From: stride rite
Subject Line: Stride Rite® In-Store Memorial Day Sale: $19.99 and up!
Date: Monday, May 22, 2006

From: Janie and Jack
Subject Line: Celebrate the Season and Summer Savings
Date: Tuesday, May 23, 2006

From: J.Crew
Subject Line: 30% off swim, just in time for summer
Date: Thursday, May 25, 2006

From: Burberry
Subject Line: The Burberry Sale on burberry.com
Date: Thursday, May 25, 2006

Perennially, Memorial Day is a time for red, white and blue sale messaging. Let's take a look at how a handful of retailers spun it this season.

Stride Rite followed the classic Memorial Day formula with a star-centered graphical campaign. They list a date range and a big, fat under $20 price point, all with the intention of driving traffic to retail store locations rather than generating web sales (another tactic common to three-day weekends.) Two thumbs up; this campaign is clean and clear. One recommendation for improvement (which applies to all Stride Rite campaigns): take better advantage of your horizontal space. You've got about 300 extra pixels hanging out alongside your current creative, just waiting to be leveraged.

Janie and Jack do a tasteful Memorial Day message, subtly integrating the holiday spirit with their classic brand. Predictably, Janie and Jack's summer savings take a secondary position as a submessage rather than an all-out red, white and blue blast.

J.Crew is crafty with their swimwear savings; they take a lackluster product and give it iconic, flag-waving status, probably offloading a lot of overstock in the process. This is an excellent example of using what you've got to your advantage. Love it.

As a British brand, an American national holiday puts Burberry in a funny position. Rather than capitalizing on red, white and blue, the British flag goes yellow for Memorial Day savings. Is Burberry showing a little anti-American sentiment?

So, we've had a few hot dogs and bought a couple swimsuits on the cheap. Happy Memorial Day. Ah, America...