From: Keds
Subject Line: keds.com: COOL IS BUZZ ON NEW AND CLASSIC STYLES
Date: Thursday, March 23, 2006

Let's face it: Keds haven't been cool since like 1990. Or maybe I only thought they were cool in 1990 since I was - like - 10. Regardless, Keds only recently began a campaign to regain their cool by employing as their face the negligably cool Mishca Barton. This email, featuring the "COOL BUZZ" appears to be a piece of that effort. While I find the creative execution messy and unprofessional (Umm... was this done in PowerPoint!?), the idea behind it is smart and something you just don't see in EDMs. We all know the power of product placement. Why shouldn't Gap, then, add little "Featured in XYZ Magazine" dot-whacks to their product imagery? Or why wouldn't Pottery Barn feature their "Outdoor Furniture, as seen in Real Simple"? Is it legally difficult to get permission to make these mentions, or is it just that no one's thought of it? Except Keds. Necessity is the mother of invention.