Lady LUX

High-end retailer Saks Fifth Avenue is taking a techie name for its fall ad campaign: @ Saks. Launching Aug. 21, this new themed campaign will appear just about everywhere: shopping bags, catalogs, store windows, in-store displays, ads on taxis, buses, billboards, and in print and social media, reported Women’s Wear Daily. The @ symbol will serve as a reminder of the store’s e-commerce.

Over the years, Saks has evolved its advertising themes, moving from the hard-hitting “Want It,” which highlighted top items, to the more cheerful “Think about,” which launched after the economic downturn to promote shopping even during difficult times. This was followed by the “I am going to” message, likewise intended to enliven worried consumers.

The man behind the ad’s slick photography is Albert Watson, who snapped the images in and around Saks’ famed Fifth Avenue flagship – including on the roof. Some photos take a street perspective, looking through the storefront windows and showing the reflections of passersby, including Watson himself. This positioning caused Terron Schaefer, executive vice president and chief creative officer at Saks, to describe the ads as “Gotham-esque.” Watson also captured high-brow collections displayed throughout the store, such as Dolce & Gabbana, Oscar de la Renta and Donna Karan.

“We’re making Saks the hero, and wherever possible using the vendors’ own shops in the flagship,” Schaefer explained, noting the ad campaign balances the physical and online presence of the department store.

The company has also reinvented the look of its shopping bag, drawing on its rich history of designs.

“(The latest bag) is very true to our DNA in terms of the color palette and the geometric shape. We love the square,” Schaefer revealed.

Shoppers will be able to delight in seven bag versions this fall; more special options will be released for the holiday season. Some designs, of course, will feature the @ symbol replicated in patterns, plus the Saks famed square logo on the side seams inserts. Other bags will be patterned with only one large @ or both an @ and the Saks logo.

Opening the bag, shoppers can view messages luring them to the company’s website and Twitter and Facebook accounts, which highlight store events, provide “front-row buzz” or make gift suggestions. For example, one line inside a bag reads, “For videos of the dresses @ Saks, visit saks.com.”

Customers can also catch store buzz by using quick response codes on outdoor ads in phone booths, on buses and bus stop shelters, and in New York print ads. These embedded codes allow users to access a list of what is occurring that day at the department store, such as new product arrivals or designer appearances. They also relate interesting tidbits about Saks.

One reveals, “The first customers walked through our doors on September 15, 1924. The first product to sell out? A silver flask. (Prohibition was still going strong.)”

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