UPDATED: An open letter to the Target Corporation, or, is this what you meant by targeting women?
Mr. Bob Ulrich, CEO
Mr. Michael Francis, EVP, Marketing
Target Corporation
Mr. Ulrich and Mr. Francis:
As a proponent of ethical advertising for children, I never thought I’d have an issue with the Target Corporation.
Sure, you had that little problem with the Target Rounders. But that was an agency’s fault, not yours.
But now: I can hardly believe that you, the Target Corporation, my Minneapolis-hometown Target Corporation, the Target Corporation that gives back $3 million each week to communities, the Target Corporation that supports safe homes and families and family violence prevention – would promote itself by this?
courtesy Bennett4Senate
You see, Mr. Ulrich and Mr. Francis, it’s hard enough to raise girls to become healthy adults these days. And you’re not helping.
I know you are busy keeping stockholders happy, but if you have time, you might want to read:
Using Media Education to Raise Awareness about Domestic Violence (from the Media Education Foundation);
Dads & Daughters: A Safe and Fair World for Girls;
Media’s Effect On Girls: Body Image And Gender Identity (from the National Institute on Media and the Family); or
Prude: How the Sex-Obsessed Culture Damages Girls (and America, Too!).
If I could, I would return the check for seven thousand-odd dollars that you gave to my daughter’s school last year, and give up all future donations, just to ensure that we’d never see an ad like this again.
Sincerely yours,
Lisa Ray
Former Customer, East Lake Street Target
Minneapolis
via Shaping Youth
UPDATE: Bob Ulrich is retiring. So I’ll cc: Mr. Gregg Steinhafel.
Comments are closed.
January 9th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
by the way, I snapped this photo in Times Square - the ad is huge! About 20′ by 20′.
January 15th, 2008 at 12:57 am
cmon lady, this is a winter ad campaign, obviously she is doing a snow angel. unless you forgot, thats what you do, lay on your back and go spread eagle. now, if she was half naked that would be different….and very hot. lighten up darlin, life is waaaaaay to short.
January 15th, 2008 at 4:03 am
I wonder, do you also have problems with women doing jumping jacks? After all, the scissor leg motion is very provocative, bringing much attention to the pelvic region because of all of the movement. I’ve been thinking about staging a boycott on that.
But seriously, if you are offended by women in the media, the Middle East (or other countries where women are reduced to full coverage with eyes exempt and no sort of status). You really are making a big deal about nothing. You may have seen one part of the add, but instead of furthering your research, you jumped the gun to say target was racist.
You got what you wanted, your 15 minutes of fame for your group. I mean I think your organization is a wonderful idea, however, you are giving it a bad name with your over-exaggeration. If you really have a problem with women being exploited in the media, boycott MTV, BET, FHM magazine, Maxim Magazine, Hustler, Playboy,and any other magazine or station readily available to the youth that portrays women in sleazy outfits and often has degrading acts or lyrics bestowed upon them in the form of “crap” rap.
Please change your focus, you’re targeting the wrong demon.
January 15th, 2008 at 4:04 am
*sexist, not racist. Excuse me for the typo.
January 15th, 2008 at 6:30 am
I don’t get it. I’m a female with young children, and I don’t see what I’m supposed to be offended at.
January 15th, 2008 at 7:38 am
Ms Ray, perhaps you should also gather your venom for whenever you fuel your car. Obviously you’ve noticed how the marketing of tobacco products is the foremost concern of our “friendly” Superamerica and Holiday stores. The real gateway drugs in this culture are tobacco products causing thousands of our young people to become addicted to the poison yearly. Although I share concern about the effects of marketing on our children is this Target advertisement really that vile when compared to how tobacco products and alcohol are continually being shoved in their face when they accompany their parents to gas up the family ride.
January 15th, 2008 at 7:44 am
You could not piece together that this woman was making a snow angel??? The other parts of the ad show a man ice skating on the logo, another sledding on the logo, obviously this is all winter related. I think the complaint is ignorant as there is absolutley nothing wrong with this ad.
Jennifer
Current and Forever Customer
January 15th, 2008 at 8:37 am
You people REALLY need to get a grip on things. Stop being so damn dramatic over nothing.
January 15th, 2008 at 9:00 am
In my opinion this ad is not sexist at all. The girl is dressed in winter gear, has a sweet smile on her face and looks exactly like my grandchildren and me when we make snow angels.
Have you seen a Victoria Secret ad lately? Did you know that they bought advertising time during super bowl? Why don’t you target (pardon the pun) those companies that really do have advertising that’s over the top?
This company does a lot for this town, for our schools and our kids.
January 15th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Are youkidding me!?
