Banana Republic and Bon Appétit Team Up for Summer Content Campaign

Clothing retailer Banana Republic and food magazine Bon Appétit have come together on a collaborative dining out campaign. Dubbed “Desk to Dinner,” it will promote clothes that can be worn at the office and dinner, as well as the “foodie lifestyle.”

“Editors of the magazine will create content like restaurant reviews for a Desk to Dinner section of the Banana Republic Web site that is to go live next Monday,” writes The New York Times’ Stuart Elliott.  “There will be links in the reviews to the OpenTable Web site, so readers of the reviews can, if so inclined, book reservations.”

Next week, the campaign will be kicked off with “print ads, direct mail, e-mail, digital content and social media like Facebook, Twitter and an Open Table blog, Dining Check,” according to Elliott.

For Banana Republic, which once produced a clothing line inspired by AMC’s “Mad Men,” this is the first time it will be working with a food publication.

“What you’re wearing is part of the experience, and what you’re eating is part of the experience,” said vice president and publisher of Bon Appétit Pamela Drucker Mann, in an interview with the Times. “The culture of food, of going out, is a huge part of the work experience.”

Eater’s Paula Forbes predicts that there may be “restaurant-specific fashion advice” on the OpenTable blog, which will tell customers what sort of outfits to wear to the different restaurants. She points out that other brands have marketed with restaurants, including Brooklyn’s Marlow and Sons, as well as Uniqlo.