Tis' the season to get fit. This at least according to the Lakes Mall in Muskegon. Every store seemed have a deal to hook up buyers with a new pair of yoga pants or a sweat licking t shirt. Images of fit individuals plastered the walls of both the mall interior and stores themselves. Thus indirectly sending the message that if in fact if one bought these clothes they could become fit or at least look good doing so. Words like active and fit seemed to jump off the posters screaming at the buyer. It seemed the only place the theme of fitness was not being observed was in the food court. Although I have a hard time picturing Auntie Anne's Pretzels putting together a campaign for healthy living.
It wasn't merely words and images that contributed to the message of fitness. The colors used painted a picture healthy living and fitness. Colors like green and pastel blues gave a relaxing feel to the customer. The clothes themselves were colored with bright neon colors making all the other clothing items seem dull or boring. All that was missing was a gym which shoppers could use to start their fitness journey.
However, Old Navy must have heard my sarcastic comments because when I entered the store it was a fitness zone. Multiple fitness gyms had booths set up at the front of the store pitching their business. One in particular had hula hoops that shoppers could try out in the store. The demonstration came complete with the store manager hula hooping smiling decked out in Old Navy Active apparel. This was by far the far the most over the top "advertisement" I saw all day. My question was how effective could that be? After thinking about it I thought well someone could go into the store seeking to buy let's say a jacket and after trying the fitness thing be convinced both that getting in shape would be a good idea and they need new fitness wear to do so.
I couldn't help but laugh as I left the mall. These people buying the fitness gear would walk out of the mall feeling good. They were in some cases going to turn everything around and get fit. This would work for some and not for others, but likely in both cases both these folks would end up at the same mall at a later date either to buy more clothes because they lost weight and could not fit into their old ones and others would be depressed and need a shopping trip to brighten their spirits.
"It seemed the only place the theme of fitness was not being observed was in the food court." Ha! Sometimes the best response to the Empire's come-ons is to laugh at it in mockery. Thanks for a nice post, Josh.
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