January 15th, 2008 at 9:30 am
Mr. Ray,
Get your mind out of the gutter. When I first saw this ad, I knew it was of a woman making a snow angle on the Target symbol.
You not shopping at Target it not goinig to make any impact. Where else do you shop? Walmart? Have you looked at the ads they have, or ads of any other store you shop at? I bet not.
I can’t believe you. And for you to want to return the check Target gave your daughter’s school is insane. Have you thought about all the things your daughter’s school can use that money for? Are you going to replace the $7000 to the school? I bet not.
You make me sick!
January 15th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Get over it and yourself. It is an add of a woman making a freakin snow angel. There are far worse ads across Minneapolis and Saint Paul then this one. There are also far worse ads down 35 in Texas. If you really want to make a difference, focus on the ads that are truly offensive. Either that or find something better to do with your time.
January 15th, 2008 at 9:43 am
I think you are over reacting in this case. There are certainly some ads that need scrutiny, but this is not one. I think you know this. It is clear to me that your ‘objection’ to this ad was intentionally off base to bring attention to your organization. Clever.
Keep up the good fight, but don’t go looking to be offended. Tackle the obvious. Don’t tell the public they ’should be’ offended or you’ll find yourself as irrelavent and jeered as Al Sharpton.
PS Why don’t you go pester Ambercrombie? All those wall-sized pics of shirtless men don’t really have anything to do with selling shirts, do they?
January 15th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Maybe the problem is not with the add it is with the people that find the add offensive. Maybe your thoughts are in the wrong place if you look at things and only see, or can’t get passed the sexual connotation
January 15th, 2008 at 9:49 am
I think I read that this is a woman making a snow angel. Hard to believe that this ad, that I had never seen until it was brought to my attention by the news because of people thinking a snow angel is offensive, is more damaging to your daughters than $7,000 less towards her school where she is educated. That seems silly to me.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:39 am
This is absolutely ridiculous. The woman is in full winter gear making snow angels, how can you find anything sexual in that? Anybody who looks at that add and sees something inappropriate already had their mind in the gutter. I would think someone that is a member of Parents for Ethical Marketing would have something better to complain about then a woman making snow angels. Get a grip!
January 15th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Of all the things to be offended by, this is not one of them.
It looks like someone making a snow angel.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:36 am
i think you should quit worring about a billboard, when there are 13,14 ,15 year old girls getting pregnant. maybe we should take care of that. or these kids going out commiting crimes and there parents bailing them out .when are parents going to make these kids accept the punishment for there actions.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Lisa,
If you are ‘looking’ for something to be offended about, I’m sure you’ll find something. How about that scarf around her neck? Are they trying to choke her??
If the woman were black than it could have been a racial profile, aka targeting blacks etc. If it were a child then I suppose it could have been exploiting children. How about SPOT the dog, then PETA could be involved?
You obviously need something to do. You have too much time on your hands.
Maybe you time would be better spent doing something worthwhile. How about volunteering at your daughter’s school mentoring special needs children? Have you ever thought about voluteering at a battered women’s shelter or a soup kitchen?
Sounds to me like you like to portray being the ‘victim’, poor me.
Most people would have thought nothing of the ad and dismissed it. YOU have brought it to the spotlight, shame on YOU. What have YOU done to help Minnesota??
Jayne, proud to be a Target shopper
January 15th, 2008 at 11:53 am
I guess my first thought when I looked at this was she’s making a snow angel. I see her decked out in winter gear and that’s what a person looks like when you make them. May be a little different if she was perhaps scantily dressed or on a bed. Makes one wonder where the mind is of people that protest.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Wow, I am simply appalled by this ad. There is nothing more unethical than depicting a woman making a snow angel on the Target Corporate logo. WOW!
January 15th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
I’m trying to understand what’s offensive or sexist about the image. Are people perceiving the woman as opening her legs for sex? Is it that a woman is on a bullseye and therefore a “target” for violence? I’m really trying to see it and none of the things I’ve read or the interviews I’ve heard have specifically iterated the issue.
January 15th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
My first impression was snow angel…but then, I’m not specifically looking for everything in the media to be related to sex…are you? I live in MN…we have snow. The first through when I see anyone lying down spread eagled…wearing winter attire head to toe is snow angels.
Were you not allowed to revel in the snow when you were a child? Do you allow your children to have fun or does leaving them to their own devices enable them to possibly do something that some pervert could misinterpret as sexual when it really is an action of pure innocence?
Are you that sicko that can’t look at innocent acts of revelie without having lewd thoughts about it?
I’m sure you’ll take my dissenting opinion off your website, but I think your reaction is wrong. Your reaction is a sad comment on the state of our society. No wonder our youth are afraid to have an opinion or make any statements.
