The news surrounding Bed Bath & Beyond has been nothing short of glum recently: Despite being Broad City’s retailer of choice, the company just parted ways with its longtime CEO Steven Temares as it struggles to keep pace with the changing retail environment.
Even so, the retailer is chugging along with a digital campaign that pokes fun at our collective obsession with online shopping by highlighting the too-oft forgotten perks of actually walking into a store, like being able to actually take something home with you after buying it instead of waiting for it to ship.
The tongue-in-cheek spots, created by independent agency Evolution Bureau (EVB), are made funnier by the actor cast in the role of an apathetic Bed Bath & Beyond employee, whose deadpan delivery is reminiscent of Ben Stein’s iconic roll call scene in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
The campaign is debuting across digital and social channels—including YouTube, Facebook and Instagram—in hopes of driving traffic to the brand’s brick-and-mortar stores by reintroducing customers to the benefits of what it’s referring to as “offline shopping.”
While each spot in the campaign is generally the same, they’ve all been tweaked a bit to target a specific audience; for instance, one promotes the retailer’s wedding registry services, while another is aimed at people who’ve just moved. According to John Reid, chief creative officer at EVB, Bed Bath & Beyond is using behavioral targeting to reach the appropriate customers.
“Sometimes, going into the store to get exactly what you want is the perfect answer, and these videos will remind consumers of just that,” he said.
Jessica Joyce, senior manager of public relations and social media at Bed Bath & Beyond, said that the campaign affords the company the ability to reach customers online in order to engage with them in a deeper way offline.
“These videos highlight our strength in-store to deliver a personalized customer service experience, touch and feel our broad product selection firsthand and, of course, instantly purchase,” she said.
