Saks Fifth Avenue (New York) will employ a double-decker bus next month to ferry customers from the Fifth Avenue flagship store to Manhattan’s Upper East Side, where they will receive free admission to several of the museums in the area.
The promotion, to be held March 13-15, 2008, is part of the fashion retailer’s current “Want It!” advertising campaign. The ads, created by Dutch graphic artist Piet Paris, are all over the city and the buses will be wrapped in the images. The artist, Saks personnel and other personalities will also likely make appearances on the bus.
“[Tourists were] really the trigger to think about the bus concept, because they are the first to hop on the bus and do the tour of New York, so we expect a lot of tourists on the bus,” Kimberly Grabel, Saks’ senior vp, marketing, told Advertising Age. The retailer will also take the opportunity to plug its fashions. “Our guides will not only be dressed in 'Want It!' fashion, but they'll have a script that includes both the trends of the season as well as a little history of Saks Fifth Avenue,” said Grabel.
Sakes chairman and ceo Steve Sadove will take a small group of customers on the bus to the New York Stock Exchange for the ringing of the closing bell on April 10. And 25 customers will have the chance to take a private tour of the Whitney Museum of American Art.
The new campaign is the fourth in the “Want It!” series, which has also featured the artists Michael Roberts, Marian Bantjes and Mats Gustafson. According to Ad Age, Paris used spray paint, collage and water colors to create illustrations that seamlessly integrate trends such as tunics and shoulder bags with the New York City skyline for the spring '08 season.
“New York is our heritage. We really wanted to make New York the hero, if you will,” said Terron Schaefer, Saks’ group senior vp, creative and marketing at Saks. “Piet had a sense of whimsy and humor that I thought would be an interesting approach.”
Saks is also partnering with New York Magazine on its “Best of New York” issue, which hits newsstands March 3. “Want It!” ads will be the opener of every major section in the magazine, and there will also be a foldout that features key trends, Grabel told Ad Age. Some of the personalities and products from the issue will be featured at the store on March 13.