I just knew mobile marketing would play a major role in the deluge of back-to-school related media in the coming weeks and months. Of course, I never would have guessed that a medium so contemporary would go old-school for one of the most talked about ads of the summer. Â
JC Penney is putting the bulk of its advertising dollars behind a back-to-school campaign designed by creative agency Saatchi & Saatchi. That hyped ad being released next week is a spoof of the 1985 teen angst movie The Breakfast Club, which will illustrate the broad range of selections that Penneys sells via brand names such as Arizona, Decree, Le Tigre and Fabulosity. Â
The “cinema ad,” which runs 60 seconds is already turning up in previews on mobile phones across America. It features a montage of recreated scenes from the popular 80’s movie, with “updated characters wearing colorful Penney outfits.” Best of all, the video’s soundtrack is a remake of “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” the Simple Minds anthem closely associated with the film, which Entertainment Weekly named the best high school movie of all time. Â
Apart from the minute-long mobile ad, a shorter 30-second version will begin running on national network and cable TV in July and August.