January 15th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
What happened to not reading into things and just take it for what it is? A girl pretending to do a snow angle on the Target symbol. Too many controversies come up because of people reading into things too much and taking it out of context. Maybe what some people need to do is spend more time with their families, teaching them common sense, than concerning themselves with a stupid ad.
January 15th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
If the Target ad was trying to be even SUBLIMINALLY sexist, they would have failed….I guess if I were to rail against Target’s sexism, there would be at least a hundred other areas that would have made the cut…this picture isn’t one of them, and quite frankly it makes YOU look like the pervert to go after them for this pic.
January 15th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Society is too easily offended these days. I think that you need another hobby other than trying to pigeon hole any ad that you can find to further your own agenda. As far as I can tell, you are the only one having a negative impact on young girls by making this ad into something so farfetched. My point is supported by the fact that you (and maybe one other person) are the only one(s) to be “offended” by this ad. Enjoy your moment of notoriety…..
January 15th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Lady, you have way too much extra time on your hands. . .Seriously, I laughed out loud when I heard this on the news last night. Obviously you have not formal education in marketing and branding. . .I feel bad for your children!
January 15th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
wow lisa ray, you gotta know when and what battles to pick. this was a wrong one, which doesnt lend any help to your site or cause. instead of being a leader, you and your site have become a joke. nice job.
January 15th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Of course the still image you show is the closest you can get to making it provacative. But it is out of context without the whole ad to see.
Target corporate behavior is as good as any I have seen, yet you found a way to attack them.
What a waste of energy.
Well have to go now, theirs a new Victoria’s Secret ad coming on right after the Hanes ad where the young firm women in their pretty undies and tight T-shirts do splits and backflips.
January 15th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Seriously? You’d give back $7,000 donated to your daughter’s school because of an ad that YOU perceive to be sexist? That’s unfortunate.
January 15th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
It would appear that the feedback is extremely pro-Target. I wonder if those same people have any idea as to Target’s background with regard to their patronization of various causes, their financial involvement with controversial organizations, their negative liasons, etc. Check it out people. You may be surprised. If you come away from your research feeling that Target remains above accusation, you only have your own naivte to blame!
January 15th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Looking at this ad and seeing sexism, sexuality, or exploitation is really a huge stretch. Judging from the comments, 99.9% of viewers see a person frolicking in snow. Why don’t you point your overly critical eye in the top right corner of your own blog… do you see that? It’s a baby’s crotch… you big pervert!
Yes, that is sarcasm. I don’t think that EITHER image (Target’s or yours) is intended to be perverted.
January 15th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Someone needs to find another hobby.
January 15th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Ms. Ray - you should be ashamed of yourself! You must be a very negative, insecure person simply looking for ways to grab more attention. You have done a terrible disservice to your children and your organization.
January 15th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
What a pathetic way to generate traffic to your website. I’m sure I could find stuff that could be controversial if I spent all my time looking for it. Why don’t you just attack the companies that are corrupting our youth deliberately?
January 15th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Although I understand Ms Ray your attention at such issue, why at hand attack such an ad? Is there not other more important degrading media out there to people that you should’ve really focused on? Your views are simply yours. But you forget to understand what the norm is to most people. What is accepted in such a society and not. Of course you want the world to be a better place. But your way of thinking here really doesn’t help make it better because the way you think limits our human capacity, the very thing that makes us what we are.
You should not only be ashamed of yourself by pulling such a stunt for your organization. Have you even considered speaking to your staff members before talking such issue on what everyone thought of it?
January 15th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
In regard to the letter about what Target supports..what is your point? What does that have to do with this picture? So if you don’t agree with who they donate to, you attack this picture? Where is your logic? This is the reason the extreme right has no credibility….talk about non sequitor.
January 15th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Umm….yeah….umm…still struggling for respectfully tasteful, yet tactfully disagreeable terminology to convey the fact I believe Ms. Ray - while her goals are admirable - is writing under the influence.
Respectfully - Please do take a look at both companies’ balance sheets - specifically as it relates to $, not %, of marketing expenditure - balance against Target’s well-documented societal contributions, then re-prioritise the goals and objectives of your organisation. Your current goals and objectives are, indeed, laudable. However - I believe you’ve gone after one of the finer retail organisations around WORLDWIDE, and I’ve worked within retail software for over 25 years.
January 15th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
i agree that this is completely sexist, its basically saying “hey boy, come put your * inside of me.”
i wish every ad that degraded women got this much press, it would never end. we have become so desensitized to ads that objectify women and i thank you lisa for speaking out against one of the many.
and for all you people saying that Lisa Ray needs another hobby, you yourself took the time to come on this website and comment on her post. her hobby of advocating for women is one of the best hobbies i can think of