J.C. Penney Pretends To Be Mortified By Teen Sex Ad
The retailer is reportedly aghast about a clever clip, most likely created by Saatchi & Saatchi*, the retailer's ad agency, which is about to become YouTube's most popular clip.You see, it suggests that teenagers may have sex -- and that J.C. Penney endorses the idea.
Obviously, nothing could be further from the truth, but J.C. Penney is still worried that someone might get the wrong idea. WSJ:
Mike Boylson, chief marketing officer for the Plano, Texas, retailer, said he was "terribly disappointed" when he first saw the video Monday, after another Penney official noticed it on blogs that described the video as a Penney ad.
Mr. Boylson said he still was questioning Saatchi late Monday to find out how the video got made and has instructed Saatchi to take any action it can to have the ad removed from the Internet. "It's obviously inappropriate and nothing we would ever condone," he said. "We're very disappointed that our logo and brand position were used in that way."
We won't pretend to understand why Penney's ad agency would go through the trouble of making a fake ad for its client. But we do understand that the notion of having the ad "removed from the Internet" is less likely than a nationwide teen abstinence campaign. As of this morning, the ad only appears to exist on YouTube in 3 incarnations, which have generated a few thousand streams so far. But it's a slow news day, and this is the definition of a viral video. Prepare to see this one over and over again for the next news cycle or two.
*Update: Saatchi & Saatchi says the ad's not (technically) theirs, but they're very sorry anyway, and are going to try to get it "removed" from the Web. Good luck with that.
“Saatchi & Saatchi has a long history of producing principled and respectful advertising for JCPenney and its entire client roster. The Speed Dressing TV commercial, which was submitted to the 2008 International Advertising Festival at Cannes, was created by a third party vendor without JCPenney's knowledge or consent. It was produced and released to the public without any knowledge or prior approval from JCPenney. Saatchi & Saatchi did not enter the spot and deeply regrets the message this ad presents. Saatchi & Saatchi apologizes to JCPenney, its associates and its customers. The commercial is being removed from public circulation.”
See Also: Ad Agency To Internet: Take Down That J.C. Penney Ad!
That being said, I don't believe Saatchi & Saatchi would create an ad without someone at the client knowing about it.
It seems the agency is taking the fall for their client on this one.
Kids will have sex, its a natural part of life. Get over yourself and over it. If you are so "appalled and disgusted" Lisa H. make a statement and quit. But I bet you dont. You're one of many Americans who'll grumble about meaningless stuff like this, but lack the courage of your convictions to do anything about it.
My boyfriend and I would "watch TV" in the basement a lot! We've been married for twenty five years now!
It's also possible that JC Penney liked the ad, wanted to generate some press from it, decided to leak it to the web, and then had a PR plan to deny it if the s**t hit the fan. Thereby looking cool to those of us who find the ad interesting, and getting to save face with a strong denunciation of it to those who find it offensive.
Both of these scenarios play out every day in the world of advertising and PR...
I think the larger problem would be why anyone would be that controlled by an advertisement.
JCP would NEVER promote teen sex. Their target customer is trying to keep their teens out of the sack. I can believe that their advertiser might make fake JCP Europeanized commercial for a competition. The JCP logo at the end is fake.
As to Michael's comment above: It is not that a single ad makes a difference. It is the total accumulation of such messages that makes something seem ok. The "sexification" of young girls through their role models, scenes in movies, commercials, clothing, etc -- that is what adds up.
Besides, I what is the demographic that shops JC Penny??? Prob a lot more God-fearing middle Americans that would find this upsetting than LA or Manhattan consumers...
I don't think JC Penney is considered to be a 'cool' store among teens. Something like this could help bring their image closer to, say, Abercrombie, and bring in new, younger customers.
Of course, JCP can't publicly run a campaign like this without alienating their current customer - who I am guessing shapes up to be a lot like Lisa H.
It's all just a big, saucy experiment. I like the ad, FWIW.
This one evokes fears of terrorism in the name of JC Penney, so... well, yeah.
Excellent work all-around though.
People. Denial. Doesn't Work.
Educate. Your. Children.
Preaching. Abstinence. Creates. Parents.
Get. A. Grip.
Love and Licks
Skep
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/JC-Penney-Company-Inc-Company-History.html
Hundreds of soldiers dieing in Iraq = ok, sex = wrong. Yeah, that's the message we should be sending...
http://www.adgabber.com/video/video/show?id=546804%3AVideo%3A102542
Not bad :)
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