JCPenney wants consumers to reconsider the meaning of a good deal as they head into the busy fall shopping season.
The retailer’s new campaign, “Retail Rejuvenation,” is a playful spin on a wellness retreat that challenges the off-price model, a strategy where retailers sell brand-name goods at major discounts.
“Every day, millions of off-price shoppers sacrifice their dignity for a ‘good deal,’” the ad begins. “When they could find better deals on better stuff at JCPenney.”
With creative agency Mischief @ No Fixed Address, JCPenney convened six real shoppers at the retreat to help them “heal” from “the uncertainty of shopping at off-price stores.” The participants go through exercises such as a “clothing cleanse” and “mindset mantras” to unlearn bad shopping habits.
By the end, the shoppers have learned a new mantra: “Yes, JCPenney”—the brand’s tagline. The message of the satirical ad is that JCPenney shoppers can get affordable, high-quality style without trade-offs.
“There’s often this sense [among shoppers] that if you’re going to get a deal, there’s some tradeoffs involved,” said Marisa Thalberg, chief customer and marketing officer of JCPenney parent company Catalyst Brands. “We’re pushing up in a playful way against the idea that there are lots of other bigger retailers that seemingly satisfy you with this thrill of great deals, but it’s not always as true as it seems.”
In addition to the film, JCPenney is inviting people to bring in their recent “retail regrets” to one of its stores from August 28-30 and trade them in for $15 off a $50 purchase. The brand will donate the items through Good360, a nonprofit that delivers donated goods to families in need.
A turnaround mission
JCPenney has been on a mission to get consumers to reconsider the brand since the debut of “Yes, JCPenney!” last year. Since then, the brand has used buzzy and often satirical marketing to push up against cultural tensions, such as fashion elitism.
In March, the brand hosted “The Other Paris Runway,” a fashion show in Paris, Texas, where locals modeled affordable JCPenney looks as a counterpoint to the exclusivity of traditional fashion weeks.
