Sad Girl Autumn and Why We're All Seeing RED
Are you a “lonely Starbucks lover”? Well, you’re not alone…
‘Tis the season for sad girls everywhere (or happy girls who love sad music), because we’re being gifted with album release after album release, promo after promo, and all-around glorious content from pop powerhouses Taylor Swift and Adele this fall. These gifts come in the form of two incredible albums — one reimagined and one brand-new — both of which garnered 5-star reviews from Rolling Stone’s Rob Sheffield (and both of which have been dubbed by the internet as “breakup albums”).
Before I gush too much over the music that we all know is masterful, I’m really here to talk about “Taylor Swift: Marketing Genius”. The woman, the myth, the legend has spent her career really listening to and knowing her fans (#neverforget Tumblr Tay-lurking) and the “Red (Taylor’s Version)” rollout has been a truly incredible example of the type of inside jokes she has built with her massive community, of which I am a proud member.
Let me present three core examples of exactly what we Taylor fans are all loving so much.
Everything’s ‘All Too Well’
The 10-minute version. The scarf lore. The sad 10-minute version. The short film. The SNL performance. Need I go on?
Widely considered the best song Swift has written (so far), “All Too Well” has been somewhat of a core fan secret over the years. This is namely due to the fact that it was never released as a single and is often a surprise feature on Swift set lists. All that is changing with the release of “Red (Taylor’s Version)” and fans — and now the world — are ready for it. Is this Swift going for a revenge Grammy for OG “Red”? Maybe. Is it still brilliant? Heck yes.
For even more on “All Too Well”, The New York Times said it best.
Starbucks + Red Cups
Embracing the term basic (and what many haters probably refer to her and her fans as) on a whole new level, Taylor went in hard on the red theme in the rollout of this re-release by partnering with another famously red-colored brand this time of year: Starbucks. Beyond the red cups of it all and the album title, the partnership adds new meaning to “Taylor’s Version” by allowing fans to order her signature drink from the coffee chain. Plus, all true Swifties cannot help but consider this partnership yet another re-release Easter egg from the star, given the famously misheard line from “1989”. More on that next.
Easter Egg Hunting
If you are even vaguely aware of Swift, it’s likely that you have some familiarity with her tendency to tease fans ahead of announcements. This approach began way back when she would capitalize random letters in her album liner lyrics. Those letters would then spell out a phrase that added context or meaning to each song.
The most famous example of this teasing — at least recently — are the “Not a lot going on at the moment.” Instagram posts in 2020 ahead of the surprise releases of “folklore” and “evermore”.
And now we have the “Red (Taylor’s Version)” music videos and TikToks. I’m not going to go into all the theories because media have extensively covered it, so I will just say that it’s a tactic I am here for and may have to figure out how to use with a brand one day…