Shirley Jones? Shirley Jones! Well, we have the Partridge in the pear tree I guess. The quintessential TV mom goes virtual in MSN's the "Mother of all Shopping." This destination is one that reaches that rare level of camp that I will probably receive it as a link from no less than five people over the holiday season. And the best part is, I won't mind.
If you could roll up Old Navy's old TV Commercials, add a dash of the Gift Mixer 3000 that Border's did last year, and shake it up like the Partridge Family into something that appeals to all age groups, you'd have the "Mother of All Shopping." This little gem is so engaging that you almost forget it is intended to induce shopping. Just watching the cat named Present light it's tail on fire, or rummage through packages while Shirley waits for you to do something, it even pokes fun at itself with a multicolored bus whizzing by the back window.
This is not really a microsite, but a doorway page, a single jumping off point into various sections of MSN Shopping search results, tailored to specific types you could be shopping for. A one screen entertainment vehicle to get you in the holiday mood, albeit with a sense of humor. This strategy allows MSN the flexibility that is sometimes lacking when containing all elements in Flash; however, the drawback is that the transition is rather abrupt, not carrying any of the microsite look and feel, and losing something in the process.
Regardless, it is a mindless bit of welcome kitsch this holiday season.
-- Sean Cummings, VP product development, Dipsie
The concept that saved Christmas. As a veteran ecommerce shopper, I have to appreciate shopping agents like this that take the holiday shopping chore and distill it down to a few clicks of the mouse. There really isn’t a much better example of technology being put to good use.
The Mother Of All Shopping title of this site works well. I’m guessing there’s a marketing campaign associated with this shopping agent, and a title like that gives the campaign a good reference point. It makes it more memorable, without having to resort to using a prosaic term like the MSN Shopping Guide. A contrarian view might say that it detracts from the MSN Shopping brand, but that brand doesn’t have near the drawing power of an Amazon, or even Yahoo Shopping, and frankly MSN could use all the seasonal personality they can get.
I do have a few user experience issues with the site. Black Monday, the ecommerce version of Black Friday, exists because people are waiting to get back to work and do their online shopping over a faster internet connection than they have at home. And making the site experience sound-based is at odds with that. For people working in a crowded office, the last thing you want to do is broadcast to your fellow workers that you’re doing your holiday shopping instead of that overdue report. Turn the sound off and the experience of this site is pretty ordinary, although the gift finder still functions.
I was also disappointed The Mother Of All Shopping experience didn’t extend beyond a single Flash page. One click on the main nav and you’re sent directly to the MSN Shopping engine. End of unique experience. It feels a little like having a personal shopping attendant show you the door to Walmart and bid you ‘Good luck’.
In general, though, any way to cut through the gift hunting clutter is a big help, and shopping agents like this do it quite effectively.
-- Doug Schumacher, president, Basement, Inc.
