January/February 1998 Issue

Custom tailoring

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An article in a recent issue of American Demographics concluded, “The ultimate aim of the new phase of marketing is to reach consumers with specific messages about how products and services tie in to their personal lifestyles.” The shirt company Phillips-Van Heusen seems to have taken this strategy to heart, pairing standard shots of its conservative shirts with tag lines tailored to fit. Does the $8 million campaign, custom-targeted to such editorially distinct glossies as Martha Stewart Living and GQ, work? You decide:

“Shirts for men who watched Basic Instinct in slow motion.” —GQ

“Shirts for men who fell hopelessly in love and still are.” —Martha Stewart Living

“Shirts for men who got the free sweatshirt when they subscribed… Shirts for men who got the swimsuit video when they subscribed… Shirts for men who want to exchange the sweatshirt for the video.” —Sports Illustrated (three-page ad)

“Shirts for men who are good. Shirts for men who are good for one thing.” —Cosmopolitan

“Shirts for men who commonly experience déjà vu…Shirts for men who commonly experience déjà vu.” —Out and the New York Times Magazine (two-page ad)

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

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