Bloomingdale’s Holiday Campaign to Feature Tony Bennett Songs, Infiniti Convertibles

Macy’s Inc. (Cincinnati) has announced that its New York-based Bloomingdale's division will collaborate with Sony Music Entertainment Inc. (New York) for its 2008 holiday promotion campaign. And, for the second year in a row, Infiniti, the luxury division of the Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (Tokyo), will sponsor the unveiling of Bloomingdale's holiday windows at the flagship 59th Street store in Manhattan.

On Nov. 20, 2008, Tony Bennett will perform live, singing a selection of holiday classics, as the fashion retailer debuts this year’s holiday windows theme on Lexington Avenue. Bennett has also created an original watercolor of the Bloomingdale's marquee whose image will be reproduced on the store's holiday shopping bag and a special electronic gift card. Each Bennett-designed gift card will feature a code that gives recipients access to download an exclusive “Jingle Bells” track – which he recorded for Bloomingdale's – via iTunes.

“There's no better way for us to usher in the holiday season than to have Tony Bennett unveil the Bloomingdale's windows and perform Christmas classics on Lexington Avenue,” said Jack Hruska, the retailer’s executive vp, creative services (and a member of the VMSD editorial advisory board). “With our amazing assortment of gift ideas and fashions, the continuation of our exciting music campaign and Infiniti's sponsorship and exclusive new offering to our customers, Bloomingdale's is the destination for holiday shopping and entertainment.”

In addition to its sponsorship of the holiday windows, Infiniti will reveal its new G Convertible over eight pages in the Bloomingdale's holiday catalog. The automaker will make 199 Premier Edition G Convertibles available to Bloomingdales' customers through the catalog six months before the vehicle is available to the public. The vehicle will also be on display in four Bloomingdale's locations from Dec. 10, 2008, through Jan. 10, 2009 in Tysons Corner (Va.), South Coast Plaza (Costa Mesa, Calif.), Lenox Mall (Atlanta) and Orlando.

“Nobody is going to say the fourth quarter won’t be tough,” Hruska told The New York Times. Still, “we didn’t pull back, because that would be “foolish. People want to feel good about the holidays and what the holidays mean, sharing time with family and friends. And “shopping can take your mind off the uncertainty we have to live with every minute of the day. Even if you don’t buy anything, you can always wander around and do something free at Bloomingdale’s.”

“The luxury market has been impacted like the rest of the car market” by the economy, said Ben Poore, Infiniti’s vp, marketing. But “there’s still great demand for product like this that’s unique, that’s exclusive.”