D&S: Dolce & Sexist?

Over the past century, our country as a whole has changed more drastically than any other time span in history. Whether it is technology, transportation, communication, or overall cultural views, there is no denying that this country is rapidly changing and will exponentially continue to change for all years to come. That being said, there are some aspects of humankind that are very tough to alter such as morality or ethical viewpoints. Also, these areas of thought are extremely sensitive for most people and the line between acceptable and appalling is becomming increasingly blurred. Going with the theme of this blog, it is no lie that I am going to briefly discuss the roles of morality and ethics in the world of advertising while using the specific example of Dolce & Gabbana print ads.

D&G is one of the most recognizable and most worn high-end clothing brand in the world. It has been around since 1984 and can be seen in basically every fashion magazine around the world. I have seen and observed a few D&G ads in some of my classes over the past few years and they really stood out to me because of their suggestive and controversial subject matter and messages. Sexism and oversexualized subject matter is at the forefront of D&G's controversy. Ever since I can remember, whenever advertising came into a conversation, the well-known saying that "sex sells" is never absent. While it has proven to be true that sex sells, is there a point at which sex offends? I think the answer to that is fairly obvious. When it comes to creating advertisements it is important to capture the essence of the brand completely, however, the other half of the equation is also knowing who you are advertising to and what their interests, emotions, values, and perspectives are.

To the left is one of the most well-known and talked about D&G ads regarding sexism. There is not much explanation needed to see why this may be stirring some controversy. While ethics is a highly debatable topic in our culture, it is much like politics:  everyone has their views and opinions but there is never really a right or wrong end of the road. There will always be arguments from all points on the spectrum. Lets look at a few of the details behind this ad and I will let you be the judge of morality, ethics, and whether this particular ad pushes the sexism envelope.

This ad was first published in Esquire magazine which is a worldwide, mens magazine. Also, in parts of Europe, specifically Spain, there were very high rates of women -targeted violence. As a result of this, Spanish and Italian governments intervened and asked D&G to discontinue the ad, a request to which they honored. This is just one of several ads that D&G has released with the same undertones and controversial messages. This is what poses the question of how far is too far and even further blurs the line of ethics and morality in advertising. When you are viewing and advertisement, it is essential to ask yourself who the company is, what are they trying to sell, and what message are they trying to convey? When it comes to D&G, everyone had an opinion and when it comes to morality and ethics in advertising, you need to be your own judge and create your own moral platform on which to interpret these ads.

Mini Car, Giant Voice: A Look at the Mini Cooper's Advertising

I think that there is a contest among all car manufacturers and advertising agencies to see how many boring, uninspiring, and cliche ads that they can produce. So far, I'd say that they are well on their way to a new record. Man, I am tired of seeing the same old car ads that show the car driving somewhere, then at the end just showing the most flattering view of the car and stapling a tag line on the screen or page. Half of the time I can't even tell you what car it is until the brand name is shown, and if I were either the car company or the agency producing the ad, I would think that that sort of reaction to what you are putting out would raise some sort of a red flag. Don't you? Now, of course some ads are more interesting and unique than others but I just feel that the whole car-ad world is becomming irreversibly monotonous...until the MINI came along!

I LOVE the Mini ads. They are so proficient at grabbing people's attention and creating an entire unique experience simply from an immovable, yet suggestive visual. Combined with a few guerrilla marketing tactics, Mini has implemented the most interesting, engaging, and out-of-the-box advertisements that I have seen. And just when I was giving up on car commercials and ads, Mini brought me back.

They already have an untraditional style and appearance from what us American car consumers are used to seeing and experiencing..."experience" being the key word here. That is how Mini has positioned itself in the market. They are selling an experience, rather than useless features or a sleek body, and their advertisements depict that flawlessly. Let me show you a few examples of what and how Mini is doing this:

  

How cool are these? Can you think of another car brand that you have seen a previous ad for that could fill this space that Mini has taken over? I sure can't. From the "moving" billboard to the caged Mini to the personalized driving messages, Mini is invading the minds of its consumers. While although it is still a car and it needs to have certain functional and operational benefits or else a consumer will not buy it, Mini is showing off these functions in a totally different way. They are creating an entire experience with each ad that pretty much any consumer can relate to and it's so refreshing to see. Keep it up Mini! I think we all can learn a lesson from these Mini ads. Don't settle for what everyone else is doing because that is how you get looked over and forgotten. Dare to be different, dare to be wild, dare to be YOU! No matter how "mini" you may seem, you can always have a giant voice.


Check out some of the other past Mini ads:
http://inventorspot.com/articles/mini_cooper_no_small_advertising_6530

What Are You REALLY Getting From Your Advertising?

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time so far studying marketing and advertising here at school and it is the field that I want to build a career on someday. Learning the ins and outs of what lies behind truly great advertising and marketing strategies is rewarding and extrememly beneficial to me. I stumbled across an article on The Brand Builder Blog the other day and I had to share what I read. The article was about Proctor and Gamble (P&G) and how they are being pressured by shareholders to look deeply into their advertising behaviors due to recent sub-par quarterly numbers. P&G CEO, Bob McDonald's seat is 'heating up" as a result and is forced to find a cause, or more importantly a remedy, for the current situation. P&G is the world's largest marketer and the recent spending on advertising mixed with a decline in sales is making a lot of people unhappy; not to mention the 1,600 employees that have been laid off. The article is lengthy but there were some amazing and thought-provoking realities that were adressed.

