There's a makeover in the works for the "NG" brand. This will not be welcome news to the legions of gentlemen who've coveted the provocative Natalie Gulbis calendars of the past several years, nor to those who carefully craft slide shows of Natalie bikini shots. You see, the idea behind this rebranding is to take control of an image that has become more about sexiness and glamour and less about sportiness and golf.
A Richmond VA branding agency, Circle S Studio, is working with Gulbis' sports-marketing firm, Octagon, to reposition the gifted golfer, and the shift would turn the perception of Natalie Gulbis as "swimsuit-model-for-men" to that of "role-model-for women". The repositioning is already evident in the her 2008 calendar and day planner which, as was reported earlier this month, is far less revealing and far more golf oriented than in past years.
Natalie Gulbis has now earned her first LPGA tour title (the Evian Masters) thus banishing the "sexy but winless" aura that had dogged her for quite a while. This would certainly be a logical time for her to take her brand in a new direction if that's what she wants to do. That said, I've no doubt that with her good looks and friendly, accessible personality, she'll continue attract the attention of most her current fans.
Absolutely, Natalie's fans will follow Natalie with whatever she does. There are a couple of things that has caused Natalie to rethink her image. First, there was someone impersonating her on the Internet which was trashing her sexiness and then secondly the LPGA is more than likely wanting to reel in the over-the-top fashion shows some of the ladies are exhibiting that is turning TV's off around the world.
ReplyDeletePlus, Natalie is probably trying to distance her image of provocativeness that would pull her into the Britney Spears image.
Natlie is also maturing and is a business women who in a short time be looking back at her youth with maybe some regrets...or maybe not.
I would like to see Natalie go for the Kraft Nabisco major this coming March since I hope to be there again next year watching her and the other very talented women golfers.
She was always very gracious about it, but Natalie must have been so happy to ditch that "Winless Cutie - Kournikova Clone" image. No wonder she's rebranding.
ReplyDeleteI never found Natalie Gulbis to be sexy or attractive. She looks much older than her age and she has no waist. I think she's definitely better suited as a roll model for women. Others probably disagree.
ReplyDeletea classic case of "brand" ahead of accomplishments. she had a show and a lot of attention because she allowed the media/marketing machine to exploit her looks.. now she wishes to change - it will only work if she wins - sex sells but being a role model for doing nothing will not sell. if she doesn't go on a win streak "ala" ochoa she will vaporize into nothing - her 15 minutes of fame will be gone, gone, gone.
ReplyDeletei think it sucks that we idolize marginal athletes like natalie - my bet is that this image makeover fails because she won't win enough to justify being a role model and then she'll make a really bad "b" movie at which time the handlers will drop her and target someone else.
jeeze, what is her world ranking? she is not even in the top 20! role model? please, give me a break...
This is like porn star keeping their clothes on trying to go mainstream.
ReplyDeleteGive her a year or two, when she fails to win, she will revert back to taking her clothes off.
Personally, I think Suzann Petterson is sexier than Gulbis even though Suzann does not flaunt her sexuality.
Excuse me, but most porn stars don't win LPGA tour titles, as far as I know.
ReplyDeleteSome of you guys seem soooo convinced she'll never win again. I guess that's because you think that if a really pretty, sexy girl wins it's just a fluke.
And another thing, why shouldn't we girls flaunt our sexuality? You guys would sure be doing it if anyone gave a damn.
I have to agree. Most guys would flaunt it if they could. It's pretty unfair that girls get so much attention just for their looks.
ReplyDeleteNatalie is a smart business woman. She knew that before she won a tournament, she needed a brand. She was more famous than many winners on the tour. Now she is moving into her next marketing plan...I think it is wonderful and I applaud her maturity and business savy.
ReplyDeleteGolfgal
www.golfgal-blog.com
notice how mostly marketing nit-wits praise natalie for her biz savvy while others agree that she is a marginal golfer who knows how to wiggle her ass to make a buck - i'd say more like a stripper than a porn star.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that Gulbis is marginal is laughable. You don't qualify for the Solheim Cup multiple times on marginal. I'm not a fan, by any means, but I've followed the LPGA for a long time, very closely this season, and I've become convinced she's got the talent and mental toughness to last on the most competitive tour in the world. Sure, she's not in my consensus top 29, but she is there in the two major ranking systems, Rolex and Sagarin right now, and has only finished out of the top 30 on the LPGA money list twice in her career. She's probably not going to make $1M this year, but she has as good a chance as anyone to win the next two weeks, so she still could. If you think it's easy to win on the LPGA, just ask Laura Davies.
ReplyDeleteNote the power of bending over backwards to give credit to the opposing side: Gulbis is actually ranked #22 in the consensus system I'm using. So remove 1 degree of concession from the previous comment, if you will.
ReplyDelete