Bean There, Added Something New
Last month I caught some flack for a blog post in which I noted that while the recent L.L. Bean catalogs were damn-near perfect, they risked being a bit dull. Having just seen the Summer 2010 edition of the L.L. Bean Women catalog, I’d like to say that it’s damn-near perfect, and not dull at all. It manages to inject a sense of newness without diluting its much-loved brand in the least.
I must confess that the adorable terrier in the background of the front cover photo attracted my attention first, but the cover also had a time-sensitive call to action: “Save 20% on Double L Sweaters. Shop now—offer ends May 9th, see page 78 for details.” The page that the cover line directs you to (see below) is brilliant, both literally (look at those colors!) and figuratively (the highly detail product shot, the inclusion of a customer review).
That’s not the only page to use a customer review from the Bean Website as a callout. And each such review directs the reader to the Website to read additional customer comments.
Other callouts, insets, and dingbats encourage catalog recipients to head to the site for more-detailed product shots, to see products on a model, to check out alternate views such as how trousers look from the back, and to see the full product offering of various ranges such as slippers and belts. The simple wording (“Find more fit information online llbean.com”) and design of the web directs at no time gives the impression that Bean is trying to direct us online because that makes life easier for the company; instead the overall sense is that Bean has a treasury of helpful information that cannot be contained in one mere printed catalog, but it’s more than happy to share the info with us on its Website.
One of my critiques in my previous post referred to how some of the copy, while emphasizing Bean’s tried-and-true strengths (great quality, classic styles), also seemed to point out a lack of change: “Lasting quality, same great price,” a cover line from the earlier catalog being a case in point. In the Women’s edition, the word “new” appears prominently on the inside front cover (“Kick off summer with our colorful new collection”) and as an icon next to applicable product descriptions throughout.
Another word that comes up repeatedly is “colorful,” and indeed the summer range is quite colorful, injecting energy not just to the product selection itself but also to the catalog pages. The interjection of hero pages and spreads featuring lay-down shots of the products in all their lovely colors against plain white backgrounds certainly shows the hues off to best effect.
With this catalog edition, Bean shows that it is possible to remain true to even a decades-old brand proposition while injecting the sense of freshness needed to ensure that “consistent” doesn’t equate to “dull.” Bravo, Bean!