The whole article revolved around the concept of advertising and marketing budgets vs. their ROI in terms of sales. In the monster of a trend that is social media, ROI for advertising and marketing camaigns are not being measured by "likes," "tweets," "follows," or "shares." No. P&G's main problem is that these ads and strategies are not resulting in increased sales. The article claims that so many of today's advertising goals have drifted away from the elementary goal of increasing sales and is now more concerned with public perceptions and making as many "impressions" on consumers as possible. This simply is not good enough, especially by a goliath company such as P&G. It needs sales and lots of them. P&G's "spend more, sell more" approach to advertising has gotten them in trouble, although this concept is not without some past merit, it cannot be applied across all landscapes. For example, in just the past two years, P&G's ad spend budget increased by 24%, which is great but how much of an increase in sales to you think P&G experienced? Double digits? Nope. As a result of the increase in spending, P&G saw only a 6% increase in sales.

It is more clear today than ever before that communications channels have changed, along with technology. Consumers have access to more information than ever before and are more informed and smarter than any time in history. Now, P&G has obviously had success in the past when dealing with these extreme cultural shifts. Just look at the success of the Old Spice advertisements through viral videos and word of mouth, for example. Success can obtained, it's just a matter of finding the formula for consistency.

Back to the concept of impressions vs. sales, which is at the root of P&G's issues in my opinion. The article deciphered the two concepts perfectly:  "Impressions are not transactions. Sharing content isn't buying...Stick to numbers that matter:  Spend and sales." While impressions and perceptions are extremely important to establish and use to build equity for a company, they are not the necessary metrics on which to assess success of advertising. Sales is. Lastly, the article illustrated a scenario that really drove home the main idea:  Which campaign would you rather choose?

Campaign A - Cost:  $2,000,000. Revenue:  $20,000,000
Campaign B - Cost:  $50,000.  Revenue:  $20,000,000
Campaign C - Cost:  $50,000. Impressions:  100,000.  Revenue:  unknown.

Ask yourself which on of these campaigns you would hang your career on come reporting time?

Got Chocolate Milk?

Last week, our class was visited by Kelly Fisher from the got milk? campaign. Their new marketed idea that has already been launched is about chocolate milk and its benefits in terms of post workout rehabilitation and recovery. This was actually the first time that I have seen or heard of any of these ads so it was quite interesting to learn about it in class.

We talked about the planning and research that was behind the campaign and discussed the process of how they took the idea and made it into a creative communication. After talking about this process throughout the semester so far, it was fun and helpful to look at a real-life example and be able to analyze all of the aspects of the campaign with some knowledge of what to look for. There were some aspects of the campaign that were very unique and innovative, but it also had some aspects that required more attention. With competitors such as Gatorade and Muscle Milk, standard chocolate milk has some work to do in order to take over some of the consumers' perceptions about what they use to treat their body after a workout. Gatorade and Muscle Milk are heavily manufactured and scientifically formulated to aid the body during the recovery stage of a workout, but chocolate milk argues that whatever Gatorade and Muscle Milk give your body, chocolate milk comes with it already in stock. Chocolate milk has all of the necessary ingredients to help your body already inside of it and does not need a lab to concoct it.

The best part of the class was going through each of the creative team's ideas and evaluating them based on what was outlined in the brief. With so many competitors, chocolate milk has a very tough task when it comes to making sure this campaign is and remains completely integrated and consistent. If they produce an advertisement in which the chocolate milk could easily be replaced with a Gatorade logo, then they must go back to the drawing boards. Finding that "white space" in the consumers' minds is so difficult to do. After evaluating the creatives on consistency, the message, integration, and aesthetic parameters, we were then asked to choose which one we thought was themost effective communication for chocolate milk.

The "My After" idea was the communication idea that they chose to go with. This highlights the personalization aspect of how each person individually chooses to treat their bodies after their particular workouts. This campaign utilizes both professional athletes and also "regular" people to show that chocolate milk is effective for even the most renowned athletes, but also it is just as effective and beneficial for the "weekend runners" and heavy lifters that are working out just to make themselves feel good. This was a great experience to have in class and it was beneficial to assess a real-life creative process. It has made me think outside the box a little bit when it comes to what I do after workouts. Rather than just reaching for the most popular Gatorade bottle and drinking because some scientists say its good for me, I may turn towards the more natural solution that is chocolate milk. Plus its delicious!

Mama "Mio!"

Last year, Kraft Foods Group launched Mio, a nationally marketed "liquid water enhancer." Its introduction to the market left many skeptical about its quality and purpose, including myself. But the seemingly hesitant consumer attitude has proven to not be as strong as what we may think. Within the first 52 weeks of its introduction, Mio had over $140 million in sales, a number that continues to grow and it expected to double in the next year. Despite all of the doubts and harsh critics, Mio has become one of the leading products in the bevarage enhancer category which has gotten the attention of other major food and beverage companies.

