Target Misses The Target

The other night I was watching TV when a commercial came on. Keith Urban was jamming in a room, playing his guitar and writing some new music. Then he began to make his way to the stage, a camera following him as he psyched himself up to welcome his audience.

As I followed his trek to the stage, I found myself wondering what this commercial was all about. Was he coming to town for a concert? Would this ad maybe take a turn and sell an iPod Nano? Was Keith maybe launching a new line of clothing?

Then he burst on the stage and began rocking out to his new song. It wasn't until the last few seconds of the ad, that the following visual came on the screen:

I must admit, I was really disappointed ... on a number of counts. I really wanted this ad to be about Keith and his music. I also happen to be a fan of some great advertising that Target has done in the past, like the one that aired during the 2010 Golden Globes. Or even the one that was used to announce the arrival of the Black Eyed Peas CD last year.

I'm concerned with some of the advertising that I've seen in the past few months from Target. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw an ad a few days ago that featured a woman in a red sweat suit running through a Target store or the woman who hadn't slept in days as she waited for the two-day Target sale.

Bad advertising. I mean really really bad ads.

Dare I say it? Target seems to have lost their secret recipe when it comes to creating great ads.