My wife discovered this baffling advertisement in our local paper. Take a look -

The red credit card clearly represents Target. This is exemplary branding - you don’t even need to see the word, TARGET. But the headline at the right says Best Buy. So which is it?

Perhaps the body copy will clarify.

“…We’ll give you a $100 Best Buy® Gift Card with any qualifying purchase…”

Nope, I’m still confused. Why the huge Target “giftcard” and no Best Buy logo at all? Perhaps the microscopic copy underneath will clarify.

“The Bullseye Design and Target are registered trademarks of Target Brands, Inc. Target is not a participating partner in or a sponsor of this offer.”

Does this make sense to you?

Why does Target, who is not participating in the promo, dominate the ad?

And how come Best Buy, who is participating in the promo, gets barely noticeable ink?

It looks like this campaign is either a mistake or way too innovative. If you can figure it out, please let me know.