Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Oprah and Ralph Today

I haven’t watched an episode of Oprah in a decade. I’m not really a television devotee and am generally not in televisionesque settings at 4pm EST. But I will be today because I am a devotee of Ralph. Yep…that Ralph…the one who is a sitting duck for pot-shots from almost any camp. The one who waltzed through Brooks Brothers, L.L. Bean and London forty-five years ago and then manifested  an unparalleled aspirational lifestyle retail strategy. His is an entrepreneurial journey for the record books and I’ll not want to miss his visit with Oprah.
But it’s Oprah. And don’t get me wrong, I love Oprah too. Hers is also an entrepreneurial journey for the record books. I met Oprah years ago, on the set of The Color Purple. It was one hundred degrees the day they filmed the scene above. And I watched them do this take at least ten times. But back to Ralph. I bet there won’t be too many tough questions as they gander about in Ralph’s world. Oprah probably won't press him too much and that’s ok. Ralph’s a very private guy who orchestrates and controls as much of the access and subsequent imaging and reportage about him and his brand as possible.
I once sat in his private office in the old Polo Ralph Lauren headquarters. He wasn't there and we’d all have gotten in trouble I bet, if he’d walked in. Don’t tell anybody.

Onward. With Ralph and Oprah at 4pm EST. ADG II

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