At a time when retailers, and especially department stores, are struggling with a weak economy and fickle shoppers, JCPenney has lately been pulling out all the stops with pretty, musically interesting and eye-catching ads for its American Living line.
Now, it’s switching gears -- in the wrong direction -- with a back-to-school campaign that plays off the 1985 cult classic movie "The Breakfast Club."
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| JCPenney |
Here’s the first problem with the campaign: "The Breakfast Club" came out 23 years ago, several years before this season’s back-to-school shoppers were even born. While it can be fun to go retro, we have to wonder whether some people who see the ad simply won’t get the reference.
Second, JCPenney apparently doesn’t truly get the reference, either. The core message of "The Breakfast Club" -- that it’s OK to be weird and different, and that, in fact, most people are weird and different at heart -- goes squarely against the idea of going to a big department store and buying mass-produced clothes that make you look just like every other kid in America.
We recognize that it's often an advertiser's job to co-opt popular culture for their own sales pitch, but seriously, is nothing sacred?
Of course, in JCPenney’s version of "The Breakfast Club," the characters are not weird, quirky and strange-looking at all. Instead, they are normal, trendy and strikingly beautiful, no Ally Sheedy-type makeover required. (Actually, the ad does include one such makeover, but the model was cute to begin with and doesn’t look very different after it’s done.)
Another major theme of the "The Breakfast Club" -- feeling alienated from one’s parents --also is apparently lost on the marketers at JCPenney. Instead, a corporate marketing executive, Mike Boylson, said one reason the company used the 1980s-era movie is because "we recognize the importance of delivering a marketing campaign that's relevant to today's teens, yet approachable to Mom."
On the surface, that makes sense -- Mom does have the credit card, or at least pay the credit card bill, and perhaps kids these days can find common ground with their parents in celebrating the bygone era.
But still, the idea of using "The Breakfast Club" to bond with your parents, rather than your peers? Cue the Molly Ringwald eye roll.
The ad does have one thing going for it, however: It resurrects one of the great pop songs of our time, Simple Minds’ "Don’t You Forget About Me." While we’d rather have seen the song used in a better ad, at least it gives us something catchy to hum along with.
Click here to watch the ad, and click here to see an elaborate Internet campaign. Or if, like us, the ad just really made you want to see the original movie again, click here to watch the real trailer.
