Sag Harbor: Dress with Confidence, Just for You

Brandweek, July 10, 2000 by Sandra Dolbow

Sag Harbor is reaching out to women with a message that exudes cool and confidence--and the pleasure of dressing up just for themselves--in the brand's first TV campaign set to air in 10 U.S. cities this fall.

Ad spending for the line of moderately priced dresses, sportswear and accessories from Halmode Apparel, a division of Kellwood, was not disclosed. Though Kellwood rang up $2.1 billion in sales last year, the St. Louis-based firm spent less than $1 million on ads for its collection of brands, which include Jax, Kathie Lee, Fritzi and Koret.

The mid-September through mid-October push will aim to drive awareness of Sag Harbor's apparel and licensed watches, shoes, jewelry and accessories, hats, outerwear and hosiery. A home-furnishings license is in the works.

The 30-second spots, via Hampel/Stefanides, N.Y., have a faded, grainy feel reminiscent of '70s-era, 16mm home-movies showing girls in parochial school uniforms and the voiceover, "You've done it because someone told you to." Next, bell-bottomed, tiedyed teens bounce in a girlfriend's bedroom ("You've done it to fit in."), followed by a young woman descending staircase in a prom dress ("You've done it to impress a guy.") Finally a mature woman (Sag Harbor's core customer is age 38 and up) clad in a twinset is seated on a sofa as the voiceover asks, "Isn't it time you dressed for yourself?"

Media buys, though not complete, will likely hit Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Houston, Knoxville, St. Louis and the Baltimore-Washington corridor. New York and Los Angeles are excluded, for now.

"We're selling an attitude of confidence, dressing for yourself, not dressing to fit in or please anyone," said Dean Stefanides who with partner Larry Hampel is creative director for the ads.