Hasta La Ideas

Gone are the spokesmodels, pitchmen, and muses. Now they’re all “creative directors” with a piece of the financial action. And so it was that the recently reborn Polaroid brand returned to the Consumer Electronics Show with pop star Lady Gaga, its creative director, in tow. Friday saw the launch of Polaroid Grey Label, a new line of products that the company describes as reflecting “Polaroid’s long-standing tradition of innovation tracing back to founder Dr. Edwin Land and Lady Gaga’s mission to deliver products that enable creativity for all, celebrate artistry, and make sharing instantaneous across the physical and digital.”

Inaugurating the line are an instant digital camera and mobile printer that use Zink Imaging’s zero ink technology as well as sunglasses fitted with a built-in camera and lenses that double as LCD screens on which the wearer can display favorite images. “I consider myself to be a visionary, not just a songwriter and a singer. I am an artist,” said Gaga, in a statement issued by the company. “I brought my vision and love of fashion, technology, and obsession with the future into all of my work with Polaroid.” The industrial design brains behind the products is San Francisco-based Ammunition, led by Apple veteran Robert Brunner. “[Gaga] and her team are very respectful of what we do, there’s a lot of mutual respect,” he told PC Magazine. “There’s always a risk in pairing with celebrities because we don’t want to be that guy in the background making stuff at somebody’s whim. But working with Gaga has turned out to be exciting and fun.”

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