MEGHAN Markle’s mood board shows hidden signs she is returning to life before Harry, a branding expert has slammed.
The Duchess, 43, posted what appeared to be a vision board for her new lifestyle business, As Ever, with handwritten notes and never before seen pics.
A PR expert claimed Meghan is trying to return to life before she met Harry[/caption]
The Duchess shared her ‘Memory Lane’ mood board with cryptic hints about As Ever[/caption]
Meghan released information about her latest rebrand earlier this week[/caption]
The mum-of-two shared the image with her Instagram followers last night under the caption: “From memory lane to the memories I’m making today…”.
But PR expert Nick Ede labelled the move “cringey” and all “about Meghan” – and thinks it was staged by Netflix.
I don’t know how many people remember the Tig…she did create this brand, which was quite similar to the early days of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop, but never really got to as big as that
Nick Ede
He also believed the Duchess’ aim is to resurrect her original lifestyle blog The Tig – and pull in fans along with it.
The Tig was wildly successful when Meghan launched it in 2014 during her Suits era.
She garnered thousands of loyal readers with her beauty, food, travel, and fashion tips – but shut down the site in 2017 ahead of her marriage to Prince Harry.
Mr Ede told The Sun: “Memory Lane to her is not being part of the royal family.
“It’s not actually about her own family. It’s about the Tig which was her blog, which she did when she was doing Suits.
“She’s referencing that, she even has a little bit from the Tig on that mood board.
“There’s nothing to do with even a reference to Suits, her old job.
“Her memory Lane is pictures of her and Harry and their dog that sadly passed away. But it’s very much about her life, her life with Harry, and referencing a past life when she had a brand and I think that’s really what this is about.
“This is trying to sort of almost get, engage all the people who used to read the take to hopefully come back and be a part of the new Meghan brand.”
There was one drawing on the mood board titled ‘Signature Tig Cup’.
It has images of what appears to be mint, cucumber, grapefruit, lime and ice.
“Some of the little notices she’s put on there about love and my bum being bigger than my heart, they’re all references back to when she was on the Tig, because that’s got a Tig little motif on it,” Mr Ede added.
He continued: “This is sort of like an edit that she’s created of her moving forward, and what she wants people to sort of associate her with.
“It’s very sanitized. It’s not really about Harry. It’s not really about the royal family. It’s not really about her family, it’s about Meghan.”
But he added: “I don’t know how many people remember the Tig. To be honest it was something that she was very, very passionate about, and she did create this brand, which was quite similar to the early days of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop, but never really got to as big as that.
“And I think Megan has always wanted to really do that. So you know, when we talk about authenticity, this is what she’s trying to do.”
Mr Ede said he believes Meghan is trying to create her own version of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop[/caption]
Speaking of Meghan moving forward with As Ever, and how she wants to be perceived, the PR expert said “Netflix are very clever” in staging the marketing.
He continued: “I think Netflix are very clever in what they’re doing. I think they know that food is actually pretty well on their channel.
“They know that people enjoy watching lifestyle programs. But this is going to be really different.”
But, Mr Ede highlighted how fans have been hearing about the brand ever since hints were dropped under the previous name American Riviera Orchard.
Meg to be axed by Netflix in heartbeat if she can’t deliver
By Ryan Merrifield
MEGHAN Markle will be axed by Netflix in a heartbeat if she can’t deliver – as she finally stops using the royals to cash in, an expert has claimed.
The Duchess of Sussex’s new cookery show With Love, Meghan is set to launch on the streaming service next month – coinciding with her new lifestyle brand As Ever.
Royal author Hugo Vickers said the reaction to the recent trademarking issues and plagiarism row sparked by the last minute re-brand from American Riviera Orchard exemplify the “hostility” Meghan attracts.
It comes after the mayor of Porreres in Majorca said she is considering legal action over the duchess’ new logo apparently copying the town’s centuries’ old coat of arms.
And the owner of family-run New York-based clothing brand As Ever appealed to Meg to change the name to avoid him losing business.
Mr Vickers said many new brands experience teething issues, adding that “there’s almost nothing in the world that’s new”.
But said the reaction to Meg’s U-turn highlights how polarising she can be.
He said: “She’s bound to be just being attacked because people want to attack her, and maybe actually, they’re also jumping on the bandwagon.”
Mr Vickers said such bad publicity isn’t likely to upset Netflix because it will “presumably like any amount of publicity that this engenders, because it’ll get people to watch the show”.
“A company like Netflix wants value for money… they have to deliver,” he continued.
“I suspect that if it doesn’t work, then it’ll get axed like everything else, because that’s what happens in the commercial world. You sink or swim. It’s a tough world out there.
“I think in the end you have to come up with substance, and it’ll be interesting to see what sort of substance is produced by this programme.”
Since stepping down as working members of the Royal Family in 2020, Meg and Prince Harry have been criticised for monetising their regal ties.
However, the duchess’ latest Instagram post, a mood board alluding to the new cookery show, ignores the royals completely – despite her adding: “From memory lane to the memories I’m making today…”
Instead it features old quotes from her now-defunct blog The Tig, as well as a drawing of her, Prince Harry and her late dog Guy.
Referring to the lack of mentions of the royals and Meg’s own family or childhood, Mr Vickers said it was “rather wise of her to do that”, because it could have “backfired”.
“We know perfectly well that she doesn’t get on with her own family…” he continued.
“As for the royal family, well, she has to be very careful about using them.
“We know that she has that connection, and she’s very wise not to push it any further, because I think that’s backfired.
