested in debating the efficacy of suing residents for damages than I am in debating the nature of these 'fakes' themselves.

First of all, let's say you're Sprite. You arrive in-world and set up vending machines that provide little cans of soda. There's not too much to it, is there? It's a cylinder with your logo on it. Can Sprite hire MoU to make higher-res cans? Would it be worth it? When residents get Sprite vending machines for their sims or clubs from content creators other than Sprite, do they think they're getting the real branded experience? Are they likely to call foul and wait for the actual presence to arrive?

Virtual worlds, by necessity, require a brand-new mode of thought regarding what's allowable. Clearly, people paying ellz for faux-Armani clothing for their avatars realize it's not a real Armani suit, and they probably don't care. Virtual clothes don't carry the same cachet as the real ones do. In a world where nearly any object you desire from your real life can be fabricated for next to nothing, does Branding even matter? Is it worth suing people over?

(Via theretailbulletin)