Mio's strategy is rooted in the fact that it is the millenium product; a new-age beverage enhancer for the individuals in our society and those who value the ability to customize many aspects of their lives. Mio gives the consumer freedom by allowing them to choose the flavor, amount, and application of the product to their beverages and even some foods. Whether you like a lot of flavor or just a hint, Mio delivers.

Mio's target and objective are very clear and concise and when you think about it, very clever and practical. Until now, one of the only products that offered enhancements to your water were Crystal Light packets and tea bags. Mio has brought a new and refreshed look to the simple and necessary act of drinking water. Its small container and portability enhances the ability to customize the consumers' water quickly, easily, and while on the go. Kraft has added and extention to the product line by introducing two new flavors with caffiene for a quick and delicious boost of energy. With the fast-paced lifestyles of today's "millenials," the energy line is a very smart move by Kraft.

Since Mio's birth, other companies have been keeping their eye on its success. Coca-Cola is one of those companies. This fall, the most recognizable brand on the planet plans to release its own line of beverage enhancers, called Dasani Drops, under the Dasani sub-brand. Hmmm, I wonder how they came up with this idea! If you looked up the terms "desperate", "panic", or "copy-cat" in the dictionary, Dasani Drops would be there. This is such a typical and predictable move by Coca-Cola and it is a move that I think consumers are too smart to dive into. Mio better be hiring some good lawyers and patenting the you-know-what out of their product to prevent the bully that is Coca-Cola from copying Mio and taking market share.

Reading this article devalued Coca-Cola in my mind. While it is a necessary business move that Coca-Cola is taking, I have just always been one to root for the underdog. I have not yet tried Mio but be assured that I will, and will continue to support their fight against Dasani Drops and other imitation products. A good idea deserves to be preserved, and that good idea is Mio.


http://adage.com/article/news/kraft-s-smash-product-mio-attracts-rival-coke-s-dasani/238110/

What is a Car Company?

Recently I have seen the new Firestone Tires commercial on television and rather than tuning out or changing the channel, as I often do when another boring and redundant (and sometimes misleading) car commercial comes on, this one made me listen. The opening line just grabbed my attention:  "There's only one car company in America that's never made a single car." It left me thinking and wanting to know how that is possible and I asked myself, "What is a car company?'

Now, although I drive a steel grey (that is fading) 1986 Volkwagon Quantum with 13-inch wheels that could be used as training wheels, I am very interested in cars. Also, throughout my time in college studying marketing and advertising, I have been reduced to having little faith in the automobile marketing world, or scheme if you prefer that I'm honest. Car commercials are all about saying what is flashy and attention-grabbing while disguising all of the downfalls. This Firestone commercial, however, just struck my as being boldly honest and confident, and that was kind of refreshing for me and maintained my attention.

 

 

The message in this ad is crystal clear:  if you drive cars for their performance and "value your car because of what you do with it," make sure that you are getting all of the performance that you can possibly get by putting Firestone tires on your car.

The problem that Firestone could be facing is that the majority of people use their car strictly as a means of transportation to get from point A to point B. And because of this, those people do not value or take the time to search for the best tires, they simple go with what is the cheapest. Cutting back on expenses is the new trend and necessary action in this country with the state of the economy and Firestone wants to make sure that people don't "cut back" on the love for their cars and their driving experiences along with it.

What Firestone is trying to do with this ad is to reinstill the attitude that driving is fun and that you should enjoy, take care of, and experience your car for all that it is worth and that you should not hold it back. With their expert knowledge and passion for cars, even though they don't manufacture the cars that you drive themselves, they are still a "car company."

I have known that Firestone makes tires but this is really the first advertisement that I remember seeing for Firestone, and in my opinion, it is very powerful and will resonate with the consumers. So as the "new car smell" and the paint start to fade from your cars, make sure that the performance and the thrill of driving doesn't fade with it.

Wings. Beer. Sports.

"Wings, beer, and sports." What else could a sports fan want? Those are the essentials for enjoying any team, any game, any time. And can you guess who created this simple, yet so thorough tagline? Yup. Buffalo Wild Wings, a.k.a. B-Dubs. Sports is a common language that can be spoken between any person today and it can even bring mortal enemies under the same roof. Sports are such a fixture in today's society and almost every person can relate to or understand the rollercoaster of emotions and the amount of pressure and excitement that they can deliver. There are countless restaurants or bars that try to capitalize on this, one of them being B-Dubs. So, before its creation, where does the idea for a restaurant and "hang out" spot like this come from? What is at the heart of B-Dubs?

What may be the problem or pain that this place can solve?

People spend days, sometimes weeks, anticipating a big sporting event. Whether it is their favorite team that they have so loyally loved for years or just simply the love of the sport, people take sports very seriously. They often arrange parties and events around sports and it is a special time that people and friends can come together and share an experience. However, most people dread the preparation, planning, time-consuming chores, and ultimately dealing with the aftermath and destruction that one of these said parties can manifest. The effort and coordination is enough to deter some people from setting these events up so they just may never happen.

What is the objective of B-Dubs?

