RuPaul's Brand Image is (What?!) Fundamental

As we all wait in anticipation for the new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, I want to discuss the marketing GOD that is Rupaul. If you’re not a fan of the show, then you may ask: how is RuPaul relevant to a marketing company? Well, to misquote His Dragesty: A clear brand image is (what?) fundamental. 

On Season 2 of AllStars, RuPaul famously stated: “I’m a marketing genius! I marketed subversive drag to 100 million mutha****** in the world”. Just let that sink in. Quite clearly he’s right; RuPaul is a pivotal figure in drag history who is largely involved in the movement of drag into mainstream culture. How did he do this? He has always had a clear vision of his brand image and what he wanted it to become. This clarity clearly helped him take a niche product and combine it with the popular, reality show format, thereby targeting his brand to a wider audience. Since then, RuPaul has not missed a trick; he uses every opportunity to reinforce and sculpt his strong brand image. Let us then dissect RuPaulogy and examine the marketing cleverly embedded under every fake nail and along every lace-front

RuPaul’s Drag Race is one of the most quotable programmes on air. Quotes from the show double as taglines which continually reinforce the fun and recognizable brand image. RuPaul has a few particular phrases he regularly and predictably uses at certain points in the show: “Don’t f** it up”, “Bring back my girls” (normally said with some kind of humorous intonation), “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?” (sic), “Shantay you stay”, “Sashay away” and many more. They are phrases we love to hear because they are classic RuPaul! They also reaffirm the familiar aesthetic of the show. The last two examples are actually taken from his breakout song Supermodel.

What’s more, it’s basically Drag Race law add ‘Ru’ before any word that provides the opportunity. RuPaul has created his own language of RuPaul-isms, and we, as an audience, ADORE (get it?) these catchphrases. We want RuPaul to keep reinforcing his brand image because it makes us feel like we’re part of a club – Club Eleganza perhaps?

Isn’t this the ultimate marketing goal, to have an audience so passionate about your brand that they want you to keep marketing it?

The catchphrases are not just limited to RuPaul himself, nor the show. Oh no, the Drag Race influence trickles down to the queenly contestants. Audiences have adopted many, many phrases and circulate them in discussion outside of the programme. Catchphrases frequently appear on social media as memes and GIFs – see Adore Delano’s loyal, party culture optimism.

The influence does not stop there: Detox’s “I’ve had it. Officially.” statement appeared at the Women’s March on Washington. Now, whilst a quote from a TV show may not seem terribly important, the use of it in this way is actually quite powerful. A statement, sassily uttered by a proud drag queen on a programme that celebrates the LGBT community, is used by a protester to challenge the discriminatory attitude reportedly expressed by President Trump.

Picture Credit - @theonlydetox Instagram

Now, it’s absolutely astounding when you realise that, in using the quote in this way, the protester is (whether advertently or not) marketing Detox, RuPaul’s Drag Race and RuPaul. The show has created an entire culture, which means that it’s constantly expanding its reach and simultaneously reinforcing RuPaul’s carefully crafted brand image.

RuPaul has highlighted marketing as a positive business technique on his show. It’s not about tricking unsuspecting customers, but about reasserting the brand image in an inviting and totally self-aware manner. The shameless plugs that are synonymous with the show best represent this method. During the first few seasons, Absolut vodka was the show’s primary sponsor. The ladies often enjoyed Absolut cocktails as they “untuck[ed] in the Interior Illusions lounge”. As Phillip Ellis writes on Ogilvy: ‘the constant shout-outs to the show’s corporate supporters are part of its charm’. The show jokes about its shameless advertising without destroying its impact; rather, the hilarious explicitness heightens it. The viewer anticipates the moment when RuPaul, incandescent in full drag, winks at the camera and brazenly advertises the latest sponsor. Furthermore, companies know that RuPaul’s Drag Race will broadcast your brand loudly and proudly, which will obviously entice them to sponsor the show.

RuPaul’s empire has such a strong brand image that it’s a self-serving machine. It’s a common feature of the show for the final three or four contestants to undertake a challenge in which they must shoot scenes for a new RuPaul music video. The marketing benefits of this are four-fold: firstly, RuPaul markets his new album directly to his target audience – his fans. Secondly, the appearance of the finalists in his music video reinforces Drag Race where there may not have otherwise been a specific mention. Thirdly, this part of the competition is anticipated by the viewer and therefore sculpts the Drag Race brand so that it becomes more and more easily recognizable. Fourth, the drag queens who appear in the video are given exposure to market their own brand. This benefits their careers. And obviously, the success of their careers can only be good exposure for Drag Race.

The RuPaul empire is able to act in this self-serving way because it has attracted an audience who always want more Drag Race content, more examples of sisterhood and more eleganza! Give the people what they want seems to be the motto. This takes various forms: Trixie Mattel and Katya have a webseries on the WOWPresents Youtube account, as do Raja Gemini and Raven. These shows are great because, not only do they give the fans more content from their favourite queens, but they reinforce Drag Race by partnering former contestants together. Raja and Raven’s show FASHION PHOTO RUVIEW is particularly clever, for its main purpose is to assess the fashion from the latest Drag Race. I mean, ‘RU-VIEW’ is a clear RuPaulism. What’s more (yes there’s more, so much more), previous contestants regularly promote each other on social media and often have club appearances together; the family is strong and people like to see this. Yet again, everything refers back to Drag Race and ultimately feeds back into the RuPaul machine.

This playful cross-sharing is entirely explicit, a self-awareness that reflects RuPaul’s shameless plugs. Many of the contestants release albums following their appearance on the show. The AllStars season 2 winner, Alaska Thunderf***’s recent album Poundcake thrives on mentions of Drag Race. The title of the album is a direct reference to a character that Alaska created during her first appearance on season 5. The song, ‘The T’ is saturated with references. The name of the song is a ubiquitous catchphrase from the series. The lyrics address Alaska’s win of AllStars 2 and mention various other contestants (including Alaska’s ex, Sharon Needles). The song also features Adore Delano, who appears in the video alongside other queens from that season: Tatianna, Coco Montrese, Katya, Ginger Minj, and Trixie Mattel (as well as Alaska’s mother who makes a brief appearance in AllStars 2). Queen Ru transcends all Drag Race related content. He, and therefore his illustrious brand image, are everywhere in the music video despite his physical absence.

Picture Credit- Google Images

What can we, as marketers, learn from Mother Ru? He has created a Drag Race universe by developing a memorable brand image that intrigues people. He recognised the potential beheld in this interest and continues to maximise the opportunity it presents, through the reinforcement of all things RuPaul and Drag Race related. Drag Race‘s strong and unique brand image is its ultimate selling point. All business professionals should adopt this philosophy: define your brand and make it the centre of all your endeavours. This will keep you focused and helps your brand image grow. We should not only regard RuPaul as a legend of both drag and the LGBT community, but also as a fierce, marketing genius.

creativetank.co.uk