A year later, and Martha hasn't set foot in Sears; Kmart merger promised cross selling, but retailers aren't sharing brands.(News)(Martha Stewart)

Advertising Age, November, 2005 by Frazier, Mya

Byline: Mya Frazier

Almost a year after the Sears/Kmart merger was sold to investors on the idea of cross-selling, i.e. Martha Stewart in Sears and Craftsman in Kmart, that same message isn't being marketed to shoppers.

Instead of sharing brands this holiday season, Sears is telling shoppers to "wish big'' and highlighting its proprietary brands as it harks back to its iconic "Wish Book'' in spots from WPP Group's Y&R, Chicago, that are already on the air. Kmart breaks its effort today, composed entirely of 15-second spots, from WPP's Grey Worldwide, New York. The ads push its proprietary brands while promising shoppers Kmart has "everything on your list.''

Maybe next year

And surprisingly, marketing leaders on both sides of the...

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