B-Dubs wants to provide the atmosphere, food, social-belonging, and excitement back to the art of watching sports. Since many people take these games so seriously, they want a place that can allow them to be expressive about their team, serve them the best sports food known to man, and a place that they can bring their whole rowdy crew to enjoy the game together. They want you to forget about the stresses of planning a party, preparing the food, and dealing with the cleanup. They want to make watching the games about the games themselves, not any of the extracurriculars. Just sports.

Who do they want to come to B-dubs?

Any and all sports fanatics. The "wear my jersey to work" fans. The face-painted and die hard people that only have their teams success and lives in their hearts. Those who win and lose as their team wins and loses. The trash-talkers, bet-makers, high-fivers, and fist-pumpers. The superstitionists that believe all of their actions instill greatness in their teams. No matter what name is one their jersey, they love the meaning of sports and like to share it with other fanatics.

The essentials?

Wings. Beer. Sports. Period.

Are iPods on their Deathbeds?

Remember when the first few iPod commercials came out and showed the silhouettes of people dancing around with the white iPods in their hands and the white headphone cords swinging around the screen as they moved? Of course you do. They were awesome and something we had never really seen before. Sure, we had models of MP3 players floating aroung the market but no one quite had a grasp on how functional and useful they could be until Apple came along.

Well, times are a changin' and since the introduction of the iPod, dozens of products and variations of those products have been available to consumers, each one just being a little better than the last. Although Apple just came out with new lines of the iPod nano, shuffle, and touch, it leaves me wondering if it is too little to late. It seems to me that the iPod, in this race to consumer and market domination, is the hare. It came out of the gates fast, but now these new products are closing in on the finish line and leaving the iPod in the dust. Im my opinion, Apple will need to soon come to a conclusion about the continuation and fate of the iPod product line. Apple is clearly a goliath in today's electronic world; the sales revenue of the iPhone alone is greater than all of Microsoft's sales revenue combined. But again, what about the iPod?


What is the iPod's problem?

With the rapid advancement and improvements of the iPhone, with more memory and functionability, consumers are beginning (if they haven't already) to listen to all of their music right on their phones, rather than having a separate device to pay for and carry around. Consumers strive to have less "baggage" and desire all of their entertainment needs in one location, and that is the iPhone.

What are iPod advertisements trying to accomplish?

Apple wants to bring back the fun and excitement of using an iPod. They are showcasing new colors, new screen sizes and layout, new apps and features, and better screen resolutions, as seen in the new iPod touch.

Who is the target for the new iPods?

I think that Apple is trying to focus on the younger generation for their new iPods. Kids who listen to music regularly but are not allowed to have a phone that allows them to listen to music. An iPhone is very expensive and for those parents who do not want their children to have a phone that is that expensive, the iPod is the product that will solve their music-listening dilemma.

Why should you still buy and iPod?

For those with a diverse taste and an expansive music library, they will need all of the memory that they can get. If you would purchase an iPhone with 16GB or 32GB of memory and you load it up with apps, take a lot of photos and videos, or do anything else that will fill up that memory, it doesn't leave much extra space for that large library of music. IPods offer a single and uncontaminated space for you to store your music. So, instead of having 3 or 4GBs of scrap memory left on an iPhone to cram in your music, you will have an entire device and all 16 or 32GBs of memory to fill with all of your favorite artists and tracks you can think of.

 



Mercedes: The Best or Nothing

This Mercedes Benz commercial from last year still resonates in my mind today, despite the myriad of car commercials that float around today's ad space. It stuck in my mind because it went against the image of a Mercedes that had formed in my mind, even without giving its formation any cognitive thought. When I see a Mercedes Benz out on the road, it is typically an older man (believed to be successful) with distinguished attire and features and that seems to be a bit smug and ignorant to the world around him. Now, this is a generalization but an overwhelming reoccurance in my experiences. My attitude towards the typical "Merc" owner, I would think, would and should be alarming to the Mercedes Benz brand. I have pondered about this idea for some time and after seeing this commercial, some of my questions and concerns, I feel, were addressed.

 

What was/is Mercedes Benz's problem?

 

With the prestigious name, iconing styling, unmatched technology, and premium prices that go along with it, Mercedes is still beginning to become old-fashioned. They have lost touch with the days of creating racing machines and symbolizing power and excitement. They have become solely a status symbol. They need to create an image that they make driving fun and adventurous again, rather than just being the end of the road of success.

 

What was this ad's objective?

 

This ad exudes power, and a lot of it. Mercedes has been around long enough and has decades upon decades of experience that back up its supremacy, but it is time to bring something new (or what they once stood for) to the table. While obviously keeping the iconing lines and design features, as expected, Mercedes is now a symbol of power and strength, rather than solely a status symbol for the adventure-less.

 

Who is the target and what are they thinking, feeling, and saying?

 

Success will always be a prerequisite to owning a new Mercedes Benz, and this is something that Mercedes is proud to say. They are after all a luxury brand at the core. But what about the successful consumers that never grow up, never settle, and never outgrow adventure and excitement? Mercedes needs to grab these people and never let go. They can't afford to become Buick. Our society has an "anti-aging" mentality and will go to extreme lengths to hold on to their youth and material items such as automobiles help them slow down the aging of the mind.

 

What is the main idea? The big picture?

 

Owning a Mercedes Benz is more than a status symbol, it's a way of life; a life of excitement, adventure, sophistication, power, and bold statements.

