Second Chances

Back during the back-to-school shopping I wrote a post about Old Navy and their advertising which I thought was well sort of off in it’s messaging. It had a sort of “Wear what the cool kids are wearing” theme and then proceeded to label the school uniforms as the “smart kid” section.  I didn’t like what they implied – that smart and fashionable where mutual exclusive. It just wreaked junior high stereotypes. From a marketing perspective, I thought it was lazy. As a result, we spent $0.00 dollars of our back to school budget at Old Navy.

 

Today I saw one in my inbox that prompted me to consider giving them a second chance. The email was strictly centered around the idea of friendship. Come in with your friend get a discount. Old Navy gets two people in the store instead of one.. they both giggle, they both buy. Much better Old Navy. Much Better. Promoting community and friendship… not clichés might get you back in my wallet.

 

 

So I rewarded them with a click through – and I LOVED what I saw! Look at these two girls!

 

 

They are not dressed as little hoochie mamas

 

They don’t have sarcastic remarks on their shirts that aren’t appropriate for their age

 

They are not glamorous

 

They ARE totally and completely normal

 

They look like two kids who would hop off the bus and come home with my daughter.

 

They are awesome!

 

And bam – just like that I dropped over $100 on shirts and hoodies and jeans!

 

I’m not silly enough to think that my blog post made a hill of beans to a company that size but I’m guessing that the earlier ad wasn’t terribly successful either. Someone has put on the thinking cap over there at least and I applaud their efforts.

 

Well done Old Navy, well done. Now don’t screw up again.