Every year, consumers all over the country anticipate the “most wonderful time of the year” – shopping season. Over the last couple of years, Black Friday has crept up on Thanksgiving evening with stores opening to launch sales earlier and earlier and expanding them to Cyber Monday and beyond.
Along with these major door-busting sales comes big-money advertisements that either resonate with us as we near the end of the year or unfortunately flop.
This roundup covers some of the marketing campaigns and advertisements that stuck out to me over the course of the last week and how they were perceived – by me, consumers, and the media.
Did Peloton Miss the Mark?
Peloton has been receiving some serious backlash with its commercial that follows a wife’s “weight loss” journey after she was gifted one of the company’s high-end fitness bike last year by her husband.
If you haven’t seen the commercial yet, here is the 30-second spot:
People have expressed great dislike for this campaign on Twitter. But personally, I didn’t think it was so bad. Maybe she was looking for something to motivate a healthier lifestyle. Maybe she has been talking about buying a Peloton all year and just hadn’t bit the bullet on making the purchase. Either way, I don’t feel that buying a thin woman an exercise bike for Christmas is a negative thing.
I’ll let you decide for yourself.
#OptOutside with REI
For the fifth year in a row, REI went against the Black Friday craze and kept its stores closed, while encouraging its shoppers and employees to sign up for a 52-week action plan of “small steps” to curb carbon emissions and live more energy-efficient live (as reported by Business Insider).
While other retailers push big sales and encourage their customers to come in store to shop, REI gives their entire staff a paid day off and hopes that others will join in on the movement of getting outside.
Patagonia for the Planet
Rather than remaining closed and encouraging people to get outside, Patagonia leveraged their sales to give back to the planet. The company made $10 million in sales on Black Friday alone and promised those funds to grassroots organizations that are in place to protect our environment.
The company has made this promise on every Black Friday since 2016, but since 1985 its pledged 1% of all sales to nonprofit environmental groups every single day.
Ivory Ella Gives Back and Rewards
The cause-based brand Ivory Ella decided they were going to focus on Giving Tuesday this year. On Instagram, they shared that any customer who donates $10 to Save the Elephants will get 25% off when shopping on their site plus an Ivory Ella tote bag.
The company vowed to match all donations made by customers up to $10,000! On their blog, they discuss how donating to this charity makes an impact.
As someone who loves elephants, this is a campaign I can stand behind!
As the shopping season continues and the ads keep rolling out, urging people to get out and shop (or not), do you have a favorite?
Be sure to connect with us on Twitter and let us know what holiday marketing campaign stands out to you – good or bad.
