"Good 5 Cent Cigar"----Student newspaper at the University of Rhode Island

December 07, 2005

COLUMBUS, OHIO (AdAge.com) -- With Target embroiled in criticism for banning Salvation Army bell ringers from its storefronts for the second consecutive year, Wal-Mart is running a TV spot prominently featuring the iconic red kettle in front of its store.

Bernstein-Rein agency
The commercial, from Bernstein-Rein, Kansas City, Mo., features Antonio Banderas standing in front of what is obviously a Wal-Mart store. The red kettle is the only color in the otherwise black and white spot, which ends with the Wal-Mart and Salvation Army logos flashed on the screen.

The spot is notable since Wal-Mart, although never shy about touting its corporate giving or impact on jobs and employees, rarely runs ads touting its association with a specific charity. It also marks the first media push behind its longstanding partnership with the Salvation Army, according to the charity.

Behind the scenes
The ad follows what appears to be a behind-the-scenes tit-for-tat battle between the two retailers. On Nov. 14, in a press release issued by the Salvation Army, Target announced the development of an online partnership with the charity, allowing online donations at Target.com/salvationarmy.

Just three days later, on Nov. 17, a release on the Salvation Army site announced that “Wal-Mart expands ‘Red Kettle’ Campaign and Helps Launch National ‘Online Kettle.’” Wal-Mart clearly upped the ante and touted in its release plans to allow the red kettle drives at not just a limited number of stores, as in years past, but at all 3,800 Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart stores. It also extended the fundraising days to 28, up from 14. Calls to Wal-Mart for comment were not returned.

Of the $102 million raised via the red kettle drives in 2004, money collected at Wal-Mart stores accounted for $17 million of that total, the Salvation Army said.

Despite the online partnership, there is no way for shoppers to donate money directly to the Salvation Army through Target. Instead, Target shoppers are asked to donate store gifts cards and other Target merchandise to the charity. To donate money, they must follow the Web link to the Salvation Army site.

'Nothing or something'
Melissa Temme, a spokeswoman at the Salvation Army’s national headquarters in Alexandria, Va., said the non-cash arrangement with Target is the first of its kind with a national retailer and a compromise the charity had no choice but to accept. “There was either nothing or something,” Ms. Temme said.

It’s an interesting arrangement since this form of philanthropic support helps the retailer’s bottom line, while the kettle drives would have given the charity organization cash directly.

In 2004, the charity, which bases its message on the Bible and is “an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church,” lost $9 million in revenue without Target’s participation. “Visibility at the storefronts is important to us and if more retailers started doing it this way, it would hurt us very much,” Ms. Temme added. “We do recognize business decisions need to be made and we will work with retailers to come to a happy medium.”

Target declined to comment on the Wal-Mart spot or its online partnership with the charity, referring instead to a media statement released in November. “Like many other national retailers, Target has a long-standing no solicitation policy at our stores. In order to provide a distraction-free shopping environment for our guests, we do not allow solicitation or petitioning at our stores regardless of the cause being represented,” the statement reads.