JCPenney back in the doghouse once again
JCPenney had some success last year with its Beware of the Doghouse holiday campaign. Yes, the Web site got millions of views. But I knew it had broken through when my father-in-law sent me the link, along with the message, "Too FUNNY!!!" So, naturally, Penney and Saatchi & Saatchi are back with an encore: Return to the Doghouse. The clip below is basically a replay of last year's video, featuring guys who've bought their wives and girlfriends crappy, insulting gifts (vacuum cleaners, gym memberships, etc.) and so they get thrown in the doghouse, which leads to an underground tunnel where they have to fold laundry and face all-female tribunals for parole hearings. Same setting, same actors, even some of the exact same jokes—and it will probably get the same impressive amount of traffic. —Posted by Tim Nudd
Previously on AdFreak: |
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Published on November 23, 2009 | Permalink
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JC Penney earns own spot in the doghouse
JC Penney this week rolled out just what the world needs: another Flash microsite for the holidays. I have to look at so many microsites that my expectations are never high. Still, some do stand out—the ones that make me wonder why anyone in their right mind would spend time there. "Beware of the Doghouse" is one of those sites. First, upon arriving at the site, it tells me my browser isn't good enough. You know what, JC Penney, it is. Next, there's an intro video to sit through—nearly five minutes of painful setup to the site's "idea." Which is: Men are doofuses—shocking that advertising would portray them that way—and get women dumb holiday gifts, even vacuum cleaners. They are then banished to a mythical doghouse until they buy their way out. Get it? Hey, it worked for Kobe. JC Penney employs an eye-rolling user-generated approach by letting visitors put men in the doghouse. (There's a techie twist with one of the earliest uses of Facebook Connect, which lets visitors check if their friends are in the doghouse. None of mine are, it seems.) How to get out? Diamonds! Men simply need to buy their ladies the three-stone ring, journey pendant or diamond studs—from JC Penney, conveniently enough. Saatchi & Saatchi and Razorfish boldly take credit for this. —Posted by Brian Morrissey |
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Published on December 5, 2008 | Permalink
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JC Penney, you're a bit too old for the club
So, JC Penney's new back-to-school campaign by Saatchi & Saatchi has been out for a little while, and the whole thing is ripped right from The Breakfast Club (the nicer word for rip-off is “homage”). The major differences: a little more ethnicity and a new version of “Don’t You (Forget About Me).” I was 3 years old when The Breakfast Club came out in 1985. I didn’t know the film existed until I was in college, where it was included in a class on culturally significant movies for Gen X. Now, there’s more or less a decade separating me from today’s incoming high-school students. Does anyone really think they will get the reference? Hey, JC Penney, remember that scene in The Office where Steve Carell goes to this club and starts talking to this chick who is, like, way younger than him? Steve says Back to the Future (also ’85) is his favorite movie, and she says, “I guess that was before my time. How old are you again?” Congratulations, JC Penney, you’re now the old dude in the club. Maybe you’ll have an impact with the parents of some of those high-school kids. Better hope the kids actually want to shop where their parents suggest. —Posted by Rebecca Cullers |
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Published on July 24, 2008 | Permalink
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At JC Penney, teen karaoke beats teen sex
—Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on June 30, 2008 | Permalink
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More fun with fake JC Penney commercials
Above is another JC Penney spot posted on the Web site of Epoch Films and, according to Silicon Valley Insider, also unapproved by the retailer. The spot is posted on the page of director Mike Long, the same guy credited with doing the bogus, Lion-winning “Speed Dressing” ad. This one has more of a Poltergeist-y vibe. Long “apparently did these as a giggle, and to fill out his portfolio,” according to the Insider. He also did those schlock-horror Cold Stone Creamery ads, so he’s used to people not liking his work. Via @tangerinetoad. |
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Published on June 25, 2008 | Permalink
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JC Penney horrified/thrilled over fake spot
Surprising almost no one, the JC Penney spot with the two horny teens practicing speed-dressing in preparation for interrupted make-out sessions, which won a bronze Lion at Cannes last week, isn’t really from JC Penney. The chain’s CMO tells The Wall Street Journal: “We’re very disappointed that our logo and brand position were used in that way.” Sure you are. All the extra ink is just killing you. Penney blames Saatchi & Saatchi, which blames the spot’s Cannes entrant, Epoch Films. Saatchi should hire whomever did create the spot, because it’s more compelling than anything the agency’s done lately. This comment on Gawker sums it up best: “JC Penney ought to be thanking their lucky stars they got a tiny dollop of relevancy.” I also suspect that the naked Crisco wrestling ad from Crisco is a fake. The Hitler look-alike and speed metal on the soundtrack are dead giveaways. As for Cannes, once again, I didn’t get to go. And I never had sex in a basement as a teen, slathered in Crisco or otherwise. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on June 24, 2008 | Permalink
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