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!
Watch “The Payless Experiment” video above, and let us know much you would’ve paid for some of these shoes, or better yet if you would’ve given the money back! Sound off over on our Twitter and Facebook!
