Zales Adds Vera Wang and Romance to NFL Viewing

In a development that will be appreciated by male football fans everywhere, "The Diamond Store" Zales has a new holiday season ad campaign.

And… it's actually not that bad. But the campaign message is nearly the same as two years ago, what changed?

Watch enough NFL and college football and about mid-November the commercial breaks begin to saturate with schmaltzy jewelry ads. These spots are all too often transparently manipulative, moodily lit and stoked with shiny happy people with more in common with mannequins than the guy who looks down on himself on the couch. Male-targeted holiday jewelry store ads have a reputation that makes light beer ads look like The Colbert Report.

Zales, of course, was a master purveyor of these insufferable spots. But this year's slate of ads is subtly different, and in the process, almost enjoyable. (Almost.)

This year's ads maintain the same "The ______ Store" as last year's ads. The effect though is much, much different. Below, a Zales ad from last year (top) and one from 2011 (bottom).

First, the music in the new ads has been toned down from the hard pumping version used last year. ("Girl is on my mind"by Black Keys). This year's core song is softer ("Diamonds In Her Eyes" by Pajama Club). Moreover — and it's a subtle change — but the voiceover copy has become far more passive, allowing the music and the visuals to do their thing instead of telling the consumer what to do.

Additional new 2011 ads continue this format:

These refurbished ads will also support Zale Corp.'s other brands, such as Canada's Peoples Jewellers:

Zale's corporate parent announced its latest quarterly results on Monday. Its Zales retail division reported a brutal same-store sales decrease of 18 percent since the same period in November 2009. Then, by Q4 2011, Zale was reporting a same-store sales increase of 9.8 percent. which adds up to a heartening 8% sales growth for fiscal 2011.

The Wall Street Journal paints a grim picture for the brand: "It may be too little, too late, however. Despite stronger sales, Zale continues to lose money and has racked up $396 million of losses over the last two years. It is paying an eye-popping interest rate for borrowing, 15%, and its debt load is close to $400 million."

Zales hopes for an upswing with its up-branding, a major portion of which is its partnership with couture wedding dress-maker Vera Wang. A new line of line of engagement and wedding rings called, simply, "Love" is a collaboration between Wang and Zales.

Much as H&M recently did with Versace, Zales' partnership with Vera Wang confirms upscale and discount brands are looking to gain something from the other. Who's coming out on top is  not yet clear. I, for one, am just glad that football season has become more bearable, at least 30 seconds at a time.