Old Navy is going under the knife. Can the creepy mannequins go, please?

Old Navy is going under the knife. Can the creepy mannequins go, please?
Tags: Merchandising, Point-of-Purchase / POP, Store Design & Layout
March 18, 2010

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Old Navy is about to undergo a pretty dramatic makeover. Seven stores in Georgia are going to get the facelift, with presumably the rest to follow. The paper suggests that the move is an effort to "bring back customers lost after the chain strayed from its value credo around 2007."

The redesigned stores will have a racetrack design to help shoppers save time, a play area for kids, dressing rooms in the center of the store, and a "fundamentals" wall with new, low-priced products, Gap spokesman Daniel Rubin said.

I shop at Old Navy quite a bit, and I sincerely hope they use this remodel as an opportunity to get rid of one of the most awful elements of their store experience: those blasted mannequins. Seriously, here's the entry to a store near me:

GAAAHHH! Be honest, when you're confronted with a phalanx of glassy-eyed creatures like this, aren't you reminded of that horrible "Twilight Zone" episode with the mannequins? You know the one:

Mannequins reside in the "uncanny valley," a theoretical place where an object looks like a person, but not enough to be truly lifelike. Residents of the uncanny valley are unpleasant to look at and can often cause revulsion or fear. The ones in Old Navy are especially bad, digging a new trench into the uncanny valley's bottom. Tell me again why these things are in the stores and on the television ads?

Reader Comments

Dan Scofield

about 26 months ago

Please say it ain't so, I love the mannequins. Or, at least i love the commercials. I have no idea if it actually helps to bring customers into the store to move product from the store shelves to the cash register. If the mannequin creepiness looks familiar it's because according to USAToday.com the same agency that created the creepy King for Burger King created the Old Navy mannquins. What worked for fast food apparently isn't working for Old Navy.
Ed Personius

about 26 months ago

They are definitely weird and kind of creepy. And then there are the anatomically correct versions, complete with lifelike appendages. You know which ones I'm talking about. This is why we created the Digital Mannequin. DM allows projection of actual models on the storefront window. Much better, no creepiness, far better and more extensive display of clothing lines. Here is a Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Wgof0gEknI Goodbye to creepy plastic mannequins! Hello to Digital Mannequin! You needn't be afraid to enter the store now. http://looknglas.blogspot.com/