He's No Missoni, But He is Benedetto: Target Engages Tony Bennett

With its latest collaboration, Target is going from Missoni to Tony. It's not exactly resurrecting the Rat Pack, but the retailer's new deal with Tony Bennett underscores one thing: Retro is cool.

The mass retailer has always been known for pace-setting deals with, for example, name product designers that have kept Target on the watch lists of style-conscious young women — and typically out of the same sentence with "Walmart." Target's hit (and sold out) collaboration with Missoni is the latest example of that.

While its exclusive promotion with the 85-year-old crooner isn't quite on the Missoni scale, this one also involves a collaboration with a venerable brand of Italian descent. In announcing that it will offer an exclusive version of Tony Bennett's new studio album, Duets II, beginning today, Target is laying down yet another marker of its cultural relevance.

Bennett is still touring strong, to crowds of thousands at venues across the US and beyond, attracting fans of all ages.

On his new album that Target (alone) is selling, Bennett demonstrates yet again that he knows how to continue to appeal to at least three generations of Americans.

While he typically duets on tour with his daughter, the Target album includes some show-stopping duets, including one with country singer Brad Paisley and another with Jackie Evancho, the young girl who stole the hearts of fans of America's Got Talent in the summer of 2010 with a voice way beyond her years.

There are also duets with a Who's Who of recording artists, including Andrea Bocelli, Alejandro Sanz, Norah Jones, Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill, John Mayer, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Natalie Cole, Michael Buble, and — in a nod to attracting younger fans — duets with the late Amy Winehouse plus Lady Gaga, whose planned Target tie-in for Born This Way was scrapped in the wake of her pro-social lobbying of the brand.

"Tony Bennett has legions of music fans that span generations and genres," John Butcher, Target's vice president of entertainment, acknowledged in an understatement.

Target previously partnered with Bennett on an album promotion in 2006. Here's hoping they can do yet another deal in 2016.