Okay, I admit it. We here at Brogan & Partners are a little obsessed with Target and their marketing. But Target’s latest marketing maneuver is so cute, so clever, so social media-rific, I can’t help but write about it, too.
How has Target raised the bar this time? They made a romantic comedy. On its own, this would delight about 98 percent of all women, but Target didn’t stop there. Because Falling For You is a romantic comedy you can shop.
The first segment of the film launched yesterday and will be followed by three more episodes on October 4th, 9th, and 10th. The film stars A-listers Kristen Bell, and Nia Long, as well as a cute new player named Zachary Abel. Here’s how it works. You watch the adorable Bell and Abel go through the classic rom-com paces: He gets doused in purple paint, she has deep conversations with her cat. They meet awkward in the elevator, then they’re pitted against each other by their cutthroat boss.
While you’re watching, all the Target items that they’re wearing and living in scroll along the right side of the screen. If you love Bell’s plaid pants or leafy shower curtain, Long’s hot pink lipstick, or Abel’s prepster-hip tie, you can click on them as they scroll by and add them to your favorites.
When the three-minute film is over, you can buy just about everything you saw, even the styling products that made Abel’s hair look so perfectly tousled or Bell’s Moroccan-style hand towel. Can you think of a more fun way to shop?
The film’s first segment was also fun to watch, both for all the sleek Target stuff and the cute performances. (The only aspect that didn’t work for me was the occasional appearance of very prominent Target symbols. With all the chic clothes and housewares populating the sets, that felt like overkill.)
Target is further upping the savvy of their film production by releasing it gradually. The first segment ended with a tantalizing cliffhanger. It worked on me. I’m dying to know what will become of these two characters. (I mean, other than the obvious fact that they will end up together in the finale, probably after running toward each other through the city streets, in the rain.) I’ll be tuning back in throughout the week and hope to catch the final live broadcast on October 10th.
And then we’ll be left to wonder what entertaining bar-raiser Target’s going to come up with next. I can’t promise I won’t blog about that one, too.
What do you think of this experiment in X-treme product placement?
Reminds me of the old coffee
Reminds me of the old coffee commercials that used to do that…what was that?