Polishing the sheen on a tarnished image

With the jury out on her celebrity selling power, Jordan's ads tout Martha Stewart

By Naomi Aoki, Globe Staff, 9/11/2003

Advertisers may be shunning her magazine, viewers tuning out her show, and investors fleeing her company. But the "furniture dudes," Barry and Eliot Tatelman of Jordan's Furniture, are restoring the luster on Martha Stewart's image by appearing with her in ads promoting her new line of furniture. "Eliot and I aren't saying she's innocent or guilty," said Jordan's CEO Barry Tatelman, referring to criminal and civil charges brought against Stewart in an insider-trading scandal. "We're saying she's really good at what she does, and we love the furniture."

The ads are classic Barry and Eliot -- contrarian and rife with self-deprecating humor. In one ad, Barry makes potpourri sachets for a bedroom dresser while Eliot creates a centerpiece of hydrangeas for a table. Then, it cuts to Stewart's set as the furniture duo walk over seeking her approval.

"Not enough hydrangeas -- never enough hydrangeas," she says before smiling at the camera.

The Tatelmans, who remain at the helm of Jordan's Furniture even though they sold it in 1999 to billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway for a reported $250 million, aren't alone in liking her product. At last tally, the furniture -- the result of a partnership between Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. and Bernhardt Furniture Co. -- was in more than 250 stores nationwide. As a private company, Bernhardt doesn't release sales figures. But G. Alex Bernhardt Sr., chairman and chief executive of his family's firm, said the launch has been his most successful in 38 years in the business.

"To quote Martha Stewart, `It's all about the products themselves,' " Bernhardt said. "Consumers can differentiate their interest in these products from their curiosity about events in the life of a celebrity."

As with all things Martha Stewart these days, the jury is still out on that one. Advertisers have dropped her. Her television ratings and magazine sales have fallen. Revenue from Martha Stewart Living and her company's other magazines tallied $39.6 million in the second quarter, down from $47.3 million for the same period last year. Revenue from her television shows totaled $6.6 million, down from $7.2 million last year. Worst of all, profits fell from $6.7 million in the second quarter last year to less than $1 million this year.

"If ever an image got tarnished, hers has," said analyst Dennis McAlpine of McAlpine Associates. "She's in a death spiral. Even if she's acquitted, does anybody care? Her image is gone."

On the other hand, her products are faring better than her magazines and television shows. Sales of her sheets, linens, and other Everyday products at Kmart stores open at least a year -- a key indicator of retail health -- are up 5 percent so far this quarter compared to the same time period a year ago.

Just this week, Sears Canada Inc. began selling her Everyday line in its 122 stores. She's won design awards for her furniture and has been the star attraction at dozens of events to unveil her furniture line or announce the launch of the new Martha Stewart television show, "Petkeeping with Marc Morrone."

"People might not trust Martha to run a company," said Seth Schulman, cultural interpreter for Boston ad agency Hill Holliday Connors Cosmopulos. "But they probably still trust her to pick out a good fabric."

But not every one carrying Stewart's furniture is featuring her in their ads. The brothers put Stewart on camera based on gut instincts rather than extensive market research. It's the same approach they've taken to scripting two decades worth of quirky TV ads, all echoing one simple theme: We're regular guys who sell good stuff at a fair price.

"People love these guys," said Kathleen Seiders, an associate professor of marketing at Boston College. "They're basing their decision on Stewart's furniture, not on her legal problems. They have guts, and that's one of the reasons people like them."

They also have furniture to sell. In 2001, before Stewart was dragged into the insider-trading scandal that erupted around New York biotech firm ImClone Systems Inc., Martha Stewart Omnimedia struck a deal with Bernhardt Furniture, a family-owned furniture maker with about 2,000 employees in Lenoir, N.C., to design and make a line of Martha Stewart furniture.

Retailers got their first look at the furniture last October. By then, Stewart was fully embroiled in the insider-trading scandal -- though criminal and civil charges were not brought against her until June. Nonetheless, the Tatelmans bought the furniture and promised to dedicate at least 2,000 square feet of floor space to display it. The furniture arrived in their Avon, Nashua, and Natick stores in May. On Saturday, two 30-second spots began airing on TV.

Barry Tatelman says the furniture is well-styled, beautiful, and timeless. The pieces aren't overwhelmingly large -- a perfect fit, he says, for older New England homes. The finishes, the hardware, even the paper lining the dresser drawers, belie a scrupulous attention to detail. He plans to carry the furniture as long as it sells. As if for emphasis, he says Jordan's has already committed to sell the newest collection in the Martha Stewart line. It arrives in stores in spring.

Is he worried the public will lose faith in the furniture duo for cavorting with someone whose reputation has been sullied by accusations of fraud and deceit? "I don't know what she did or didn't do -- although I believe someone is innocent until proven guilty," Barry Tatelman said. "But I do know the furniture is a good value, and that's where the public trust is. It's good furniture and we stand behind it."

The move begs the question: Have Barry and Eliot completely lost their minds or have they pulled off another feat of savvy marketing? Stewart's trial is scheduled for January. If she's convicted, her ability to market products will almost certainly dissolve. But if she's acquitted, many marketing specialists believe she could return with even greater selling power, making Barry and Eliot seem very savvy indeed.

Let's not forget -- notoriety also breeds buzz. People can't help but notice Stewart in the Jordan's ads, said Tobe Berkovitz, an advertising professor at Boston University's College of Communication. Even if some people refuse to buy her products, he said, they'll talk about the ads and go see her furniture. With Barry and Eliot by her side, Berkovitz said, Stewart comes across in the ads as surprisingly likeable.

"These guys are the buzz kings of New England," Berkovitz said. "It's like they have a sixth sense on how to tap the zeitgeist of the consumer."

Naomi Aoki can be reached at naoki@globe.com.