Holiday Catalog Watch Week 3: Hilfiger’s Naughty List
Each week of the holiday season, I’m taking a decidedly unscientific look at the catalogs that hit my mailbox, to see trends in offers and creative. Click here for week 1 and here for week 2.
The BBC Shop Holiday 2014 book has an appealingly festive British Christmas feel to it Full-page spreads enticingly promote DVDs and merchandise for popular BBC imports, including “Sherlock,” “Doctor Who,” “Call the Midwife” and “Downton Abbey.” A one page feature of recipes from U.K. celebrity chefs was fun, but felt a little out of place—it would have seem more seamless if ads for cookbooks by the chefs were integrated into the piece. Maybe the catalog ran a page short and this was filler?
Tommy Hilfiger’s winter wonderland booklet featured lots of pretty perfect people in pretty clothes. Too bad the lists they bought for the mailing weren’t as perfect or clean—my house received three copies of the booklet. One was addressed to my husband, one to my full maiden name (which I haven’t used in over a decade), and one to “NegusViveiros Viveiros.” Hmmmmm…..
The annual Orvis Dog Book arrived. What can you say about this catalog, other than “awwwwwww.” We currently have no pets, but I still flip through it for a dose of cute.
My house received more catalogs from L.L. Bean, Oriental Trading, J. Jill and Lands’ End this week, all similar to those we discussed in the first two Holiday Catalog Watch installments. My only new comment on Lands’ End was that the two catalogs I received on the same day—one geared to women, the other kids—each used the same color background on the cover. A casual reader might have tossed one thinking they were the same book
Harry & David’s Christmas Gifts 2014 book offered the same enticing food photography as always. Stonewall Kitchen also offered festive photography, with curiously few items featured as hero products. The book is attractive, but feels a bit like a very high end grocery store. Blair also eschews the hero product placement, which makes sense as many of their older audience may not go online looking for more options.
Special Offers This Week
Blair offered a code for free shipping, as did Stonewall, J. Jill and Oriental Trading on orders over $99, $100 or $49 respectively. BBC promoted free shipping on orders over $100 on a center spread order form, and had a QR code on the back cover for a free shipping on online orders offer good until January.
Harry & David called out Black Friday specials in-store and online on its cover, and Hilfiger offered a 20% off code. L.L. Bean also offered 20% off; Lands’ End promoted a 30% discount.
Any creative catalogs hit your mailbox this holiday season? Let me know at [email protected] or @CMBethNegus.
