Martin Williams Rebrands Mall of America

By Erik Oster 

Minneapolis-based agency Martin Williams recently completed a rebranding effort for Mall of America, the nation’s largest retail complex in Bloomington, Minnesota.

“Mall of America is in the process of expanding and rebranding itself to reflect its vast and unique experience,” explained Tom Moudry, CEO and chief creative officer, Martin Williams. “We’re really excited to have been chosen to be part of this effort.”

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The new television campaign focuses on the excitement possible from the array of experiences found at Mall of America, crafting two separate “best day ever” type narratives from the perspectives of visitors, while avoiding the use of the word “mall” — which we’re guessing is a key component of the rebranding campaign. Both spots are created to show a dizzying whirlwind of different experiences at Mall of America, with a short-attention span let’s cram everything in series of events that’s exhausting just to watch. The narrator has to talk really fast to even keep up. “A tiring day spending hundreds of dollars (at least) at Mall of America could get you laid” seems to be the message behind “Couple,” which ends with the line, “Who needs date night when there’s date day?” Okay, so that may be reducing things a bit, but there’s definitely the suggestion that a day at the mall cramming in countless shopping and dining experiences can spark some romance. Positioning a mall as romantic is a hard sell, to say the least, but Martin Williams does a passable job with that premise.

“Girls” meanwhile, shows Mall of America as the perfect place for a girls day out, which makes a bit more sense, although the execution comes off as a bit stereotypical. What do girls do at the mall? Get a crush on a bag; try on jeans, jeans, jeans; find some guys, ditch some guys; eat something and don’t remember what it’s called. (At times things get a bit insulting.) At least they ride the rollercoaster a couple of times for good measure. Both of the 30-second spots end with the “Always new” tagline, emphasizing the ever-evolving nature of the 4.2 million square-feet complex housing over 520 stores. Check out “Girls” below and stick around for some behind-the-scenes footage, along with credits, after the jump.

Credits:
Executive Creative Director: Tom Moudry

Creative Director: David Richardson

Copywriter: Anna Stassen

Art Director: David Richardson

Agency Producer: Stan Prinsen

VP, Dir. Of Production: Stan Prinsen

Production Company: Martin Williams

Director: Dan Monick

Exec. Producer: Stan Prinsen

Line Producer: Julia Schaffer

Off-Line Company: Chop Shop

Offline Editor: Todd Johnson

Offline Post Producer: Stan Prinsen

Color Correction: Crash & Sue’s

Colorist: Sue Lakso

Online Company: Chop Shop

Online Creative Director: David Richardson

Online Post Producer: Stan Prinsen

Recording/Mix Studio: BWN

Engineer: Dan Kramer

Music House: BWN

Music Supervisor: Ken Brahmstedt

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