The Wall Street Journal-20080114-Super Bowl Again to See Lingerie Ad
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Super Bowl Again to See Lingerie Ad
Victoria's Secret plans to run its first Super Bowl ad since 1999, hoping to give a boost to its struggling business.
With a 30-second commercial scheduled to run during the second half of the game on Feb. 3, the retailer plans to promote its Valentine's Day merchandise and draw back to its stores customers who have been limiting their spending. The commercial features Victoria's Secret supermodel Adriana Lima.
"We really see the retail environment being very tough," with competitors offering steep discounts, says Jill Beraud, chief marketing officer of Victoria's Secret. "The more we see promotions out there, the more we believe we need to continue to build our brand and reinforce the notion of what is sexy."
The last time Victoria's Secret ran a Super Bowl spot, the company says, 1.2 million people logged onto its Web site before the game had ended. Back then, the retailer was promoting the live Web broadcast of its fashion show, which appeared a few days later.
The next year, Victoria's Secret moved its fashion show before Christmas, so a Super Bowl commercial no longer made sense, says Ed Razek, president of brand and creative services for Victoria's Secret parent company Limited Brands Inc., of Columbus, Ohio.
The most recent show, which was broadcast on CBS Corp.'s CBS network in December, ranked third in its time slot but pulled in 10% more viewers than the previous year, Mr. Razek says.
For this year, Victoria's Secret Chief Executive Sharen Jester Turney suggested a Super Bowl ad to promote Valentine's Day, the brand's second-most-important holiday after Christmas. The retailer spent "a little less than the average" going rate of about $2.7 million for a 30-second spot, Ms. Beraud says. The commercial will be posted on the Victoria's Secret Web site several hours after the game.
Now that Limited has sold its apparel businesses, Express and Limited Stores, the company is working to get its 1,000-store Victoria's Secret chain back on track.
The brand had a rough Christmas. Problems with a distribution center forced the retailer to cut back on catalog circulation during the holiday season, so that customers wouldn't be disappointed with late- arriving merchandise.
Same-store sales -- sales at stores open at least a year -- fell 8% in December from a year earlier. Bras and panties, sleepwear and beauty all were disappointing; the Pink brand, aimed at college students, was the only relative bright spot. On Wednesday, Victoria's Secret named a new president of its beauty business.
Competition is growing, too: On Thursday, teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. said it will launch an intimate-apparel chain called Gilly Hicks, opening its first store in Massachusetts this year. American Eagle Outfitters Inc., another teen brand, has had success with its fast-growing "aerie" line of underwear and pajamas. Aerie now operates 39 stand-alone stores. Discount department-store chains such as J.C. Penney Co. and Kohl's Corp. have updated their lingerie sections in the past year.
