Like, OMG! Wal-Mart Is Totally Standard!

Wal-Mart’s new back-to-school campaign tries to appeal to teens by aping the popular MySpace social site.

Desperate to appeal to teens with something other than pencils and backpacks during the crucial back-to-school season, Wal-Mart is launching a highly sanitized, controlled and rather unhip site at walmart.com/schoolyourway. Teens are invited to create their own page, “show it to the world and win some fab prizes,” including a chance to have their videos appear in a Wal-Mart TV commercial. Wal-Mart’s agency is GSD&M, Austin, Texas.

The opening page shows video of four teens-a bubbly fashionista, a Texas football player, a quirky skateboarder and an aspiring R&B singer from New York-who are clearly actors reading a script, although the videos are positioned to appear authentic. Within, there are pages such as “Beth’s Backyard Club,” where you find a picture of her in a strapless prom dress above the approved quote: “I’ll school my way by looking hot in my Wal-Mart clothes to school to catch a cute boy’s eye. ...”

But like America isn’t buying Wal-Mart’s lines on minimum wage and health care, teens aren’t giving the company much “street cred”.

But if Wal-Mart thought it could win over Amy Kandel, 14, of Columbus, Ohio, it was wrong. “Some of the kids looked like they were trying to be supercool, but they weren’t at all, and they were just being kind of weird,” she said. “Are these real kids?”

Nor did it impress Pete Hughes, 18. “It just seemed kind of corny to me,” he said.

“Wal-Mart really needs this to work,” said Irma Zandl of youth-marketing firm Zandl Group. “Over the last year, we have been getting increasingly bad feedback from teen girls about Wal-Mart in contrast to Target-especially Wal-Mart’s apparent lack of cleanliness, messy layout and lack of stylish attire. This attempt at ‘we media’ is terrific. We’ll have to wait and see if it’s enough to overcome in-store issues.”

But it won’t change the shopping habits of Molly Morgan, 14, who goes to Wal-Mart only when her mom does to buy groceries and spends her monthly $150 clothing budget at Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister and Nordstrom.

The Columbus teen doubts she’ll submit a video or enter the contests because “it, like, takes a lot of time, and it’s not very likely you’ll win.”

We think “corny” is the perfect word to describe it.

Posted by Laura Jack on Monday, July 17, 2006

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COMMENTS

I don’t exactly understand the point of this article. I think the post that was apparently removed last night said it quite well, “Now you are criticizing Wal-Mart for advertising?” What’s the point? Did you guys just need something to criticize?

I will say this: As long as Wal-Mart is seen as a store for lower income brackets it will NEVER, its clothes will never resonate with trendy teens. As evidenced above, the popular clothes say “Look at me! I enjoy being a walking advertisement for a brand my parents severely overpaid to buy me!” not “Look at me! My parents are so frugal! They bought me enough clothes to last a week for what yours paid for a single outfit!” I just don’t see Wal-Mart cultivating that image without alienating its customer base.

Someone in USA
Tuesday, July 18 at 10:10 PM

Hey thanks for telling me about the ad! I didn’t know Wal-Mart was having a special sale.

Joe User in WI
Tuesday, July 18 at 10:32 PM

hahaha

You defend Wal-Mart on the internet. I bet the chicks love you guys!

Jeff in
Wednesday, July 19 at 01:13 AM

A 14 year old kid with a $150 per month clothing allowance? That’s even more wrong than Wal Mart. Wal MArt will get her back as a customer when she is a 19 year old single mother.

Steve in Edinboro, PA
Wednesday, July 19 at 12:23 PM

I don’t hate Wal-mart for trying to attract a new crowd of shoppers...that’s just SOP for any business. And the web-site may be sanitary, but that might work for those kids whose parents want them to have a safe internet experience. Also, Wal-mart is a place for those kids to shop at who don’t get $150 to buy clothes every month...and who can’t afford to shop at Nordstrom’s or A&E;...these kids might like a chance to possibly win free stuff. So, let them have their “space”...I just want Wal-mart to be more responsible to its employees...not be totally un-business-like and take an opportunity when it sees one.

Ze in mid-south, Alabama
Thursday, July 20 at 12:55 PM

It just wont work, try as they may, Wal-Mart will not be able to win over that demographic-- Target barely does, and they are doing it right in my opinon. If I had $50 a week to spend on clothes I wouldn’t buy them at Wal-Mart.. Ebay maybe, but never Wal-Mart. Actually-- I wouldn’t step foot inside one of those stores, Repulican *ssholes. They treat their employees like shit and cheap out on decent insurance-- they are what’s wrong with America anyway. They suck.

SMS in Ohio
Friday, July 21 at 05:59 PM

As a 16 year old I wouldn’t shop there. The clothes look cheap, and too knock-off of other designers. I don’t have a huge budget, But I would shop at Abercrombie, AE or Gap. Wal-Mart couldn’t be cool if they paid.

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