- Kids clothing brand Carter’s targets the next generation of parents with a new campaign that asserts its clothes – and the kids who wear them – are “More Than Just Cute.”
- The campaign is the first creative work from the company’s partnership with Mischief agency. It depicts the real-life messiness of being a kid and the durability of Carter’s clothing.
- The effort includes a 30-second video commercial, as well as several shorter videos geared toward social. Its themes will extend to iout-of-home advertising, n-store signage and packaging and influencer marketing.
As a 160-plus-year-old brand, Carter’s (which is also parent to OshKosh B’Gosh, Little Planet and Skip + Hop apparel brands) has had to change with the times and the changing outlooks of its consumers. Such change is once again afoot as younger Millennials and Gen Z begin having children. As digital natives, they are turned off by glossy marketing messages and instead desire more realism and reflection of their lives, said Carter’s CMO Jeff Jenkins.
“As we move into appealing to the next generation, they’re focused on other things, and that includes creator content,” Jenkins said. “Everything can’t be perfect, and they want to see themselves and their lives reflected in the marketing they see.”
Thus, Carter’s campaign is more reflective of the real-life ups and downs of parenting young children. The 30-second anchor spot begins from a baby’s point of view as three women lean down to coo at the child’s face. “Cute. It doesn’t fit you, too superficial,” says a voiceover, as the spot cuts to showing the child’s “accomplishments,” such as “almost putting the star-shaped block into the star-shaped hole.” Other examples depicted include playing in a mud puddle, reaching into a fishbowl and smearing an entire jar of applesauce on a high chair.
The idea extends to a series of short videos created for TikTok and social media as well. In one video, shot as if it were a parent capturing their child’s first moments riding a bicycle, a child crashes into a basketball hoop on a playground. As the camera approaches the child, she proclaims she’s ok and a voiceover says, “Durable fabrics. The only thing standing between kids’ butts and the world’s foot.” Other executions depict a dog sniffing a child’s bottom and a child spilling a glass of red wine across a table.
The idea, Jenkins says, is to depict relatable moments that will stop the digital-native parents from scrolling on to the next thing. “If they were to see a traditional ad in TikTok, they would immediately scroll past it,” he says. “We’ve created these moments that they might see themselves in and relate to.”
In addition to the other elements, including out-of-home, in-store and digital, the company will enlist influencers to spread the message as well. As a brand that targets new parents – who are often online looking for advice – Carter’s has a long list of influencers they work with to help spread the message, Jenkins says.
“It used to be you got your parenting advice from your grandma,” he says. “Now you get it from this channel and through other short-form content.”
