Lovemarks Leaves Fading Effect on Bleak Penney's Brand

James Cash Penney. Isn't that an awesome founder name? It pulls 10 times the weight of humdrum John Rockefeller. There's miles of branding potential behind a name like that.

Unfortunately JC Penney's isn't known for taking advantage. As kids we considered Penney's a tier above Sears - if you're desperate or you wait too long you might find a good prom dress there, but you'll probably lie and say you got it on sale at Macy's.

To offset this sad effect, Saatchi and Saatchi CEO Kevin Roberts enlists the lame duck brand for a Lovemarks repositioning. Watch the initial couple of ads and read the Garfield review at Advertising Age.

The ads are gorgeous, one toying with a fledgling family in a music box and another featuring everyday people in classic film scenes, but all the goodwill they generate was lost when we saw the JC Penney logo at the end.

All in all, the campaign leaves too soft a touch to change the image of Penney's, which doesn't just need a marketing restructuring. It needs a facelift and an aggressive, long-term marketing effort.

That damn logo by itself needs work; it's a vacuum that stands for all the "ick" you feel when you walk into the store.

Steve tops our reaction to the Lovemarks/Penney's campaign off well: "It's like a padded Victoria's Secret bra. False advertising." Come on, Penney's. Step up your game. Make James Cash proud.