I recently received a Crate and Barrel catalogue in the mail. I’ve been a customer for years, even since I lived in Chicago and visited their first couple of stores. Usually, there are clean looking dishes or bright colored pillows or sparkly seasonal decorations on the front cover.

My first thought with this newest catalogue was this: "Why the cleavage?"

The focus is clearly on the woman, not the cooking. I’m not a prude. Really, I’m not. But is this what it takes to sell pots and pans? 

In fairness to Crate and Barrel, they are promoting a new line of products created by a celebrity chef, the woman featured on the cover. And I’m sure there are plenty of other ways this could have been marketed.

BTW–I’ve been reading alot of effective blogging recently and had to think twice about how to title this posting. I get enough spam already.