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28 de Enero, 2008
Target: Selling Ass and Mimicking Dying Institutions
Categorized under Blogando , Hipnotismo , Medios , Sexismo | Tags: blogs, Citizen Journalism, misogyny, Street Team 08, Target
Target to the blogosphere: you’re irrelevant.
That was the message the cheap-chic retailer seemed to convey in an abrupt e-mail message to ShapingYouth.org, a blog about the impact of marketing on children. Early this month, the blog’s founder, Amy Jussel, called Target, complaining about a new advertising campaign that depicted a woman splayed across a big target pattern — the retailer’s emblem — with the bull’s-eye at her crotch.
“Targeting crotches with a bull’s-eye is not the message we should be putting out there,” she said in an e-mail interview.
Target offered an e-mail response:
“Unfortunately we are unable to respond to your inquiry because Target does not participate with nontraditional media outlets,” a public relations person wrote to ShapingYouth.
“This practice,” the public relations person added, “is in place to allow us to focus on publications that reach our core guest,” as Target refers to its shoppers.
YOU CAN ALWAYS tell the Old Guard, the dinosaurs who are being dragged into the modern day. The old guard looks like this. like PR people who don't realize that they are talking shit about the core guest TO the core guest. WE ARE THE GUEST. We are your consumers. "BLOGGRZ" are not an alien race, I'll say it again. We are consumers with keyboards. You cannot describe us as BLOGGRZ and think we'll stay cordoned off somewhere in NonEffectiveland, bloggyblogging away, never venturing outside to buy shampoo or food or otherwise contribute to the system. In fact, we have COMPUTERS and INTERNET. That means we are usually buying into the system pretty well.
And although I know the "we dont speak to nontraditional media" line is pure nonsense, devised to stand in place of a "go to hell, I don't have to answer to customers about the hyno-spots that didn't rock your boat," it's very stupid and dangerous to try and dismiss "BLOGGRZ' by saying they are not traditional media. Because in case you haven't heard, traditional media is DYING. Want to join them, Target? Is that your target? In case you've been penned up in a dusty fluorescently-lit PR office all day or something and have missed the news, "Traditional Media" is reaching out, and not just in my case, but all over. And to whom? To bloggers. To people. With cameras. And minds. And questions.
Read up. New Media is where it is at. New Media was enough sink Macaca, it has been enough to get Chris Matthews to eat crow, it has been enough to get me flown out to nyc to speak about blogging on an Immigration strategy panel. And the list goes on. I'm not in the mood to google for a half hour, but there's no more argument; we've seen it time and time again. It's not in doubt anymore. Blogs have power.
I also sat in front of some pretty big cats recently at the MTV building who said that in many cases, traditional media is giving its last breath up. I'm not talking about street vendors saying this. I'm talking about CEOs. Telling us in their opinion the newspaper is all but dead. I have it on my digital voice recorder. And that is why I am on the street team. I'm your guest. With recording devices and a mission.
The lines are blurring, they are hopelessly blurred. Citizen Journalist action is going on in many cities, and you can bet it will grow and grow. It is the new way. Because what does it mean? Nothing fancy. It means that anyone with a camera or a computer is a focal point to the world. And that the People are sick of being told ThisNThat, and we now don't just shell out dollar, we talk back. We are vastly more powerful than traditional media because we are not beholden to your game, and we are not nailed in place. We are simply the People with something to say. And when we join up and get involved with a cause, nothing can stop us from bringing that to the fore. It's already been tried.
And now, regarding the woman on the target? Get real. You lie and you lie with no grace or style. I've studied media and marketing and the art of visual manipulation—and formally—since I was a photography major in 1988, on through my classes in marketing and statistics, on through drawing and lettering and typography and art history classes, through acting classes and directing classes and cinema studies and cinematography and editing classes taught by masters in the field to shooting indies out of school. I'm talking about a twenty year span of time, and I can say with complete confidence that your "snow angel" is a woman splayed out with her crotch directly and purposefully placed at the center of a huge target. That ad cost you a lot of money. Not a single element of that ad was placed accidentally, and in fact, I'd bet my nearest F1.4 lens that your photographer rejected about thirty or more shots that didn't place her ass exactly where you wanted it and all elements at the exact angle and luminance you wanted. And if not, it was taken care of in post.
