by matt low
While perusing a sports website the other day, my eyes fell upon a banner ad that I just couldn’t ignore. It featured a classically creepy-looking mannequin seated at a dinner table with a human female. The headline read, “Free up your schedule with a stand-in.” The advertiser was the JCPenney Men’s Store. I was immediately skeptical of the video I was prompted to watch by a “Watch the video” command in the corner of the banner ad due to the fact that the only link between the merchant and this obviously fake service they were endorsing is that they have mannequins in their physical stores. However, the look on the mannequin’s face got the better of me and I obeyed the banner ad’s direction.
At the campaign site, I was treated to a video of a woman in a restaurant having her wine glass filled. But the filling doesn’t stop. The wine goes all over the table, creating a terrible mess. It is revealed that the pourer was the mannequin featured in the banner ad – no surprises there. Then came the payoff. “It’s fantasy football. Real life can wait.”
Okay, fine, I get it.
This woman’s husband is so into fantasy football, he has secretly replaced himself at a dinner date with his wife in mid-wine pour (mannequin can’t pick up wine bottles) with a mannequin. But what does JCPenney have to do with fantasy football? Luckily, this was just one video in a series, so maybe collectively they made sense.
Wrong.
Each video (there are actually seven of these things, with more on the way) opens with a headline. One is actually directly related to fantasy football, though there was still no clue as to how JCPenney is. Others, such as, “Walking the dog a drag? Get a stand-in.” and “Sometimes parenting stinks. Get a stand-in.” manage to confuse the issue even further. So, wait, am I getting a stand-in because I don’t like doing certain chores around the house, like walking the dog or changing a diaper, or am I getting a stand-in because I need more time to dedicate to fantasy football? And what does JCPenney have to do with fantasy football again?
My head hurts.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the single most bizarre ad in this campaign. It features a headline at the open that reads, “The honeymoon is so over. Get a stand-in.” We then see our friend in bed reading a book about marriage (upside down!) next to an aggravated human female.
What?
To put it mildly, this effort is a mess from top to bottom. The only redeeming quality is the sometimes amusing sight of a mannequin performing daily tasks (in one episode, he gets burned by a backyard grill – funny!). That is, if the campaign can be redeemed at all. And as I’m still unsure as to the point of the whole thing, does it even deserve redemption?
Find out for yourself at http://www.jcpbrands.com/fantasyfootball/index.html?vid=7&cm_mmc=Event-_-MensContinuity-_-ESPN_HP_1015-_-728x90. (That kind of says it all.)
I agree matt, but the basic idea is fun. just a convoluted execution.
Posted by: jeff pappalardo | October 17, 2007 at 05:18 PM