Good (Black) Friday

It's Thanksgiving vacation for Drink Moxie, which means that I'm visiting the folks at home, and as always tends to be the case when I'm here, I've spent a lot of time watching sports, parades, and other mainstream TV. This, along with the fact that my family (like most of America) lives in the land of big boxes and malls, means that I spent the past few days viewing countless ads for Black Friday doorbuster sales. Now that I'm stuffed with turkey and pie and ought to be going to bed, I decided instead to get on YouTube and find some of my favorites so that I could share them with you. Consider it my Thanksgiving gift. You're welcome.

For some brief background, Thanksgiving is the holiday when we remind ourselves that our European predecessors almost didn't make it when they tried to settle here in America, but that with some faith in Divine Providence and some help from the locals (which was not exactly repaid in kind), they persevered. So we gather with loved ones to feast on native foods like turkey, cranberries, pumpkin, and French's onion-crusted green bean casserole, things without which our predecessors would not have survived in the New World.

Now, of course, we take food for granted. But there is still one thing that we need and without which we would not survive as a nation – shopping. Therefore, Thanksgiving is the official beginning of a month-long period when we honor our American religion and worship unbridled consumerism. It's not unlike the month of Ramadan, except with fasting and prayer replaced by fervent purchasing of the latest and greatest products. This probably sounds cynical and sarcastic, but I assure you it isn't. Americans take gift-buying and gift-giving very seriously, and they should. Generosity is part of our nature, and consumerism is the cornerstone of our economy, and the holiday season is the perfect marriage of both.

But just like any religion, there are some people who take it a bit too far. This brings us to the Black Friday Doorbuster.

Our first and most subtle advertising offering comes from Sears. But what do you expect from a store that doesn't open until 7am?



There doesn't seem to be much to it, but it gives a sense of the conventional message for the holiday season: Buying gifts is your duty, and in order to be a good person, you must be the best gift-giver that you can be. The term "Power Santa" is particularly evocative (in more ways than one, I guess), conjuring images of Stallone or Schwarzenegger hauling around a sack full of goodies.

On the heroic gift-giver theme, Radio Shack ups the ante (as well as the opening time).



Doesn't that motivate you to get up for a 5:30am opening? Me either. But I am starting to feel a little inadequate that I'm not getting the best deals on the best products for the people who are important to me. If I were inclined to wait all night in line for a 5:30am sale, this spot would probably make me feel like I was being noble, and not insane.

And that brings us to Target's doorbuster ads. There have been a bunch in this series, I think I like this one the best. Damn, can she run fast in high heels!



This gives a bit of a different take. While there are many who believe strongly in the holiday sale, there are others who believe that such people are nutty as a Christmas fruitcake. (I probably don't need to remind anyone that people have died, literally, as a result of doorbusters.) As is typical of brands (not to mention entertainers and advertisers) who cater to consumers with a well-honed sense of irony, Target has no trouble poking fun at early-bird sale enthusiasts while plugging their own 4am doorbuster.

Finally, let's see the approach Walmart (which has recently rejuvenated its brand by going lowercase and removing the star between WAL and MART) has taken. Since there isn't a Walmart in my area (yes, I live in one of those areas) I can say this was truly a surprise to me. Not so much is remarkable about the composition of the ad itself, but they make it very clear how they're running their sale.



I will restate this for emphasis. Walmart will be having their big doorbuster sale starting at 5am. But because simply waiting in line for the sale is a little pointless, they will allow you to shop while you are waiting for the sale to begin. So in this promotional tact, it's not about being a hero, or being (ironically, self-consciously) obsessive, it's about being so dedicated to the act of shopping that you will shop all night in preparation for an early-morning shopping spree. It's a veritable ultramarathon of shopping, something that requires such a fervent, single-minded determination that can only be understood by the faithful and respected, or feared, by the rest of us.

As someone who will not be doing any shopping today (except maybe at the airport duty-free, if I get stuck with a long layover) I'm not exactly sure what advertising approach would appeal most to me. So what would you rather be? A hero coming to the rescue of your friends and family with armloads of the latest electronics? A self-acknowledged fanatic unabashedly indulging your holiday-themed mania? Or a dedicated, serious shopper who isn't about the image, but about the purity of the holiday shopping experience?

Let me know, and let the season begin! (But be careful out there.)