I walked past KK Outlet the other day on a leisurely stroll through Hoxton Square, I went in because they were advertising dolphin meat and I am nosy. I was intrigued, I had never noticed it before and I couldn't figure out what it was: shop/gallery/tardis? Entering the store didn't really clarify the situation until I picked up the handy brochure on the cash desk.
I was immediately enlightened and irritated. The booklet answers the obviously frequently asked question "What is KK Outlet?" by explaining it as a "multifunctional office combining a communications agency with a retail store and gallery space." It then goes on to discuss the advertising campaigns Kessels Kramer have been involved in and why they are successful.
I have to say that I am not happy about this at all. I do not want to be confronted with an explanation about my own stupidity and susceptibility to advertising when I am shopping. This is why evil advertisers stay in tall glass office blocks and shops stay in Hoxton Square, combining the two is a great and evil deed.
The problem is, the retail side of this business basically consists of a few token offerings; sparsely laid out artists books and photo journals, that kind of thing. The gallery is more a collection of random photos and images normally seen in graphic design offices and the office, well, why is it there? Its all one big advert and I find it extremely sinister. Especially with a name like that; its one K short of being very scary indeed. Having said that, as a shop it is pretty rubbish, but as an advertising campaign, it's genius. read more