Lady Gaga’s biggest fans still remember that she was pretty busy promoting Polaroid’s products in the early 2010s. Was she doing it because she owns this company?
Lady Gaga isn’t the owner of Polaroid Corporation. This company was originally founded in 1937, and the pop singer only joined it as the creative director in 2010. She tried to help Polaroid raise their profile in the era of digital photography until their professional relationship ended in 2014.
Stick around to learn more about Lady Gaga’s partnership with Polaroid.
Partnership with Polaroid
Polaroid’s instant cameras have been around for decades, but this brand struggled to stay relevant at the turn of the century. Polaroid Corporation declared bankruptcy in 2001 and once again in 2008, when it was announced they’ll stop production of instant films and cameras.
This announcement came as a shocker for many fans of the brand, and Polaroid was desperate to win people back. In 2010, Lady Gaga became their celebrity spokesperson and tried to help the brand reinvent itself in the era of digital photography.
She came on board as Polaroid’s creative director and inventor of specialty projects and said that she’s proud to join forces with this brand and extend herself behind the scenes as a designer.
“The Haus of Gaga has been developing prototypes in the vein of fashion/technology/photography innovation, blending the iconic history of Polaroid and instant film with the digital era,” said the singer in a statement.
Lady Gaga showed her devotion to Polaroid by placing their cameras in the music video for her Beyoncé collaboration “Telephone”. She also documented her daily life through instant pictures for a feature in V Magazine called “A Gaga Journal”.
Her collaboration with Polaroid didn’t end there, and she introduced several new products while working with the brand. She kicked things off with the instant mobile printer Polaroid Grey Label, which can be connected to smartphones via Bluetooth.
Lady Gaga also introduced an instant digital camera and visionary camera glasses, but this product was never officially released. She also rocked a pair of Polaroid sunglasses at the NYC Pride in 2019, so it seems she stayed devoted to this brand even after their professional relationship ended.
Some people felt that Lady Gaga and Polaroid are a match made in heaven, but not everyone agreed. Kanye West slammed their partnership in an interview with Zane Lowe by saying, “I like some of the Gaga songs – what the f—k does she know about cameras?”
Going Separate Ways
Lady Gaga helped Polaroid step into the digital era, but their partnership wasn’t meant to last forever. In 2014, PRWeek revealed that she no longer serves as Polaroid’s creative director.
PRWeek discussed her departure with Melissa Hoistion, a representative of Polaroid’s PR firm, R&J Public Relations. She confirmed that this brand stopped working with Lady Gaga but failed to disclose when or why.
Hoistion added that Polaroid “greatly appreciates Lady Gaga’s ability to channel her unique vision into products that emphasize self-expression, originality, sharing, and artistry.” They haven’t employed another celebrity to represent the brand after her departure.
A Learning Lesson
Polaroid is not the only brand that Lady Gaga teamed up with over the years. She also joined forces with Tiffany & Co, Tudor, Versace, Heartbeats, and Virgin Mobil – to name a few.
What made her collaboration with Polaroid different than any other was her active role in the product development process. Brand’s president Scott Hardy described her as “a close part of the working team” and said she won’t just be a celebrity figure in their advertisement campaigns.
It’s been years since Lady Gaga parted ways with Polaroid, but their working relationship was certainly a valuable learning lesson. After collaborating with numerous other brands, the singer finally decided to start her own.
Haus Laboratories was originally introduced as a perfume brand in 2012, but she later decided to use the same name for her vegan beauty line. It launched exclusively on Amazon in 2019 and features a wide range of makeup products at relatively affordable prices.