Target Ads Drew Me In and Then Fell Short

A full-page ad in Sunday's New York Times caught my eye for a must-have cheap chic clutch by Devi Kroell at Target. I'm not one to drop loads of cash on such adornments so this was a great little find (okay, it was mass advertising but it felt like I discovered it!). Anyway, off to the site I went, only to find that the featured item wasn't available online for 2-6 weeks. (That's a wide, non-committal span of time, don't you think?). But, no worries. I could search for the item at the store nearest me. Matter of fact, I identified two and off I went. What did I find? Nothing but disappointment. No Devi Kroell clutches....matter of fact, nothing even remotely similar. I tracked down some assistance on the floor, then at the register, and then at the customer service counter. "Devi what? I have no idea what you're talking about."

I'm envisioning a big trailer tractor in the parking lot loaded with this fab merchandise that nobody realizes has been featured for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in a national ad campaign.

Oh, the joys of cross-channel communications.