 

 

 



5...Hour...Nap

 

What's the first sport that comes to mind when I say the word energy? GOLF! Right? In almost every case...wrong. This ad from 5-Hour Energy is a complete and utter shank (speaking in golf terms). Now I may have a slightly unique perspective on this commercial because it features professional golfer, Jim Furyk. He is from Lancaster, Pennsylvania which is about 40 minutes from my hometown. Being a obsessed and passionate golfer myself, I had the pleasure of going to the 2011 U.S. Open in Bethesda, Maryland and had the honor of meeting and talking to Jim Furyk. Of course I brought up where I was from and that I knew one of his best friends, who was a long-time basketball coach at a neighboring high school in my school district growing up. Jim Furyk is one of the nicest and well-respected guys on the PGA Tour, however he has a somewhat somber and unaltering personality when he is on the course. He may crack a few smiles here and there and may give the ocassional waist-high fist pump after a clutch shot, but that's it. To this point, I am completely flabbergasted as to what 5-Hour Energy was thinking when they selected a golfer, let alone Jim Furyk, to represent their product.

 

5-Hour Energy claims to give you a surge of energy that makes you alert and more focused. Well, that may be true but how the heck are we supposed to get that message from Jim Furyk? A large number of athletes that play other, contact sports do not even view golf as a sport at all but more of a hobby and being a golfer all of my life, I can attest to that. So if are a football player, boxer, wrestler, or baseball player and you watch this commercial, a smile and a chuckle are going to be impossible to hold back. This commercial seems like a 5-year-old wrote it to be perfectly honest. It's almost like it was a contest to see how many times they could say "energy" in 30 seconds. We know that the product is about energy; it's in the name of the product! 

 

 

Now, maybe this ad was aiming for those that lack the necessary amount of energy to get through their day, athletic challenges, or other bodily demands. I get that. But I think that it would have been much more effective to show the benefits of the product rather than simply stating them, and lets face it, coming from someone who speaks in a bland monotone isn't cutting the cake. Using an athlete that is in the middle of a tense situation or that is about to attempt a record-breaking feat would showcase the effects of this product much more vividly and more believably, rather than someone standing and hitting a golf ball or sitting in a meeting. Even though this product can apply to those occasions, it is all about image and sticking out in the consumers' minds.

 I agree that 5-Hour Energy needs to target those people who work long hours, who are constantly going and those who may lack the motivation to get through the day. But the main idea that 5-Hour Energy needs to communicate here is that this product will give you a boost to get you through those painstaking days that seem to never end. I still think that this product is the root of many skeptical attitudes and saying that it gives you energy over and over again does not build trust in the product. Jim Firyk, or any golfer for that matter, was simply not the right choice for 5-Hour Energy, who is still trying to find that niche in the market for themselves. Slowly but surely they may get there, but as for now, if they come out with another commercial like this one, they will have to change their name to 5-Hour Nap.

I Can't Hear You, I'm Too Busy DOING IT

 

 They always say, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Right? Well, what if you can beat them? Nike suggests leaving them in your dust. I stumbled upon this commercial advertisement from Nike and was honestly moved by it. It really hit home for me because I have had a longtime friend that has a disability and have witnessed first hand all of the abuse and torment that is a part of my friend's everyday life. More importantly and even more discouraging, I have had the painful exeriences of seeing what happens to him emotionally behind the scenes as a result. Let me tell you, if you don't already know the feeling, I hope that you never do.

 

This commercial is described by one word in my mind:  Nike. It is the epitome of what Nike stands for and tries to inspire within each and every one of its consumers. What do words like pride, triumph, dedication, silencing the critics, the pursuit of perfection, and relentlessness all have in common? They are what Nike strives to possess and inspire. A typical Nike commercial in the past had used a star athlete in a popular American sport. While this commercial shines a spotlight on Oscar Pistorius, a South American "blade runner" who has broken his own world records in track and field over 30 times, it has a different feel and message than most other Nike spots. Oscar may be in top physical shape and condition, he has a serious and restrictive disability:  he has lost both of his legs. I have viewed this video numerous times and have been thinking about the conversations and objectives that may have inspired its origin. 

 

 

Nike's possible decription of their target for this ad may go a little something like this:  A young, determined athlete that has ever doubted themselves. They sit on the sideline just hoping they could be like the ones that get the playing time.They often tell themselves, "I'll do it tomorrow," or, "it can wait." Those who believe that they don't deserve the spotlight or that it is unattainable. A young, aspiring athlete who hears others over themselves.

 

What is the main idea that Nike is trying to drive home with this ad? Everyone can achieve greatness. Everyone can experience triumph and victory. Everyone can jump the hurdles in their path to the finish line. Everyone has the desire and dedication within them, but need to find their reason to bring it out. Everyone needs to be a "bad listener" in order to only hear the beating of their heart, the fire in their souls, and the dreams in their minds. If it was easy, everyone would do it...JUST DO IT.

