I was looking through The Wall Street Journal’s magazine the other day when I got a pleasant surprise.
After I made my way past slick ads for Hermes (girl, what kind of crazy contraption are you riding?), SaintLaurent (why the pouty look?), Giorgio Armani (nice belt!), Prada (can anyone really wear those pointy shoes?) and Fendi (what kind of threesome is that?), I found a mattress ad! And then another!
This was a stunning development.
The two mattress ads tucked inside the Journal’s Women’s Fall Fashion Issue demand some careful consideration. They also offer a nice reminder that, yes, beds can actually make fashion statements. We can do so much better than the $159.99 queen Green Tea Mattress that is a current bestseller on Amazon, to pluck just one mattress from the online world.
The first mattress ad is a two-page spread for the Ferris Rafauli-designed Hastens Grand Vividus. It features hockey great Wayne Gretzky, looking dapper, and his wife, Janet Gretzky, looking elegant in a flowing dress. Both are ready for a fashion shoot, which is the just-right vibe for an ad in this sophisticated, high-fashion setting.
And I forgot to mention that they are sitting on a Hastens bed.
The copy is spare, but powerful: “A bed holds you. A sleep instrument restores you. Every detail refined with one purpose: deeper restoration and a better waking life.”
I like that framing. A “sleep instrument” strikes a healthful note. “Restoration” is a good thing. We all want that.
The Grand Vividus is pricey. “King size from $868,990,” the Hastens website says. That is 272,076% more than the $319 king version of that Green Tea Mattress at Amazon, if you are curious.
Sweden-based Hastens has 18 stores in the U.S., located across the country. A 19th store is coming soon in Atlanta, the company’s website says.
The second mattress ad belongs to Savoir. It features a more minimalist approach. “Extraordinary beds” is the succinct message. Sitting up in bed, with tea and a newspaper and dressed for a fancy night out, are Elizabeth Harrod and Steven McRae, soloist and principal with The Royal Ballet. They are husband and wife, my research reveals, and their photos for Savoir’s “A Life Unhurried” campaign were taken at The Savoy Hotel in London, where the Savoir brand began.
This ad strikes an image of refined luxury, one that Savoir is presenting to U.S. consumers. The U.S. website lists two showrooms in New York and one in Los Angeles.
Unlike the Hastens ad, the Savoir mattress is not visible.
These ads feature famous people and open a window into their world, inviting us to sleep like royalty. It’s nice, for a change, to see classy mattress ads like these, taking their own places as fashion statements. Well done, Hastens and Savoir.
