Female readers may want to tune out for this installation of Loose Cannon: There’s no new information for them. We’ll speak next week.
Now that we’re alone, gentlemen, let’s talk about women. Specifically, let’s talk about women long-distance shoppers.
It’s not uncommon for mailers to trumpet the "convenience" of long-distance shopping in apparel catalogs and other communications. And fair’s fair: It’s a legitimate benefit. But there’s a big difference between using a tired adjective like "convenient" and painting a grabber of a picture of this very real – yet to my mind, undersold -- benefit.
First, let me present a portrait of the problem. In a recent letter to the New York Times, a frustrated department store customer wrote of having "to search through 10 designer departments to look for one white blouse, wrestling with jammed racks to find the right size."
Sign her up, BBD&O. I’ll add to her lament other complaints gathered throughout my years as a quasi-willing participant on shopping jaunts: insufficient changing space; out-of-stock items; and a dearth of bathroom stalls. And all this assumes that the shopper doesn’t have a toddler or two in tow.
There needs to be a subliminal -- or even liminal – message beyond touting the merchandise. That message should stress that "catalog and online shopping is much less of a hassle than retail shopping, and here’s why."
For instance, wouldn’t it be nicer to shop in one’s sweatpants, slipper-clad feet propped up on an ottoman, a catalog in one hand, a marking pen in the other, with an iced martini at one’s elbow? The kids, assumedly, would be safely sedated in their playpens. All this could be illustrated in a Norman Rockwell style.
So why is this column for men only? Well, while I am loath to paint an entire gender with a single brush stroke, women already realize the pitfalls of shopping in a retail environment. Are male copywriters prepared to address their concerns?
To respond to the opinions in this column, please contact rlevey@primediabusiness.com