 

While I am a firm believer that anyone can do anything that they set their mind to, we all have to admit and be realistic in saying that not all kids or young adults, Nike's main targets, have the same opportunities to do something great in their lives. That power lies within the individual. Nike is saying in this ad, to put it bluntly, screw the people that bring you down and tell you "no." Screw the people that use the word "can't" in their vocabulary. Screw the people that write you off because you "aren't like the rest." Speaking to young kids and young adults that may have to overcome obstacles in their lives, Nike is telling you to make your own success, silence those who doubt you, push yourself and ultimately, JUST DO IT. Only you can determine what you can or cannot do. That's it. Nike nailed this. Exterior powers have no effect on the strength of what is within you. Only YOU can set your alarm before the sun tells you to get up. Only YOU can feel the rewards of your aches, pains, and sweat. Nike tells its consumer that only they have the control and power of their minds, bodies, and futures.

 

Now this is something to listen to. Just do it.

Life's A Beach

 

Who doesn't love beaches? No, I said beaches, not...well, nevermind. Of course I'm talking about Corona and their "Find your beach" campaign. To me, it is brilliant. Beer commercials can be so monotonous and redundant, showing dudes in sports jerseys watching a game and chest-bumping because they are so manly and drink a manly beer. Well, what about the people that just enjoy their beer and use it (responsibly of course) to briefly get away from the stresses and pains in the ass that every day life seems to always throw at you? That's the image that Corona tries to pop their top and consume in the minds of the consumer. As a college student, I admit that maybe I do not have ALL of the stresses and worries that my elders do, but who can say that they don't enjoy popping open a Corona at the end of a long day and just unwinding? No one that I know.

 

I recently saw this commercial for Corona and I think that it makes my point perfectly. It shows the man sitting on the beach enjoying a Corona and looking at the blue ocean. Soon into the commercial, a stewardess on an airplane pushes her beverage cart up to the man while the shot is still showing the beach. When it quickly switches to showing the man sitting on the crowded airplane, you realize that the beach was just the man's imagination. The woman across the aisle also orders a Corona and joins the man on his "beach." This is a simple commercial but the message is strong and consistent with Corona's image. As a consumer watching the commercial, we automatically start to compare the feelings of sitting on a beautiful beach or sitting in a crowded airplane, and all of the hassles that go along with flying these days. I think it is obvious which place we would rather be, and Corona uses those real-life, everyday struggles and hassles that we have to go through to their advantage by providing us with an escape:  their beer. Also, a subtle difference that Corona provides that many consumers may not notice is that instead of the redundant and cliche saying, "Drink Responsibly," Corona puts a twist on it and makes it their own by urging its consumers to "Relax Responsibly." So relax, don't stress, slice some limes, and find your beach.

 

 

 

Old Spice Trying Not to be Old News

"P-P-P-P-P-P-POWER!" I would be shocked if there was a guy out there that has never exclaimed this quote at the top of their lungs while trying to look as masculine as possible, which may be harder for some than others. But that's beside the point. Of course this is the old tagline of the more than muscular Terry Crews in the long-lasting Old Spice camapign. A more recent campaign, starring Isaiah Mustafa, was famous for being random a funny, but also for using the motto, "The man your man could smell like." But wait a minute, if they are advertising body wash for men then that motto does not quit work...or does it?

Researchers at Old Spice had found that even though deoderant such as Old Spice is mostly a man's product, in the majority of circumstances, all purchases regarding hygiene and personal care products were made by the woman or women of the households. So, with this valuable nugget of information, what did Old Spice do (and do perfectly in my opinion)? They produced a line of commercials that appealed to both males and females. First, the males react to the advertisements because they see a manly, macho, and smooth man using the product and reaping all of the benefits with an extrardinary amount of confidence. On the other hand, females that view these ads will respond to the muscular and smooth talking man, but in maybe a slightly different way. The men want to BE that guy, and the women want to be WITH that guy. It created the perfect storm for Old Spice, which led to an amazing 107 percent increase in sales in the first month following the ads alone, according to AdWeek. This kind of number makes it hard to find a flaw in Old Spice's strategies. Without extensive research and thorough understanding of the consumers' behaviors, I don't think that Old Spice would have ever seen this kind of growth, at least not as rapidly.

As a guideline for any advertisement, even the best and most effective campaigns have their breaking point. To avoid wearing out this brilliant idea, Old Spice had to move in a different, but still similar, direction with their ads. With their new line of "Champion" body wash, Old Spice is using Green Bay Packer star and 2011 Super Bowl champion, Greg Jennings. A Super Bowl champion promoting a body wash called "Champion?" Genius. It probably was not a hard connection to make for Old Spice and in my opinion, it won't be tough for the consumers either. The new line of commercials show Jennings making a movie about himself, helping a young and attractive woman ride a jet ski on him back while doing pushups, and also one that shows him in the middle of an NFL game while being in bed with a woman. The common message in these commercials is being able to mix business with pleasure. While it is extremely tough to top Terry Crews or Isaiah Mustafa, I think these the use of Jennings and the new direction of these ads are good and will be successful for Old Spice. After being at the pinnacle of the advertising world for a year or two, Old Spice must try even harder to stay on top because when you are on the top, the only way to go is down, and Old Spice does not want to have their name changed to Old News.

