Lululemon Loses Its Mind

Lululemon, a giant brand on the yoga scene has been known for provocative advertising. From their Ombama campaign to their bold intention ads. They have never shied away from controversy.

But, have they gone too far this time?

Their new “Say No To Camel Toe” campaign tries to be a bold, brutally honest call it like we see it kind of effort, but is it? Depends on who you ask. One thing is for certain, there has been backlash. Which may be the real point.

With backlash comes the inevitable buzz and media exposure as we blog and tweet and chat about online, at our local shalas and among our friends. Maybe that’s the true idea? Clothing is a huge part of the booming yoga industry. An industry that netted over $5.7 billion in 2008 according to Yoga Journal. That’s an increase of  87% over 2004 numbers.

Of course this issue has been discussed among female yogis, but do we need to talk about it in a campaign? Do women want this spilled out into the pages of Yoga Journal or Yoga+ magazine? What would a male equivalent be? Can you imagine that? Would you even want to?

Either way, the yoga industry is booming and the largely affluent yoga demographic continues to gobble up mats and other essential gear in pursuit of yoga bliss and some sort of balance in an world that seems increasingly out of balance.