On February 27th while at the local mall, my family and I encountered some distasteful ads on display throughout the mall. The ads for Sketchers displayed barely dressed women in various positions and at least one of the ads was strategically placed right in front of the elevators. Several months prior to seeing these ads at the local mall, I was informed of their existence by onemillionmoms.com and wrote to Sketchers immediately requesting that they pull the disgusting ad campaign. They refused of course and fast forward to February 2005 where my family was bombarded by their display at the mall.
So I wrote another letter...
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To: XXXXXXXXXadmin/General Growth Mgmt Inc/US@GGMI
From: XXXXX Lane
Date: 03/02/2005 08:53AM
Subject: Comments
Comments: My family and I were in the mall on Sunday and noticed the obscene Sketchers ads you have throughout. They are highly offensive! If this is the kind of advertising you are going to allow I'm afraid we will no longer be able to frequent The XXXXX. As a parent who guards closely what my children see, it was disheartening to see my 7 year old son gawking at half naked women advertising shoes while waiting for an elevator!
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I made yet another trip to the mall after sending this message and found the ads still on display. I figured enough time hadn't passed for anything to be done about it so I waited. Last Saturday (19th) I was at the mall yet again (see, they do get business from me) and discovered that at least one of the ads had been removed. I didn't have time to seek out the other locations but I felt a great sense of satisfaction over seeing the change. A renewed feeling that people actually do care came over me and I left with a smile on my face. This feeling wouldn't last.
Tonight I received a response from the owner of the mall...
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Dear Ms. Lane,
Thank you very much for your comments regarding the Sketchers advertising in The XXXXX at XXXXXXXXX. As the owner and manager of The XXXXX, our company provides a very nice place for our retailers to do business and for our shoppers to patronize those stores. We defer to our retailers how best to market to their customers. If you would like to make your comments directly to Sketchers, you can write or call:
SKECHERS USA, Inc.
Attn: Consumer Customer Service
Post Office Box 51483
Ontario, CA 91761-0083
(800) 746-3411
Fax: (888) 566-5746
I'm sorry for your disappointment but appreciate your letting me know your opinions. You are welcome to call me at the number listed below if you have further questions or comments.
Respectfully,
Cindy Thompson
Marketing Manager
The XXXXX at XXXXXXXXX
XXX-467-0200 ext. 14
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So, I promptly replied...
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Ms. Thompson,
As the owner and manager it IS your choice which ads to display. You cannot totally pawn that responsibility off on the retailer. I have notified Sketchers of my displeasure - as have hundreds of thousands of other moms like me. They do not care what we think and have opted to keep their ad campaign going despite protests over it's complete and utter disrespect for women.
I appreciate your writing me back but am disappointed that you chose to pass the blame for such an ad being in plain view for small children to see at YOUR establishment.
As it is your right to display whatever pleases you at your business, it is also my right to refuse to do business at the XXXXX any longer. I will be informing my friends and family. There are other malls.
Thank you,
XXXXX Lane
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I'm just sick of the blatant disregard for family values. I should be able to go out in public without being bombarded but filth. We haven't purchased any Sketchers brand items since I first learned of this ad campaign (which happened to be right before I did my “back to school shopping“). True to my word, I'd estimate that Sketchers has lost about $300 of my annual business so far since airing these ads, not to mention the other thousands of parents who have had enough and boycotted them as well.