You’ve probably noticed those big red balls, which are actually called bollards, outside the entrance of many Target stores. Sure, they have a pretty important practical purpose (protecting shoppers from runaway cars, just in case!) but lately they’ve served a more social function.
Haven’t heard of #targetballing yet? Well just check out Cullen (the star) and Katie (the shutterbug)’s Instagram and Facebook pages. Huge fans of Target and a constant fixture at their local store, this hilarious husband-and-wife duo has been making over the Target balls in entertaining ways, documenting every step along the way with selfies, of course.
And while Target doesn’t endorse or encourage this inventive use of the big red balls, we can’t help but smile at Cullen’s creative take on store selfies. We had to connect with this Target aficionado to see how the idea started. Hint: While shopping, of course!
Read on below—we promise you’ll have a ball.
How did #targetballing even start?
My wife and I post daily videos on our YouTube channel. We have a ton of videos of us shopping at Target, and viewers started asking if we went there every day. It kind of became a joke how often we went, and several months ago, I started singing a song whenever I would walk into the store and see the Target balls: “I see a, I see a, I see a, I see a big red ball.” Sounds kind of random, but believe it or not, it started getting stuck in people’s heads and they would look forward to videos of our Target trips. And then I decided I wanted to take it a step further and see if I could post a selfie online with the Target balls every day for the next year.
Clearly people are taking notice! Were you surprised by all the reactions?
After the first couple of “generic” selfies, my creativity got the best of me and I started thinking of all kinds of fun ways to incorporate the balls. I was definitely surprised at how quickly #targetballing caught on. That gives me even more incentive to make the pictures more creative!
How do you come up with all the creative ideas?
Ideas will often come to me when I see a random object lying around the house or in a store. But what has been most helpful and impressive, is that our daily vlog viewers, friends, and family members have started tweeting, emailing and texting ideas.
What has been your favorite moment so far?
Every day is different, but there is always an adrenaline rush getting out of the car with props and stepping out of my comfort zone to get a fun picture. It’s been really neat explaining to people passing by why we’re taking pictures with the Target balls.
So, do you normally visit Target this often?
We used to go several times a week but #targetballing has increased our visits to daily. And of course we often seem to realize there is something we need to go in and buy while we’re there.
What are your favorite aisles to shop at Target?
Being a video creator (and a serious selfie taker), my favorite department is the electronics aisle. However, I have a feeling it’s going to quickly change to the baby section when our daughter is born. We are already browsing and thinking about what to put on our Target baby registry.
Update: After a full 365 days of #TargetBalling, Cullen and Katie snapped their last photo on April 6, 2015 and celebrated at their local Target store. Congrats on the milestone!
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