I know what you’re thinking. “Jeans? AGAIN?!” Can you tell that I need to buy some? I’m actually sitting here with a sweet pair of Gap brand demin on right now, except, tragically, a bout with some Ikea furniture has caused a full-on, 1983 rip to appear on one of the knees. I look ridiculous. So you can’t blame me for the fact that my eCommerce eye has lately drifted to online jeans retailers and how you can find the “right” pair online… no dressing room necessary. The latest is American Eagle’s attempt to lure shoppers into conversions with free jeans… provided that your favorite style aligns with the preferences of other AE online shoppers. Buy a pair before the end of the month, and if that style is “voted” the most popular, you get some a free pair. I don’t usually shop at AE, but it drew me in.

The reason that I found it interesting enough to post here, however, was not the promotion itself… but how the retailer managed to effectively utilize embedded video and other video-inspired media in their site and the promotion. Each jean style has a “personality” associated with it showcased in a short video, and they’re cute in a MTV teenager way, with the added benefit of showing the jeans in action. The customer isn’t forced to watch them, but they serve a useful function and I couldn’t help but watch as I explored the store. Not only that, they’ve got a extremely useful “Jeans On” rotate function that allows you to not only see the jeans on, but show the wearer rotating to see how they fit all over. You can play with one of them here. I admit, I was a fan.

Helpful media? Free jeans? Easy-to-use catalog? I’m sold, American Eagle. I’ve now got some on the way… and I’ll let you know if I win that free pair.