Targeting New York

This week's New Yorker (steadfastly maintaining a highly idiosyncratic online posture) presents a distinctive advertising model: Target ads only.   Smart?  I think so.  Why?  Uniqueness.

First of all, the decision should get lots of buzz.  Like Dove and Nike's decisions to use women who actually look like real people in their ads, anything out of the ordinary grabs attention.

Second, the ads themselves are distinctive.  Target used the work of highly talented illustrators like André Dubois, Anna Augul and Ruben Toledo for the ads.  The results are striking.

Third, Target continues to enhance the mythology of its brand as hip and  design-focused.  As I've commented here before, this positioning is more marketing-driven than product-based.  No matter.   Associating itself with a sophisticated magazine like the New Yorker and using great images to do so will more deeply embed the brand's mythology into customers' consciousness.

Oh, and the cost?  The Times reports it at about $1 million.  Talk about a bargain! Target once again shows it knows how to get the biggest bang for its marketing buck.