• by Aaron Baar , June 2, 2010

For many men, spending a day shopping is akin to having one's gums scraped. But The Men's Wearhouse wants to demonstrate the understanding it has for its target with a new campaign asserting the store is "A place where men belong."

Commercials in the campaign depict scenes from popular movie genres in which the characters are interrupted by a man looking for a Men's Wearhouse. The interruption prompts the characters in the scenes to talk about their own great experiences at the retailer.

"In a world of one-day sales, we wanted to create a fresh approach to the category of men's apparel -- something different that would set us apart from the pack," CMO Diane Ridgway-Cross tells Marketing Daily. "Since Men's Wearhouse is already known for good value, our new campaign is designed to underscore our quality and service story."

In one spot, two detectives in a surveillance van on a stakeout are interrupted by a younger man who pops his head in the van looking for a store. Another spot shows an interloper interrupting a World War I battle scene.

"Some men don't feel they belong in a suit, and hate shopping for a suit, so we created a context that they might find more intriguing or relatable: playing into what we know has generally been appealing to the male audience in TV programming and movie genres," Ridgway-Cross says. "It's a really entertaining, memorable, likeable way to deliver a lot of new, surprising information about Men's Wearhouse."

One element of the previous campaign that has stuck is company founder and CEO George Zimmer. In the new commercials, Zimmer stands with the out-of-place characters and says: "There's a place men belong. That place is the Men's Wearhouse. I guarantee it."

"George's voice and face are two of our brand's strongest assets," Ridgway-Cross says. "George is a vital part of the company, the culture and the high level of service that people experience in our stores ... He's the man behind the guarantee, so we knew that we wanted him to continue to play a key role in the advertising."