When Target announced that its next big designer collaboration would be with the Italian fashion house Missoni, fashionistas everywhere were thrilled at the prospect of scoring one the designer's iconic zigzag knits—which usually retail for thousands of dollars—for around $40 a piece. But few could have foreseen the mayhem that would ensue when Target finally released the line last Wednesday: Missoni-crazed customers not only flooded the retailer's stores, but they actually managed to crash its website for most of the day.
In honor of that rather impressive feat, let's take a look back at one Missoni for Target commercial that got those women salivating weeks ago. For its final campaign for Target, Minneapolis-based agency Peterson Milla Hooks decided to go back to Missoni's roots.
The 30-second spot, shot in Milan, Italy, follows the fashion house's heiress and occasional spokesmodel Margherita Maccapani Missoni on a very stylish, '60s-inspired spy caper—a throwback to the era when the Missoni label first shot to fame. To the tune of a kitschy 007 soundtrack, Margherita and a pretty blonde associate attempt to pass along a top-secret note while on a sly (and stylish) romp around the city. The brand's signature prints pop up on nearly every surface—from plates to children's clothing and even a bike—showing how the 400-piece collection isn't just fun, but functional, too.
The spy story might be silly, but who cares about secret agents when there's 400 pieces of Missoni to be ogled? The brand's lively prints and bright colors are a perfect fit for PMH's cutesy-chic Target campaigns, and the spot manages to sell a deeply discounted version of the Missoni lifestyle while still looking like a million bucks. While it might not make you want to go out and cover yourself in head-to-toe zigzags, it's not hard to see what made those site-crashing customers so eager to grab a piece of the fun.
Check out the spot here, along with some PMH print work from the same campaign.
