I stumbled across a post on Fast Company’s blog about Calvin Klein’s new fragrance. Written by an authentic GenY-er, the post makes an excellent point about how tragically wrong the branding of this fragrance went. The article that got him on his hysterical Gen Y rant appeared in the New York Times Thursday Styles.

Before I launch into my own hysterical marketing rant ….. I can appreciate CK’s desperation to create a new “hit” fragrance. I mean, CK One (THE fragrance in my youth), which pulled 90 million yearly in its prime is now collecting only a third of that. They need a new hit fragrance.

The article talks about the grass-roots market research the company did; eventually leading to the trademark of (brace yourself) “TECHNOSEXUAL” to describe its target audience of “casual hookup” text messengers. Ouch. Maybe they didn’t do their homework. This same word has in the past been used to describe people who are “attracted” to machinery. (Yikes!) In the end, this intensive research yielded “in2U” … a play on GenY’s abbreviated text communication.

What is painfully obvious is how incredibly out of touch CK was when they began this initiative. Honestly … in2U? Yes, technology has advanced quickly. Yes, GenY uses text and instant messages and social media more than any generation before them. And, yes all marketers will have to respond to this shift. But, I don’t think it means patronizing their lifestyle with SILLY advertising.

Yes Silly. The article says: “A typical line from the press materials for CK in2u goes like this: ‘She likes how he blogs, her texts turn him on. It’s intense. For right now.’” Bleeeeh.

Off my rant, I have to give CK some positive marks for recognizing they need to address this audience with relevant branding. But ask any GenY-er and they’ll tell you they want nothing more than to get away from blatant advertising, let alone be the obnoxious target of it. They like to feel like they’ve uncovered their own brands and then spread it around with their peeps. Get it? Think Scion. Talk about underground marketing with a HUGE GenY following.

BUT. You never know …. I have not heard their online strategy. If they are able to effectively (quietly) infiltrate social media, they just might create a following. Because one thing is true in technology, and certainly with GenY, it’s always changing. CK might just be able to crack this egg if they can put themselves in the right places, even if the messaging is “wrong.”