Are you gonna let a shady bankruptcy, corporate shell games, and offshore intellectual property shenanigans get in the way of a brand licensing deal? Not when you've got xDrive!
That's right, BMW has done its first stroller cross-branding deal--with Maclaren. As part of the automaker's new, expanding logo merchandise offering, which reaches beyond dealers' parts departments, the company's blue & white pizza logo will grace the hubs and harness buckle of a mid-range Maclaren stroller, starting in January 2013. There will also be matching diaper bags and other accessories.
This is obviously not the first co-branded stroller Maclaren's put out. In addition to BMW, they've had colabos with Dylan's Candy Bar and the Beatles' Yellow Submarine, plus all the fashion ones.
And it's not the first car X stroller mashup, either. [And no, that nonsensical, nonfunctioning knockoff Porsche concept stroller wasn't, either.] Last year saw the debut of a special Fiat 500 edition of the Seed Pli. And before all of that, way back in the 90s, when you couldn't even get a date, much less procreate, there was an honest-to-goodness Land Rover stroller line. Good stuff, very OG Mountain Buggy. Now where's that link? Must find that again.
Anyway, good for Maclaren that they've found a licensing partner willing to overlook their shady-to-shitty business practices, and just focus on their fine, high quality products.
It makes me wonder what other companies and brands might be even better fits for Maclaren? Maybe we should start a list. Marlboro's too easy, even though I can't begin to tell you how guilty I feel for loving Marlboro's insidiously awesome F1 campaign, seeing it's sweetness on a stroller would be even better/worse.
I think BP would be awesome, too. Not necessarily a full-on, 3-tone green/yellow stroller, but just the BP flower on each wheel would go along way to healing the damage caused by the Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill.
UPDATE: like I said.
Any suggestions or mockups? I'm already about 80% of the way toward making a prototype. Enough good ideas, though, and I'll do a pop-up shop.
BMW, in a First, Shares Its Logo and Design Chops with Other Brands [brandchannel]
Of course there are the JEEP strollers which I think are Kolcraft. It's a little different because I think they are marketed as JEEP rather than as some collaborative effort.
Also, I've never noticed a particular brand of stroller that's more likely to cut me off on the sidewalk. I guess that's about to change.
Maybe MacLaren should have gotten into bed with one of the Detroit carmakers to get a little bit of bailout love. Although avoiding bankruptcy was probably never part of their plan.
How come there aren't more carbon fiber strollers? All I can find is that dumb Porsche concept and that crappy Maclaren one.