4 Reasons Every Kiss Does Not Begin with Kay

Kay Jewelers.  If you watch any TV whatsoever during the Holidays, their commercials are ubiquitous.  Their cheesy motto, “Every Kiss Begins With Kay” will be ringing in our collective ears until at least February.  Maybe March.

As a man about to get married (I have purchased my ring already, thank you very much) I was in the market for an engagement and wedding ring for quite a while, and I shopped ’til I dropped before I found the right combo.  I even stopped in at a Kay’s in two different cities.  Needless to say, I didn’t find anything even close to what I, and more importantly my fiance’, wanted.

So that experience, and my ringing/bleeding ears, lead me to this post as I am sitting with my bride to be, wondering why every time we turn on the TV, we believe more and more that every kiss does NOT begin with Kay.

1.  The commercials 

In one of their commercials, a man tells his wife during a storm “I’m right here.”   Potentially not — if she stops to carefully consider what kind of man would propose during a deadly storm.  And worse, proposes with a ring from Kay?  Who does this?  Who gets engaged in a storm?  Are the marketing geniuses at Kay so out of the loop that they’re willing to spend millions and millions of dollars convincing us that they’re the right jeweler to use if you’re going to potentially die?  This is a scenario where no one wins.  Well done, marketers.

2.  The Stores

Almost every single Kay Jewelers I have ever seen is in a mall.  I don’t think that Kay Jewelers exists outside of malls.  Now, I know most people across the US are addicted to mall shopping, but the truth to new commercial reality is this — mall shopping is on the decline.  Maybe they should think about going a little more indie — because those stores in those malls, are as anonymous as the Orange Julius vendor who’s been out of commission since 1983.

3.  The Jewelry

Speaking from experience, have you ever been in a Kay to actually look at the jewelry selection.  It’s inferior in every way.  Everything is super chintzy and made very cheaply.  The jewels themselves are anything but special — not the message you want to send to that extra special someone.

4.  The Slogan

Okay, WE GET IT.  We get the double entendre.  We get the catchy, first letter K similarity.  We get it all and we have for decades.  Unfortunately for Kay, that’s all we need to FLIP THE CHANNEL.  Or worse, turn the TV completely off.  That’s not the way to drive people into stores, to buy the jewelry, to propose immediately preceding death.

Every kiss does not begin with Kay.  Like my fruit and vegetables, I’m glad I bought my ring locally.