IN THE CROSSHAIRS



The swirling controversy over a Target ad in Times Square suggesting a young woman making a snow angel over a Target logo borders on the absurd. That is, of course, if your focus is on the ad.

Is the ad suggestive? Does the image whose logo sits as a “target” on a suggestive snow-angel pose offend you? Was it intentional?

Times Square Ad

The ad is as suggestive as the little minds that believe it was an intentional and subliminally contrived effort on the ad agency’s part to do ….what?

The real issue here is not the ad … it’s the response Target gave to the blogger that suggested it was inappropriate.

“Unfortunately we are unable to respond to your inquiry because Target does not participate with nontraditional media outlets … This practice is in place to allow us to focus on publications that reach our core guest.”

Is this company so far behind the digital times that it believes its own dribble that the internet is a “nontraditional media outlet”? If their intent was to start a viral backlash on a communications policy that responds with “we don’t care”, then it deserves the viral flogging …. and the loss of revenue from a good number of their “core guests”.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The internet is being hyped as "untraditional" which is really the sub plot of internet detractors
who said we were blogging in our pajamas at 3AM. UGH!

This story is concocted even as we see print media dissolving into 5 page magazines, or magazines loaded with Ads and little editorial content.

Internet communication goes one step further in that it connects people to your story, cause, and/or product. And shopping has been permanently changed.

Attempts at diminishing internet advertising's importance will fail as we see this revenue stream grow every day.

Nothing conventional in communications,innovation,sales,education, will ever be the same, as it is continually evolving and with new technology this will be even more significant.