NEW YORK — Cotton Incorporated wants to reach younger shoppers while they read.
The Cary, N.C.-based fiber promotion organization is introducing a print ad campaign in the September issues of 10 fashion and lifestyle magazines, as part of its ongoing effort to appeal to women ages 18 to 34. Cotton Inc. has budgeted $5 million for print advertising for all of 2004 and 2005.
“This is a print extension of what we’re attempting with the new TV campaign, which is to speak in the language of today’s young woman who is excited about clothing, excited about shopping for clothing,” said Ric Hendee, vice president of marketing services. “‘The Fabric of Our Lives’ was more of a corporate-speak. This is more trying to speak like today’s 30-year-olds.”
This spring, Cotton Inc. largely dropped that long-term slogan when it rolled out a fresh TV campaign focused on mannequins. Still, subtle echoes of the theme song can be found in an acoustic guitar version that plays for those who call the company’s offices and are put on hold.
Last fall, Cotton Inc. hired DDB Worldwide Communications Group as its new ad agency and charged it with revitalizing the ad approach. That decision came after the firm realized its spots were appealing more to older shoppers who’d already been sold on the idea of buying cotton, rather than to young families who were still establishing buying habits.
There are six versions of the new print ad, each of which is framed in a hangtag that bears the Seal of Cotton. They will appear in publications including Lucky, Glamour, Elle, Marie Claire, Shop Etc., Us Weekly and Real Simple. Lucky and Glamour are owned by Advance Publications Inc., which also owns WWD.
— Scott Malone