A 'He Said, She Said' Type of Election

Am I the only one that is getting tired of the ins and outs, ups and downs, and arounds of this year's presidential election? What ever happened to honesty, fair competition, and integrity...you know, the types of attributes upon which this country stives to build itself on? For me, watching all that goes along with this election has caused me to have less faith and belief in those attributes than ever before. Specifically concerning the most recent debate on October 3rd, as I listened and looked into the faces of the two candidates I felt a sense of unrest and discomfort, which by the way, are not feelings that you want to have while listening to what your future President is saying he will do for you and your country. I don't know what it is exactly, maybe there is just too much media attention and publicity about each candidate's every move for there to ever be a single, positive story about them. Every time you look in the news or view a commercial about the election, it is so negatively focused and the entire purpose of the information is to find what is wrong with what each candidate does or says, not about the good. I find this very tiring; tiring to the point that I am slowly giving up interest in watching the election's coverage. The debate on October 3rd was immediately followed by the "fact-checking" show where people have tirelessly checked every single fact about what the candidates said and then tell the public about every little mispoken word or hole in their debates. While I am a reasonable person and completely understand that these tactics are in the attempts to inform the voting public about the truth behind what is being told to them, but come on, are we ever going to hear anything positive coming from the media?

The campaign commercials are also a bothersome topic for me, so much so that I have come to just instinctively change the channel when one of them comes on. These campaign messages are also littering every media outlet online, most specifically, YouTube. You can no longer simply view a video on YouTube without having to sit through 15 to 30 seconds of a sponsored campaign ad. And these ads are more times than not devoted to lack of integrity of the opposing candidate and about how screwed our country would be if he were elected instead of the one sponsoring the ad. It has turned into a "he said, she said" kind of election process, which can most be comparable to, in my opinion, a group of middle schoolers arguing over who has less acne and who will have the smoothest skin in the future. I believe that these candidates are beginning (and forced) to direct there efforts towards saving their image due to the beating that it takes from the media and the opposing candidate rather then putting those efforts towards running their own race and trying to connect with the American people on an emotional and personal level. I think that this alone is what is taking away from the honesty, integrity, and fairness of the current election process and I, for one, am not a fan of this undeniable truth.

Immigration: The New 'Wave' of Fiat Cars to America

Much like the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria did in 1492, the new wave of Fiat automobiles are making their way across the "ocean blue." The relatively new and small, yet "sporty" Italian cars are a product of the Chrysler Group. Fiats have been sold in the United States since March of 2011, but they are just now starting to make headlines due to a sex-driven commercial that was aired during the Super Bowl this past February. Since then there have been a few new commercials that have been aired, which use stars such as Charlie Sheen and Jennifer Lopez, and the most recent one that carries the theme of "immigration" as it pertains to these Italian-born cars making their way into the American markets. Here is the new commercial that the Richards Group from Dallas created for Fiat titled, "Immigrants."

The message that Fiat is trying to send is very clear:  "The next wave of Italians has come to America, and they've come to party." This commercial is the first one that showcases all three of the Fiat 500s that are available in the American market. Looking at the already exising "small" cars that are available, the Fiat is attempting to enter an exensive and established market here in the states. With competing cars such as the Mini Cooper, Honda Fit, or the new VW Beetle, the Fiats will need to find the segment that has not yet been captured by these existing alternatives.

The fact that the commercial verbally states that the Fiats are here to "party" shows that they are targeting the young, outgoing, risk-taking, and adventurous population. While cars like the Honda Fit and other small, energy-conscious cars on the market reach out to the environmental or "green" segment, the Fiats want their owners to rage and have a good time while behind the wheel. Fiat wants to firmly inject the Italian culture into the veins of American car buyers, especially those who are city dwellers and who want to feel sporty, practical, and who want value for their money. I think that Fiat has been bold with their string of commercials containing sex appeal and celebrities, but Fiat must be careful about what their commercials are really trying to relay to the consumers. Do the people that are not familiar with the Fiat brand going to purchase one simply because of its unique and somewhat seductive advertisements, or are they more concerned with performance and specifications of the car itself? This is the type of question that Fiat must investigate so that they keep a consistent brand image and do not lose customers because they are confused about what benefits that Fiat can provide them. Hopefully Fiat figures this out so that their "party" can rage on and tear the roof off of the American small car market.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/16/business/media/fiat-500-ads-portray-italian-cars-in-immigration-wave.html

Is iPhone 5 Just a New Name?

For the past month or two (or really since the iPhone 4S came out), all that I have heard from friends is how they cannot wait for the iPhone 5 to come out. "It's going to be the best one yet," they all say. Well, I would hope so! Don't we all expect the newest member of a product line to be better than the last? But will the iPhone 5 really be that much of an upgrade? Let's just say that I have my suspicions. I have done some research about the products and have compared them side by side just to see what's going to be so much better about the iPhone 5. It will be about a quarter of an inch longer than the iPhone 4S in height, slightly thinner and slightly lighter, which when you are dealing with fractions of ounces, is weight that much of a factor? Anyways, the screen on the iPhone 5 will be larger by half an inch and will have a better resolution, which in my opinion is an expected upgraded feature. I mean come on, it is Apple that we are talking about. The video capabilities are slightly upgraded with new features such as being able to take a picture while simultaneously taking a video, which is pretty cool, but not a selling point for most consumers. Add a different set of headphones, and different looking connector and a 25-minute addition to battery life and you have completed almost all of the differences. Doesn't seem like much to me...

