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I love Target commercials. I have never been able to figure out why exactly, but I find them utterly charming and classy.

I can tell you what I do know: They have great music and production values. Helvetica titles. Modelesque multicultural actors. You never see a price, store interior, or employee– they emphasize brands: those of products, designers, and Target itself.

The formula seems simple and innocent enough, yet it forms a gestalt that my lizard brain finds irresistible. Suddenly I’m pushing around a red shopping cart full of limited edition designer sheets, a case of Gatorade, and a giant decorator wall clock.

I know what triggers this behavior, so I am careful to watch for the signs. Hence, I was quick to notice when the latest Target commercial seemed to mark a change in tactics.

Ten seconds into it, I did a double take:

I See What You Did There

Did you catch what is so different about this ad?

Why are they mentioning prices all of the sudden? Price factors heavily into WalMart’s branding– it’s what they’re best known for. Target tends to market themselves on quality, so what are they doing?

High gas prices are affecting everyone. In the past, Wal-Mart and Target customers were thought to be wholly separate demographics. Now it seems as though people who used to shop at Target may be switching to Wal-Mart because they think they can save money.

Target can’t claim they have cheaper products, nor should they, for the sake of the brand. Instead, they make a different appeal: change your lifestyle.

This is where the prices come in. Filling up an SUV can easily cost $80. Target has a bike for $59.99. Gym membership is $30 a month; they will sell you an exercise ball is $11.80. You could go to a barber for $20 a month or buy a pair of clippers and do it yourself for $14.99. The price isn’t important; the items for sale aren’t important. It’s just a convincing way to plant the idea in people’s heads:

Don’t save money buying cheaper things, save money by living a more responsible, less wasteful life. Why drive around so much, when the “new” thing is to do what you can at home?

Now, I really want them to stop there, but implicitly, I think the rest of the message may be: “take the money you save on cheap things and spend it on nice things at Target”.

Regardless, it’s a smart ad, wrapped up in the irresistibly optimistic language of Target, that passes along an ecological message without an ounce of overt tree-huggery. I hope it’s the start of a trend. A “brand new day”, indeed!