Kohl's and JCPenney Will Make You Cry

When it comes to TV commercials, I don't have the time. I'm off to grab a snack, fold laundry--anything but watch 30 to 60 seconds of someone telling me I can't live without their product or service. But lately, two apparel retailers have been stopping me dead in my tracks, as I stare at the television in absolute awe. The new Kohl's commercial actually stopped me mid-bite. And nothing gets between me and my food. Until now.

Soft blue colors, gorgeous clothes, Ben Lee crooning "We're All in This Together" drew me in. Suddenly, I had chills. My eyes misted with tears. I wasn't being told to buy anything, I was being invited into a lifestyle where the sky is perfectly blue, the hair is neatly coiffed and the clothes are worn effortlessly (and don't even need to be pressed!). Little children giggle, and the adults are at ease. I want to live there! Thankfully, via YouTube, I can watch this masterpiece again and again.

JCPenney's American Living commercial elicits the same kind of response from me. I can't even talk when this commercial comes on--I shush everyone in the room. It's more subtle than the Kohl's ad, because I don't even notice the clothes. Yeah, it looks a bit like summer in the Hampton's (very Ralph Lauren), but the rest reminds me of growing up, falling in love and laughing with my family. And how cute is the little girl in the red boots stepping on her birthday cake? I mean, seriously. By the end, I'm pulling out the Kleenex. I'm sure Alison Krauss and Robert Plant's version of "Killing the Blues" isn't helping. Don't believe me? Check out YouTube and you'll also find yourself suspended in time, smiling and covered in goose bumps.

Pure genius. Kohl's and JCPenney are employing the same tactics that have made Apple and Nike successful for so long--using a combination of beautiful imagery and music to sell a lifestyle (that just happens to be donning their product). I'm convinced that the success of these commercials is all in the song choice, because it dramatically takes you to whatever you're being shown visually.

Yay Kohl's and JCPenney! I would love to see more retailers employ these advertising methods-- it's not about sales and shoving a product down someone's throat; it's about making people feel something so overwhelming that they can't help but fall in love with your product. And then, tell everyone about it. In a blog.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to shop at my two new favorite stores...

What do you think of the commercials? Have examples of other retailers who are using commercials to connect with the public? Send them my way!

--Heather Strang

Comments

[Ron Knoth]

Dear Vis Chick,

I think you missed the point. It isn't anti-social behavior. There is charm in the image (symbol) of a small child stepping on her birthday cake, squashing time, insteading of delicately blowing it out. The action suggests contol, not chance. The adults around her have put her up to it, they are encouraging her. The red rain boots reiterate classic symbolism, think of Dororthy Gale's red shoes in the Wizard of Oz, or Hans Christian Anderson's "The Red Slippers" The red rain boots are defiant and empowering. Get a grip. I love it. I can wait till November so that I can step on my cake too. A new tradition is born!

[vis_chick]

That kid stepping on her birthday in the JC Penney commerical is not cute. How can you think that is cute? It is just another example of how commericals (and some tv shows i.e. MTV) keep promoting terrible behavior for kids. That was not cute nor did my mom think that was cute. What is cute about that?? As far as commericals that should stop you in your tracks you should be looking at the Target commericals. They are continually the best done ones on tv as far as promoting what they are selling in a great visual manner and style. Their advertising frim deserves great reconition for their efforts. Not some cut rate commerical from JC Penney with some kid stepping on her own birthday cake and people thinking "Oh how great is that" What are you kidding me!

[Tex]

I've too been sucked into these commercials.
They worked....got me to into both chains.
Too bad the in-store experience completely missed the mark. You can't create customer expectation, then fail to deliver at retail.
Who else remembers "The Softer Side of Sears?

[Ron Knoth]

She is a suburban housewife, mousey brown ringlets frame her pasty face. She is wearing her reading glasses. She is wearing a cardigan over a print dress. She is in line, at the checkout counter, and handed her receipt. She smiles obligingly to the checker. She scrutinizes the sales receipt for errors. She stops dead in her track. Something is gravely wrong. She is immobilized. She realizes that she has been woefully undercharged, prices (even at IKEA) cannot possible be that low. She peers to her side to see if the security camera is following her. She scurries out of the store with a trail of dust behind her. We hear her scream "Get the car!" Her nebishy husband even more bland than she is, is roused from his cat nap behind the wheel. We hear her yell again "Get in the car!!!" She raises her hand to the car roof to keep her in place as the car careens out of the parking lot like a scene out of "Bonnie and Clyde". She triumphantly yells "Whooo!" It's so funny, so dead pan, so in keeping with what IKEA is about. The commercial is so successful and memorable that I don't recollect what show I was watching.