With the holiday shopping season at its peak right now, Payless is proving once and for all that, for some people, the name of a brand means way more than the value of the item itself. Need proof? See how the discount shoe retailer was able to trick “fashion elitists” into buying marked-up footwear by simply changing the name of the brand.
Going from Payless ShoeSource to a more Parisian fashion house-sounding “Palessi,” the brand posed as a former Armani store in Los Angeles and threw a launch event attended by a room filled with influencers. With a little gift of gab, Palessi was able to sell footwear for $200, $400 and even $600, with the shoes actually being sold at the real Payless for $20.
In a report from AdWeek, Payless under the guise of Palessi sold $3,000 worth of product, but of course gave the customers their money back after finally revealing the prank. Now this is what you call trolling done to perfection!