MEGHAN Markle’s rebrand is the “worst ever” and an “unexploded bomb” could be “a catastrophe”, slammed royal experts.
The Duchess of Sussex, 43, shared the latest reinvention of herself with Instagram followers this week and announced As Ever.
Meghan made the announcement in an Instagram video[/caption]
The Duchess released a first look into the brand with her vision board[/caption]
The As Ever website features a picture of Meghan’s rarely seen daughter Lilibet[/caption]
Her lifestyle brand, formerly named American Riviera Orchard, is set to roll out jams, dog biscuits, and napkins – but most products still remain a mystery.
Matt Wilkinson spoke to The Sun’s legendary royal photographer Arthur Edwards and royal correspondent Jack Royston.
This needs to be it, and at the moment it just doesn’t feel to me that jam can live up to the amount of pressure that she’s putting on it
Jack Royston
Speaking on the Sun Royal Exclusive show, Mr Wilkinson highlighted the “plagiarism” claims over Meghan’s logo and how two small businesses with the same name have since come forward.
“It’s the worst re brand ever,” he blasted.
Mr Royston chimed in and agreed: “I think the biggest unexploded bomb here for Meghan is this company in New York.
“The Spanish town is embarrassing, they’re saying it looks like Meghan has ripped off their logo, it’s a bit awkard.
“But they’re not trading on the American market so there’s no way I don’t think they can actually sink this rebrand.
“But this company in New York, if they file a legal challenge and say ‘we are As Ever, you’re going to sink us’ because she will bury them on Google, and if she is forced to change the name again – that’s disaster levels of catastrophe for her.
“You can rebrand once and people will say ‘okay, it’s a bit awkward’ but twice and it will just look like a failure.
Arthur Edwards added: “I think she should do her homework before these things. She’s already upset the small island of Majorca.
“Everything she’s doing, she’s not thought it through or researched it.”
After The Sun’s royal editor highlighted numerous ventures of Meghan’s that flopped, from her Spotify podcast to a children’s Netflix cartoon, Mr Edwards added: “She’s good at failure.”
Mr Royston echoed: “This needs to be it, and at the moment it just doesn’t feel to me that jam can live up to the amount of pressure that she’s putting on it.
“She’s tied it all to her Netflix show so the two things will either fly or fail together.
He added: “I can’t see for the life of me why she didn’t just do a Suits re-boot.
“Acting is what first forged a relationship between Meghan and the American people and Suits has had a wild run recently, it’s been so successful.”
This comes after Meghan revealed the name of her new brand, As Ever, in an Instagram video this week.
Yesterday, the Duchess posted what appeared to be a vision board for her new lifestyle business, with handwritten notes and never before seen pics.
But a PR pro claimed it was “staged” by Netflix and the mum-of-two is trying to resurrect her life before Harry.
Expert Nick Ede labelled the move “cringey” and all “about Meghan”.
He 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.”
There was one drawing on the mood board titled ‘Signature Tig Cup’.
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.”
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.
“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.”
Meanwhile, the Duchess has now been called out twice from another As Ever business.
Owner of Arizona-based As Ever Photography, Jen, took to Instagram to express her opinion on the awkward name match, tagging both Meghan and Netflix in the cryptic post.
It comes after another small business owner expressed fears he is powerless to act after Meghan used his brand’s name.
Mark Kolski, 58, was stunned after the former Suits actress broadcast her news as he has been running a “one-man band” New York-based clothing company with the same name for the past seven years.
Speaking to The Sun he said he is refusing to change his company’s title and “exploring all possibilities”.
Fans were quick to spot the As Ever design was astonishingly similar to the Coat of Arms of Porreres in Majorca.
The logo incorporates a palm tree as a nod to the couple’s home in Montecito, while the two hummingbirds are said to be a favourite of Prince Harry’s.
The Duke claimed he saw a hummingbird after the death of Queen Elizabeth.
The shape enclosing the birds and tree was designed to “create a unique and personal emblem”.
Meghan’s lifestyle brand had originally been called American Riviera Orchard, a nickname for where she grew up in Santa Barbara.
But this had sparked several trademark issues, as previously reported.
And, this is not the first time Meghan has faced allegations of plagiarism in her new ventures.
The Duchess was accused of copying recipes and Princess Kate’s beekeeping in her new Netflix show.
With Love, Meghan, which airs on March 4, will consist of eight 33 minute episodes featuring a host of Meg’s various Hollywood friends trying her simple, yet “elevated”, food.
The Duchess’ team were contacted for comment.
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.”
