Fashion houses new tactic: celebrity brand sabotage with gifted bags

Forget just chasing down the most popular celeb around and gifting them with free stuff, hoping that your branded bag will find it's way to the limelight of paparazzi-flashes while clutched by the likes of Madonna, Taylor Swift, Taylor Momsen or lady Gaga. Brands give away free swag to top ten celebs and reality TV celebs, wanna-be-celebs and dramatic pop star celebs, and now brands are torpedoing each other by giving Snooki their competitors branded bags. Because nothing says tacky like the queen of pouf-dos in Jersey Shore. At least according to the rumors in this Observer article.

Allegedly, the anxious folks at these various luxury houses are all aggressively gifting our gal Snookums with free bags. No surprise, right? But here's the shocker: They are not sending her their own bags. They are sending her each other's bags! Competitors' bags!
Call it what you will — "preemptive product placement"? "unbranding"? — either way, it's brilliant, and it makes total sense. As much as one might adore Miss Snickerdoodle, her ability to inspire dress-alikes among her fans is questionable. The bottom line? Nobody in fashion wants to co-brand with Snooki.

I pray that nobody ever gifts Snooki a Hemes Kelly bag. Just don't, that would be cruel.