Media Blitz
Rule 69 sifts through all the PR and marketing crap – so you don’t have to
The French are the undisputed champions of intellectual onanism. But when it comes to design wankery, nobody beats the Italians. For the people who gave us the Roman empire and spaghetti bolognese, things have to look good, even though they might not work so well.
The team at Ferrari is building a monster, 100-foot foiling offshore yacht they call the “Hypersail”. (That’s a computer rendering of it of it, above.) The thing – which they describe as “an open innovation platform” – will have five appendages. But that’s just technical stuff.
What really seems to matter to the spruikers at Maranello is how it will look. They’ve just churned out a lengthy media release that’s entirely devoted to the livery. Here’s a selection from their breathless prose:
“Born from a creative process in which the aesthetic language of the company meets the most advanced offshore sailing technology, the project highlights the increasingly deep connection between design, innovation and performance. Diverse expertise merges into a collective process to redefine the boundaries of what is possible and achieve a synthesis of engineering and style.”
Yadda yadda yadda. At least we can all assume that the boat livery will be in traditional Ferrari red, with the black prancing horse logo on a canary yellow background. But no!
“The chosen chromatic response is Giallo Fly, a shade of yellow steeped in narrative legacy. Giallo Fly first appeared on the 275 GTB. In the context of Hypersail, the Giallo Fly with the name “Fly” creates a seamless linguistic link with the vessel’s foiling nature.
“In this innovative project, the interplay between Grigio Hypersail and the iconic Giallo Fly creates an aesthetic that is both cohesive and functional, strongly expressing the brand’s DNA…” etc, etc, etc.
Hey guys, we’re not re-creating the Mona Lisa here. It’s just a paint job!
