Ke$ha

Ke$ha, born Kesha Rose Sebert, represents an amazing achievement in advertising and branding. As a pop singer she has been constantly competing with the dozens of other female 20-something pops singers, yet she has emerged on top, matted hair and all. Ke$ha has not been marketed as the usual bubble-gum popping, hair twirling, pink-sequin wearing pop songstress, nor has she been portrayed as the deep, intellectual, troubled quasi-Indie singers that have become popular in the past decade or so. Ke$ha has been portrayed as some sort of crazy, wild animal, and correspondingly her premier album is titled Animal. While some pop stars such as Katy Perry and Lady Gaga thrive off of wearing bright colors, Ke$ha thrives off of wearing dirt and old converses. Promotional photos of her are sexualized, as are those of any pop artist, but her dual life as half laid back, relaxed L.A. chick and crazy untamable animal has captured the attention of many listeners.

Above is a picture for her first single, Tik Tok. It seems what people admire in Ke$ha is her lack of inhibition. Often pop singers have melt downs and end up with pictures like this taken by tabloids or mug shots, but Ke$ha has presented herself like this from the get go. She seems "real," although not down to earth. No one in the age group 15-25 wants to follow an artist who seems down to earth and normal. They want drama, craziness, swearing and references to illegal substances. They want to see stars bathing in illegal substances, and getting arrested for bathing in illegal substances. The person also can't be embarrassed by the arrests or the illegal substances. Ke$ha presents herself as someone unashamed of being her, potentially soap-phobic, self.

A second aspect of Ke$ha's brand's success is her appeal to both women and men. Her brand is not limited by gender. Her ability to be herself appeals to girls who want to be cool and comfortable with themselves. At the same time, photos such as the one below display her as a bro's girl, one who likes drinking beer and hanging out. Her pose is also compromising, putting her in a sexual light.

Ke$ha's music runs parallel to her image. She talks of little more than alcohol and sex, yet does it in an apparently appealing mix of melodies and sounds. One of the lines that sticks in my head from her song Tik Tok is:

Aint got no care in the world, but got plenty of beer

Aint got no money in my pocket, but I'm already here

Now, the dudes are lining up cause they hear we got swagger

But we kick em to the curb unless they look like Mick Jagger.

The rhymes make little sense, but the words "beer," "swagger,"and "Mick Jagger" stick in your mind, creating an image of Ke$ha having an overall great time, surviving off of partying and alcohol. Ke$ha embodies what college age kids want to do with their time, they want to party in cool places. She seems chill and modern, although her brand name has been created from appealing to the age-old desires of teenagers and young-teens.

Pop/"country" singer Taylor Swift appears to lie on the opposite end of the pop star spectrum. Her brand name is surrounded by pastel colors and pleated curls, yet her brand has also been based on what teenagers crave, companionship. While Ke$ha has appealed to people looking for party companions, Taylor Swift talks about love and happiness. Her demographic might be a little younger than that of Ke$ha, although they overlap in the age 15-20 age group (approximately). Taylor Swift's appeal on the outside seems to target girls who wear pink lipgloss, like glitter and roses, and want to find true love sooner rather than later. Taylor Swift is 19 years old, only a year older than seniors at Andover, yet she acts as an authority on love in the eyes of teenage girls. She sings about being 15 and having her first kiss as if it was a million years ago, and she's now a wise woman reflecting on wonderful times. Beneath T Swift's pink lace, is a sex appeal that has contributed to her brand. If she only appealed to women her brand name would be much less strong and powerful.

Below are two different pictures of Taylor Swift.

I think both of them appeal to women and men, although at first glance they seem to individually appeal to the two genders (the first to women, the second to men). The top one casts her as a princess, reaching out to dream-seeking teenagers. At the same time, it shows her as virginal and innocent, something that appeals to teenage males. The second picture shows her holding a book about singing, wearing floral prints and looking happy. Her outfit and beautiful hair and makeup are representations of what many teen girls want in their lives. At the same time the face she's making and the position she's in casts her as a sex symbol of sorts, appealing again to teenage males.

Taylor Swift's album title Fearless, filled with songs that give the illusion that if you are fearless you'll be able to conquer anything including insecurity, also taps into teenagers desire to be themselves or get to the point when they can be comfortable with themselves. Like Ke$ha, her image revolves around her being herself, even though being Ke$ha and Taylor Swift is nothing like being a normal high-school or college attending teenager. Ke$ha and Taylor Swift have brand images that are very different, yet they appeal to similar aged kids looking for the same things.

As a last comment, Taylor Swift has 2.5 million followers on celebrity site Twitter, a testament to the power of her brand.