H&M Times Square

     I was in New York City over winter break, and we walked through Times Square a few times. This is a picture of H&M's largest store in the city. It's a little hard to read, but the phrase at the top says, "H&M loves Times Square."

     It's really hard to focus on single ads when you're immersed in the flashing lights and billboards of Times Square. It's kind of like the hub for all things consumer-oriented. Even so, this huge store's advertising stood out to me. As we got closer and closer to the actual building, the same phrase, "H&M loves Times Square," would pop up in smaller posters and screens along the way. This continued until, by the time we got to the main store, the phrase was pretty much ingrained in our heads. This is pretty impressive, considering the enormous amount of ads trying to work their way in.

     This particular phrase suggests that the H&M brand and shopping experience is a very important part of the tourist attraction that is Times Square. Not only does H&M love Times Square, but Times Square (and every consumer in it) loves H&M back, or so the company would have you believe. It's interesting because while there are many examples of a brand trying to become essential to a specific emotion, like Starbucks becoming one with holiday cheer, it's less common for a brand to try to associate itself with a certain place. These two strategies are pretty similar, though. As H&M becomes intertwined with Times Square, it also becomes a part of the emotions one feels in Times Square: awe, happiness, entertainment, etc. When tourists see this ad, it's just accepted. Of course H&M loves Times Square. It's awesome here! And, as H&M probably hopes, those feelings will automatically become associated with their brand.

     I think this ad is pretty effective. It's a simple way of creating a positive vibe for the brand. H&M is just taking advantage of the fun that everyone thinks of when they think of Times Square. And, judging by all the H&M bags I saw, they're right.