JC Penny - Doghouse

The “Doghouse” won the 2009 World Retail Award for Best Digital Retail Advertising Campaign. Web-only, it was launched ahead of the 2008 holiday shopping season in the US. The campaign was centred on a brilliant video, showing men who gave their wives thoughtless gifts being banished to the doghouse, a grim underground facility where prisoners are sentenced to fold laundry.



Because it was aired on the web, the video wasn’t subject to normal commercial constraints – it ran for nearly 5 minutes, rather than 15 or 30 seconds - and was really more of a mini-film rather than an ad.

The video was hosted on a site called www.bewareofthedoghouse.com and invited women to put their partners into the virtual doghouse as a way of reprimanding them for bad gift choices. Men could also be emailed a warning that they may be uploaded to the doghouse if they didn’t do the right thing. And the only way out of the doghouse? Purchase diamond jewellery from JC Penney.



The campaign also made great use of social media. Facebook users visiting the site could easily select “doghouse” candidates from their friends list and upload their names or send warnings.

“Beware of the Doghouse” logged more than 7 million visitors and more than 14 million total video views through the holiday season. But more than that, Ruby Anik told the National Retail Forum that jewellery sales (in the midst of the recession mind you) went up 8%.