Tue, July 29, 2008
Sears Thinks Middle School Is A Rave—4:02 PM
Sears has a new back-to-school ad campaign featuring Vanessa Hudgens (who's cute as a button, even with her clothes on) and the tagline: "Don't just go back. Arrive."
I applaud the attempt to make the dreaded start of a new school year sound fun, but remaking it as a red carpet paparazzi gala sends a weird message. Adding the word "lounge" makes me no less queasy. I'm imagining fourth-graders splayed across velvet chaises holding a cosmo in one hand and firing off text messages with the other. (I'd rather imagine fourth-graders doing something a little more wholesome – or much, much naughtier.)
I suppose it makes sense, though; we've got spellcheck and Google to give us anything we might have learned in school – what's important is to be seen.
Also: Sears for back-to-school shopping? When I think of clothes, pencils, and notebooks, I think of Target. Sears is for dishwashers, ratchet sets, and buckshot. Of all the stores to make a push for hip tween couture... Sears?!
