Clothing
Here’s a recipe for an annoying commercial: take all unpleasant stereotypes known to man (and woman) and mix in a predictable plot.
For extra credit, make the commercial really, really, really long.
That just about sums up the strategy that is apparently at work in JCPenney’s new holiday campaign, "Beware of the Doghouse."
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In a new ad campaign for Levi’s 501 jeans, a man and a woman slowly make their way up a darkened stairwell, simultaneously unbuttoning their jeans and debunking a series of little white lies they’ve apparently been telling each other all evening.
He’s not really in a band. She doesn’t really work for a label. And so on, until the woman finally admits, "This isn’t really my apartment." At that point, the guy looks briefly at a series of family photos that are clearly not hers, before they solve that particular problem by turning out the lights.
Of course, there are those who will disavow "Secrets and Lies" for promoting sex with strangers, and perhaps, lying. But seen another way, the ad isn’t just entertaining; it’s also uplifting.
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| Levi's |
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A few months back, Hanes struck just the right note with an advertising campaign featuring glamorous yet goofy actress Sarah Chalke publicly doing battle with a wedgie, before discovering Hanes’ "no ride-up" panty.
Now, Hanes is taking on the other sex. A new campaign features sitcom actor Charlie Sheen in full fanboy mode, hoping to impress basketball legend Michael Jordan. His method is questionable, however: upon seeing the star at an exclusive club, he immediately starts bragging about the "no ride-up" boxer briefs he’s wearing.
In the process of trying to show Jordan his underwear -- while driving in reverse -- Sheen manages to slam into a valet stand. A bemused Jordan looks on.
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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 |
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Say the name Dr. Scholl’s and most people think of sensible shoes, somewhat embarrassing foot ailments and other not-so-sexy connotations. That’s a hard reputation to beat, but evoking table dancing may be taking things too far.
A recent ad for the foot comfort company shows model Yaya DaCosta, a contestant from "America’s Next Top Model," doing what appears to be some sort of sexy dance (although it may be the chicken dance gone awry) on something that looks like a cross between a desk and a stage.
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| Dr. Scholl’s |
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Earth Day is meant to be a time to think about the how we can preserve our planet for future generations. But corporations, hip to the idea that green has become the new black, have hit on another purpose: it’s an excellent peg for selling more stuff.
This April 22, why help your young daughter do something boring like plant a tree or start a compost bin? Instead, you can hop in your gas guzzler and drive on over Toys ‘R’ Us, which is selling a limited edition Barbie “BCause” line of accessories made from leftover fabric and trimmings that, Barbie maker Mattel says, would normally be thrown away.
The tote bags, diaries and other items are being launched “just in time to celebrate Earth Day in style,” according to Mattel’s promotional materials.
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It’s not easy selling underwear.
Companies aiming to get customers into their underthings have to walk the fine line between becoming too sexy for themselves - a misstep Victoria’s Secret recently acknowledged - and getting too deep into the decidedly unsexy engineering behind undergarments (how much do we really want to think about bra fittings, after all?)
Hanes is aiming to find a happy - and humorous - medium with a new series of ads that tries, in a silly but sexy way, to sell a pair of underwear guaranteed not to give you a wedgie.
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| Hanes |
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In the newest ad for Levi’s 501 jeans, a guy opens up a box and takes out a new pair of jeans. As he pulls the pants on, the entire street below him magically rises into his apartment as well - carrying with it an attractive stranger who happens to be standing in a nearby phone booth. The two exchange a meaningful look and walk off into the night, arms touching flirtatiously.
If you’re like a lot of people, you’ll immediately think: Wait, who uses a pay phone anymore? But what’s really likely to get people’s attention is that the stranger in the phone booth is a woman in one version of this ad and a man in another.
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