Love Bites

Or LoveMarks or whatever Teddy-K-in-In-Good-Company moniker Saatchi's using to promote their new campaign for J.C. Penny.

Much has been made over the tag line "Every Day Matters."

But tag lines are bullshit. They take on a life based on (a) the advertising itself and (b) the product itself.

"Just Do It" is a fairly innocuous line on its own. But put the brilliant Nike creative in front of it and it shines. The fact that Nike makes a good product helps too.

Now as for Penney, everyone holds up Target as an example. But Target's ads work because the merchandise in the stores in every bit as hip and trendy as the advertising promises, with designers like Isaac Mizrachi and Todd Oldham doing their own budget lines for Target.

Now let J.C. Penney get, say, Philippe Starcke to design a line of furniture for them, and suddenly "Every Day Matters" takes on a different spin. But if they continue to sell more fiberboard faux-Colonial crap, then the line falls on its face.