For some women, a new pair of shoes is as essential as fresh air. This well-documented female fetish for footwear became the insight behind a humorous campaign to promote the Calgary retailer, Arnold Churgin Shoes.

With a tight budget of only $20,000, Calgary agency Push created a single 30-second TV spot to promote the supplier of women’s European designer shoes to a younger female demo. The commercial launched on local stations late last month.

‘Arnold Churgin noticed that its audience is getting older and the shoes are not appealing as much to the younger shopper, so we were faced with the challenge of drawing in that younger generation without excluding the older woman,’ says Push president Charles Blackwell.

The spot opens on a young couple with a female real estate agent, about to view a house for sale.

The house, which was huge on the outside, appears initially to consist only of one tiny room, containing a pullout bed, microwave and flip-down table. The confused man asks what happened to the promised 6,000 sq. ft., at which point the real estate agent opens a door to reveal the most enormous shoe-closet. ‘We’ll take it,’ says the female viewer. The spot ends with the tagline: ‘Arnold Churgin. Where shoes are everything,’ and a series of shots of some of the chain’s latest styles.

Two different versions of the spot have been created, one to promote the retailer’s semi-annual sale, and one pushing an up-to-half-off sale at the chain’s three Calgary branches.

‘We wanted to show in a humorous way that we understand the irrational passion for expensive shoes, and to create an empathy with those consumers,’ explains Blackwell. ‘It’s a passion that men don’t really understand to the same extent.’

If the initial spot proves successful, Push hopes to launch additional spots on the same theme later in the year. And print and in-store elements are also in the making.

Credits

Client: Arnold Churgin Shoes

Agency: Push

Writer: Charles Blackwell

Art Director: Jason Sweet

Director: Cliff Skelton

Production House: Apple Box Productions

Executive Producer: Missy Geffen

Women’s soccer has balls

Female soccer players are every bit as tough as their male counterparts, according to a new multi-media campaign, which will be rolling out in Edmonton, Vancouver and Victoria during the coming weeks, to raise the profile of the first ever FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) Under-19 Women’s World Championship.

A combination of billboard posters and bus kings were unveiled in Edmonton during the last week of May, and throughout June transit ads will be spreading across the other two Canadian cities hosting the event, which kicks off Aug. 17.

The ads, created by Palmer Jarvis DDB’s Edmonton office for The Canadian Soccer Association, show images of soccer balls embedded in different materials, from a brick wall, to a concrete slab or sheet of steel. Each ad includes the tagline: ‘Boy, can they play,’ and information about the dates and venues of the event.

‘A lot of people aren’t exposed to soccer at this level, so we want to let people know that these women can really play the game,’ says Jeff McLean, CD at Palmer Jarvis. ‘The aggression in the visuals indicates that these women can kick the ball just as hard as any man.’ McLean says the ads are primarily targeting soccer families.

A super board will also be displayed in a high-traffic area between St. Albert, Alta. and Edmonton, featuring 3-D soccer balls. And print ads will be appearing in local newspapers and magazines in each of the three markets, using the same creative.

Credits

Client: The Canadian Soccer Association

Agency: Palmer Jarvis DDB

Creative Director/Art Director: Jeff McLean

Writer: Bob Wood

Account Co-ordinators: Martha Jamieson and Helene Leggatt

Illustrator: Stephen Dittberner

Production: Linda Cirka

Greengate takes non-garden-variety approach

‘If you could control the elements you’d have a God complex too,’ is one of the tags Calgary’s Greengate Garden Centre is using in its light-hearted print campaign, launched on June 1 to promote its new image. The ‘God’ execution refers to the garden centre’s new greenhouse development with a retractable roof.

‘We wanted to go for something fun rather than the hard-sell approach typically used by garden centres,’ says Harington Telford, owner of the 2.4 hectare centre. ‘The ads reflect the fun environment that we offer in-store.’

Four long-copy ads promote the new features at Greengate, which was re-branded and expanded earlier this year from its original status as Golden Acres Garden Sentres. With the centre’s target 35-to-55 age group in mind, Calgary’s Highwood Communications came up with a series of humorous taglines including: ‘Get aroused on the Internet without getting fired,’ to promote online shopping capabilities. Each ad also includes an image of a flower or plant, or a member of staff.

The ads were originally created for the garden centre’s internal magazine for consumers, and have now launched in local publications including the Calgary Herald and Calgary Sun.

Robert Sweetman, account manager and art director at Highwood, adds that the long-copy approach was chosen as the most effective means of including all the details about the new features on offer.

The campaign will also be expanded to include some guerrilla elements around Calgary, using stickers with taglines such as: ‘We can help you grow anything anywhere.’ In-store promotions are also in the works, using condensed versions of the current ads.

Credits

Client: Greengate Garden Centre

Agency: Highwood Communications

Creative Director: Steve Williams

Art Director/Account manager: Robert Sweetman

Writer: Dan King

Account Co-ordinator: Correna Frey