Is Target Wearing Its Own Bullseye?
Posted by Lisa in Marketing to Girls, tags: blogger, conversation, marketing, parents for ethical marketing, shaping youth, target, web2.0
Once a media darling, Target seems to be tripping over its own marketing feet lately. Today, there’s story in the blogosphere over the company’s casual dismissal of a blogger who disapproves of imagery used in a Target billboard. Add that to the recent public flogging the company took for its lack of transparency in its Facebook marketing strategy.
Amy Jussel at the Shaping Youth blog took offense to a Times Square billboard for Target which pictures a young woman spread eagle atop the Target bullseye. When she contacted Target, she was politely brushed off with the following as reported by Parents for Ethical Marketing
“Thank you for contacting Target; unfortunately we are unable to respond to your inquiry because Target does not participate with non-traditional media outlets. This practice is in place to allow us to focus on publications that reach our core guest.
Once again thank you for your interest, and have a nice day.”
Ooops! Somebody at Target didn’t get the memo. Marketing communication has changed. Those “non-traditional media outlets” are your customers — who just happen to have blogs, flickr and YouTube accounts. Just because you choose not to participate, Target, doesn’t mean the conversation isn’t going to go on without you. If you’re going to target consumers with your marketing messages, shouldn’t those targeted consumers get a chance to respond.
A majority of people may not find anything wrong with the billboard image. But if you happen to be a parent who feels they are in a war to protect their daughter’s childhood, it’s pretty easy to see this as just another image that objectifies young women. As a parent of a tween daughter, I am happy there are “non traditional media outlets” who are willing to question and call out the big brands for inappropriate messages.
Judging from my recent Target credit card statement, this suburban mom is one of Target’s core guests. Perhaps Target’s market research has failed to uncover that a mom’s core motivation is protecting her children. Target has an opportunity here to build brand loyalty by addressing this need. So far they’ve struck out with me.
Update 1/17/08: I ran an unscientific poll on CafeMom this week to find out what other moms of tweens think about the ad. The results 86% do not find the ad offensive; but 13% do find the ad offensive to women. Almost of all the comments said something along the lines of “I don’t see it” or “there’s worse stuff out there to get upset about.”
While I’m in the minority, I do hope that the flak that Target received will cause them to watch where the put the bulleye in the future.
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For what it’s worth, I find the ad highly offensive. And I’m kind of offended that 86% of the moms you polled don’t. Gracious.
[...] Does this target ad offend you? Thought I’d conduct a little experiment. The photograph is from a 20′ x 20′ billboard in Times Square displaying an ad for Target. If you already know about this feel free to chime in, if you don’t then I’ve listed a few resources below to give you some background. However, before you read them, look at the photo and tell us whether or not the ad offends you and if so why. No right or wrong answers or opinions here. Call it like you see it. Resources on the issue: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here [...]
[...] You can see some discussion of the ad here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. Apparently, Target is refusing to talk to nontraditional media outlets (like blogs) about the [...]
Hey Lisa, I found you quite awhile back on Izzy’s blog, and keep meaning to formally ping you, so I suppose since I’m the blasted ‘target’ of all this brouhaha, I might as well do it here.
Just to clarify, the dialog was NEVER meant to be about ‘this one ad’ as I recognize it is MILD by comparison and ‘no big deal’ if not put in context…
Fergawdsakes if I wanted to make a stink about ‘one ad’ it sure as heck wouldn’t be a TAME BY COMPARISON fully clothed persona as I know full well the media would turn that into a trumped up hypefest of an over-reactive public (oh, yeah, that’s right, they already did!
Seriously though, the whole experience has been fascinating to see how the absurdity of incivility turned ME into the target of vitriolic ‘get a life’ outrage despite lack of context, or even probing the verbatim words of what was said.
As a former journalist, I KNEW this would get skewed into a ‘one-off’ sure as I was breathing…but many cautioned, “look, the NYT is gonna write about you anyway, so you might as well agree to a WRITTEN e-interview so you can at least get your words out.”
Well…we saw where that landed, eh?
Here are my verbatim words w/the NYT reporter:
http://www.shapingyouth.org/blog/?p=1063
And here is the original context…http://www.shapingyouth.org/blog/?p=969
which as you can see, is all about normalization of objectification via mass market ‘family’ retailer adding to the cacophony of noise/urban wallpaper in highly charged media environs of surround sound sexual cues. (How’s that for a mouthful?)
Seriously though…it was never intended to be about ‘one ad’ but about raising the bar of retail to get away from innuendo that’s shrill, harsh, and crass…even if not ‘on purpose’ (See the new ‘Lolita’ children’s bed line for girls that Woolworth’s is saying is another oopsie ‘mistake’ after moms complained in the U.K.)
As Kelley implied above, until parents say ‘hey, knock it off’ and give a ruler whack to the wallet of corporate creepiness it’ll just keep on coming…
So if I have to “take the hit” for a misguided missile, in the hopes of a wake up bracer for the ‘other 86% of parents polled’ to see this is ‘the norm’ NOT the exception of corporate policy to do the ‘wink-n-nod-let’s put it up ’til they carp about it’ bit (look at the ‘mistaken’ gruesome billboards from Captivity the movie that got put up, or the countless other oopsies) then so be it…Fire away!!!
Meanwhile…um…Lolita beds anyone? I need a rest on controversy, so I’ll let ‘one of the Lisas’ take this one…here’s the Packaging Girlhood post and my replies:
http://packaginggirlhood.typepad.com/packaging_girlhood/2008/02/the-lolita-bedr.html