Media

Why So Creepy, Kay Jewelers?

Last night I was watching an episode of Criminal Minds on CBS, which is not generally a habit of mine — usually I mainline reruns over the weekend, and it’s rare to catch a new episode live. While I was watching the episode, which was about a teenage serial killer being mentored by an older, very scary-looking Matthew Lillard (!!!), I happened to catch a commercial that was way creepier than anything happening on the show. I am, of course, talking about an ad for Kay Jewelers.

The skeeziness of Kay Jewelers is well-documented; the ads are ostensibly directed at men, but they are really prescriptive commercials for women. The slogan may as well be “This Is What You Should Want!!!!!!!” But the marketing team behind Kay Jewelers seems to think that what women want is for their men to be real creepy! Take this classic ad, in which this girl’s serial killer boyfriend gives her a symbolic strangulation necklace:

“I’m right here…AND I ALWAYS WILL BE.” Shudder. And now there’s this:

Nope, the last thing I need from my mom’s new boyfriend is a necklace juuuust like the one he gave her. My skin is crawling. What say you? Are these ads as creepy as I think they are, or do I need to stop watching so much Criminal Minds? I suspect the answer to both of those questions is yes.

TAGS: Advertising for women | Kay jewelers

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