“So you know, to be fair to her, she’s starting to branch out in a new direction.”
Mr Vickers added: “It’s reinventing herself. And that’s what people do, and that’s in a way, I suppose what you you have to do if you’re going to be a celebrity.”
The name triggered a litany of stumbling blocks for the Duchess and her team so was ultimately scrapped.
Meghan has been revealing snippets of products, such as jam and dog biscuits, for nearly a year – but with no concrete items available on the market.
“It’s interesting to see if people are going to be fatigued by it already before it’s even out,” said Mr Ede.
“That’s one of the biggest issues with all of this.”
Meghan’s collage posted yesterday included sweet messages, inspirational quotes and a water colour painting of Harry and herself walking their late pooch Guy.
The investment here from Netflix and from herself, I think will prove that it will be, hopefully a big hit
Mr Ede
The Duchess previously shared a heartfelt tribute to her beloved dog early last month after his passing.
But fans were delighted to be shown the latest insight into Meg’s new venture – which she announced this week.
As Ever labels which appear to read ‘Raspberry Spread’ could also be seen pinned to the white framed corkboard.
There were four orange post-it notes scattered between professional photographs and sketches.
Another product hint could be luxury napkins, as fans spotted material cuttings embroidered with the As Ever logo.
There’s also a collection of artistic shots, from roses, to fruit, as well as some of black and white shots of Meghan herself.
She can be seen posing while taking a photograph in another image.
Some of her inspirational messages read: “Stay close to people who feel like sunshine”.
“I love you with all my butt. I would say heart but my butt is bigger,” read another.
A third said: “You cannot make everyone happy, you are not a jar of Nutella.”
“Not to spoil the ending for you, but everything is going to be okay,” and “Happiness looks gorgeous on you”, were also pinned up.
Other collage additions included a California 33 symbol, a smiley pancake face and a gift certificate to Chez Panisse Restaurant and Cafe in Berkley.
‘STAGED’
But Mr Ede believed the whole mood board was “staged” by Netflix as part of “a huge marketing plan”.
“I doubt whether Megan’s actually had very much to do with this,” he added and claimed it was “curated by a team of marketeers”.
“She’s becoming a proper influencer.”
“This is a way of marketing her brand. And it’s very interesting. You know, Megan’s got this personal Instagram site but she’s going to be using that to promote everything that she’s going to be doing, moving forward,” He added.
“This really is her shop window. So she’s going to be using this for those candid, inverted commas moments that she has talking about the change of name.
“But she’s also going to be using it with to promote her show. And so this is a prime example of that of this kind of cryptic mood board with little Easter eggs in there to get people excited to find out what’s more, what more is going to be on this show, and what Megan’s going to be bringing to market.
“But this is definitely, you know Meghan Markle, using her Instagram as a means of marketing.”
But Mr Ede told how he believes there is a lot pinned on As Ever and With Love, Meghan.
“There’s lots of things that she’s tried and tested, but they haven’t worked,” he continued.
“This is a prime example of a lot of people investing a lot of time and energy to make something work, and I think they all hope that this will be her saving grace.”
‘A BIG HIT’
However, the PR expert was confident Meghan’s show would attract excellent viewing ratings, and has the potential to do very well.
“I think Netflix know that all eyes are going to be on this show, and we’ve seen this with the increase of followers on Meghan’s Instagram,” he explained.
“So if you can equate that to eyeballs and viewers, then it’s going to have a lot of viewers when it first launches.
“All of us are going to be watching it, whether we like her or not, because we want to see this. As a you know, it’s probably the biggest clickbait we’ll get since the previous Meghan Markle documentary, so I think all eyes will be on it.
“I think it’s going to be further down the line when we work out, whether people want to carry on watching that show, whether people are watching more than one episode, whether they’re fatigued by it, and that’s where Netflix will have to work out whether their products that they’re going to be selling are going to sell.”
He added: “The investment here from Netflix and from herself, I think will prove that it will be, hopefully a big hit.”
But despite the marketing on her Instagram, Meghan hasn’t appeared on any TV interviews promoting her new venture.
The expert said you would expect to see a celebrity in her position on an evening talk show in the States, or perhaps on the Graham Norton sofa.
He suggested her PR team have kept her away from the screen because she is “such a polarizing character”.
“I was expecting her to be on things like Jennifer Hudson Show, etc. Kelly Clarkson Show, which are really safe spaces for anybody wanted to go on them, it’d be a really good way of her promoting what she’s doing. But maybe we’ll see that in the future,” he said,
Mr Ede added: “Megan is extremely careful, especially by switching on her Instagram and us seeing what she’s doing now.
“All of it is extremely well thought out. None of it is spontaneous, as she wants you to think it is, but none of it is.
“It feels like we don’t really get too much of her personality, only the one that we she wants us to see.”
Meghan Markle accused of copying logo for new lifestyle brand, As Ever
It has been claimed the Duchess of Sussex may have “copyright issues” after she announced her latest venture, As Ever.
Eagle-eyed fans have spotted similarities between her logo and the Coat of Arms of Porreres in Majorca.
Reddit users were quick to post the two designs side-by-side, showing both contain a palm tree and two birds.
Nick Ede, a brand and culture expert, told The Sun: “Yes the logo that she has used for the new brand As Ever is clearly very similar to the coat of arms for an area of Majorca.
“This is another brand set back as it looks like its been copied rather than a whole new brand identity created.
“This may potentially create copyright issues and a further headache for Meghan and her team.”
Picturesque shots of honey and jam from the As Ever site[/caption]
Meghan’s new Netflix show airs next month[/caption]
