JC Penney has been running a campaign called Beware of the Doghouse that highlights the consequences for men who buy inappropriate holiday gifts for their wives and girlfriends.
I wrote about this campaign from a marketing point of view over on Marketing Roadmaps. Mostly positive, a few criticisms.
I’ve gotten to know one of Penney’s agencies through some of the other topics I write about, and they offered me a $100 gift card for a contest prize for my readers.
That’s ONE gift card, folks, but it’s enough to buy a nice Valentine’s gift for your significant other. Or let’s face it, clothes for the kids or new towels.
Now, I happen to think jewelry, the JCP product pitched in this campaign, is actually a pretty nice gift. Once your partner understands the type of jewelry you like, it always fits and you never have to wait in return lines after the holidays.
Seriously, think about Christmas. I can think of no better argument for jewelry as a gift than the following exhibits:
So, here’s my contest. Write a post about the worst gift you ever gave or got from a significant other. Please link to this post and leave a comment here as well so my other readers find your story.
My brother has graciously agreed to be my judge, so he will review all the stories and pick his favorite. You don’t have to link to the JC Penney video to be entered, but it’s pretty funny, so you make the call.
Contest ends at midnight Eastern Standard Time on Saturday, February 7, 2009. Void where prohibited and all that jazz.
UPDATE 1/29/09: It has been gently pointed out to me that people may not want to get in trouble with a significant other by calling out a gift as awful, so I have decided to expand the scope to any giver/receiver. You can also relate a third-person tale if you wish. Also, since some folks don’t have blogs, you can leave your story in the comments or write your own post, whichever you prefer. Just make sure that something ends up in the comments to this post as that’s where we will pull the entries from.
Jean D. says
For our anniversary, hubby-pie got me a new bathroom sink faucet. I gave him the key to a weekend room and spa package at the Marriott.
Any more questions?
Kimberly/Mom in the City says
I’m posting this as a comment, because I don’t want to hurt my mom’s feelings in case she reads this on my blog. We were pretty broke financially (on my mom’s side) growing up after my mom and dad were divorced. One Christmas, all that she could afford to give each of us girls for Christmas was a pack of hair rollers. That was pretty much the worst gift that I ever received.
John Arleth says
Ok, I think I might win this. I gave my wife a brand new manure spreader for her horses, for mother’s day. I thought it was cool, drag behind the tractor, after she cleans the stalls and spread the manure in a special pit area. I think I could have saved money and been a hero instead of a dog house denizen if I had cleaned the stalls for her, that day. It truly was legendary. I still hear about it every mother’s day.