The woman in the Target ad is NOT making snow angels. She is, as a tool used by your and your company, promoting a view and use of women that is neither new, hip, chic, nor appropriate for your product. And you don't even have the courage to admit it. Instead you tell your customers to get lost because they are pencil-users. Oh, sorry, forkers. No, that's not it...right, "bloggers," right—because your customers type at home.
Update: Kyle, of Citizen Orange, has a related piece on his Street Team '08 blog.
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Comentarios (7)
Capsicum dijo:
In fact, we have COMPUTERS and INTERNET. That means we are usually buying into the system pretty well.
Right on! What demographic does all the big money target in their advertising campaigns? People 18-35 years old. What demographic is most likely to be plugged in to the internet world? Ding ding.
I seriously do not know whether to think people like Target's marketing dep't are just that clueless or just that contemptful of regular people.
Palabras por Capsicum spat forth on el 28 de Enero, 2008 at 06:30 AM
M dijo:
Kickassed write-up, 'mano. Where the hell does Target get off invalidating someone's opinion because it appeared on the blogosphere? What kind of halfassed logic is that? Especially since so many people, as you note, do contribute to the marketplace AND use the internet as a means for communication with other customers. Are they dense?
I loved Target because it was a good store and a way to avoid going to VoldeMart (also known as Wal-Mart), but now they sound kinda stupid. Besides, they don't listen to me, being a peon of the communications institution and all.
And New Media's been kicking up static from the average folks since the 80s...? I believe that's when P2P stuff started going mainstream.
They obviously don't read newspapers often because they'd be worried about sinking their "limited resources" into advertisements in print media, at least. Their response is so anachronistically stupid.
Palabras por M spat forth on el 28 de Enero, 2008 at 10:24 AM
M dijo:
Here's the more recent article I was looking for in my first comment.
Palabras por M spat forth on el 28 de Enero, 2008 at 10:26 AM
No One of Consequence dijo:
"Unfortunately we are unable to respond to your inquiry [with the medium you use]" they said as they used the exact same medium to reply.
The reply is clearly nonsensical. It's no different than me walking up to you and stating, with my own vocal chords, "I am not speaking to you; I am in no way communicating information to you at this moment as I say this sentence." It's 3=2. Complete bullshit.
The real substance of the reply is that it was a kiss-off. The reason the kiss-off was given by a company utterly concerned by its public image was that it didn't think the critic had the wherewithal to hurt said image.
This error will cost Target.
The problem here will be self-correcting. The ad will cause a shitstorm in "traditional" outlets as well. This is one of those relatively rare times where the Market will educate the offender well enough, I bet.
Palabras por No One of Consequence spat forth on el 28 de Enero, 2008 at 11:33 AM
kyledeb dijo:
Mil Gracias for the Link Love Nezua,
The battle begins with Street Team '08. Time to start stirring some trouble.
Much Love,
Kyle
Palabras por kyledeb spat forth on el 28 de Enero, 2008 at 12:07 PM
William dijo:
And for that very reason the ruling elite in Washington is scrambling to put a lid on it
Palabras por William spat forth on el 28 de Enero, 2008 at 12:10 PM
peasant dijo:
The only thing that Target overlooked was the addition of the slogan used in my area, on billboard adverts for a local network of health clinics. "Just Slip on In." showing just a female skaters legs, in freefall and slightly akimbo. My first thought was "Damn, don't they even look at these ads before they are pasted up in giant lifesize images?" My response was similar to yours Nez. Sure they do, and they put up exactly what they wanted.
Palabras por peasant spat forth on el 29 de Enero, 2008 at 06:09 AM