Don't get me wrong, I am a loyal Apple user and have had the iPhone 3G and 3GS (which is the phone that I currently use). For me, my 3GS does everything that I need it to do and I am completely satisfied with being "behind the trend" if you will. The iPhone 5 is something new and exciting, which coming from Apple, makes headlines and makes consumers go crazy. Like any previous Apple product that has been launched, the iPhone 5 will have long lines if people waiting to bust down the doors to get it and it will be back ordered for months I am sure, but I just encourage people that are thinking about purchasing the iPhone 5 to do some research to see what you are actually gaining, other than the newest and most popular name in cellular devices.

Apple has some great commercials that highlight the superiority of their products. But recently I have seen a Samsung commercial that indirectly makes the iPhone and its current and potential users look pretty silly. Here is the commercial that Samsung put out promoting its Galaxy S 3 phone:

 





 

I thought that this was pretty clever on Samsung's part and you can't help but chuckle at some of the people's comments that are standing in line (meant to be the new iPhone 5 consumers). By their comments, you can pick up on the fact that they do not really know what benefits the iPhone 5 will give them, they just know that they want it! And if you are Apple, that really all that you are asking for.

 

 

 

http://www.apple.com/iphone/compare-iphones/

 

Facebook Can Leave You Face Down

Dictionary.com defines advertising as "the act or practice of calling public attention to one's product, service, need, etc..." I am not going to crituque or vent about a particular advertisement or campaign in this post, instead I will rant about the blatant and devastating use of Facebook by today's "up and coming" business stars. Now, this is, like any other post, written out of my experiances and opinions so there is no need for anyone to defend themselves or get their undies in a bunch if you feel that you do not fall into this category.

So, "the act or practice of calling public attention to one's product..." Hmm, isn't that Facebook in a nutshell? You are your own product! And Facebook is your 24/7 commercial that you can use to advertise yourself to everyone that your heart desires. Sure this is a great tool and is a site that has many benefits. I am an active user of Facebook and am not arguing that Facebook is bad in any way, assuming that you use it for its intended purpose. As a 21 year old and a senior in college, I am seeing that Facebook is not just a tool to communicate with friends or to post ridiculous pictures of yourself so everyone can see how drunk or silly you were over the weekend. It can be a very effective networking tool that can help you find a job or a connection that will lead to a great career or future upon graduation. There have been many surveys and studies done about this and in my research, anywhere from 38-70 percent of today's employers will check an applicant's Facebook or other active social media site before making a hiring decision. That means that the person that is debating whether to hire you or not can see your drunken pictures and post, and any other offensive material that may be hidden on your site.

I continuously see friends' pages that have content that puts represents them in a very negative way. In some cases, even being their close friend, I would not even hire them based on some of their information on their social media sites. It is something that may come with maturity and age, which happens at different stages of everyone's life, but it is important to know what you are uploading, how you are "advertising" yourself, and more importantly, who can see your content. I read a story a while back about a girl (her identity was concealed) updating a Facebook status that talked bad about her boss and said some nasty things. Turned out that her boss was her "friend" on Facebook and could see the post and commented on the status telling her not to "bother coming in tomorrow" and fired her via Facebook.We need to learn from this girl and be more aware of how we are presenting ourselves to the public because you never really know who is looking.

Hello, I'm a Laptop

"Hello, I'm a Mac. And I'm a PC." Ring a bell? Most of us can hear or read this simple quote and know exactly what it refers to. The seemingly never-ending debate between Mac and PC over who is the ruler of the virtual world is still at large. Both brands have seeded loyalists that will vigorously argue for their respective brands, while the majority of consumers, as it seems to me, have been on the fence. Here is a compilation of the 15 "Mac vs. PC" commercials that have since been discontinued, but were used to fuel the debate over the past few years:

 

 

Can you tell who ran these commercials? Yup, yuou guessed it:  Apple. These commercials always got my attention because they are so simple and so ordinary, but they make a huge statement. The characters are perfectly utilized to get the point across. PC is depicted by and older, more formal (and maybe less fun) man, while Mac is represented by a smoother talking, more personable, younger man. They simply stand there and rattle off all of the features that they have and somehow, the PC always gets shut down. Mac takes pride in marketing themselves and fun, energetic, and make it known that (as seen in the ads) they are perfect for anyone's "lifestyle," while PC performs more of a functional and business-related task.

 

During the time that these commercials aired, when it came to laptop and personal computer sales, Mac was getting destroyed by PC. Horace Dediu of Asymco recently stated that,"in 2011, Microsoft's PC desktops and laptops outsold Apple's Macs by a less-than 20-to-1 ratio." While this may seem like a huge margin still, it is significantly more narrow, however, than it has been since 1985 when Mac was released. The article that I read states that PC sales are still growing fairly rapidly, its just that Mac sales are growing faster. This statistic arises from Mac's ability to market their product more effectively and with more appeal to the target audience than PC does. Today's consumers want more concise, more portable, and more customizable products in their hands and Mac has been delivering just that. PC has been holding on the the throne but Mac is coming to, and will, knock them off. It is just a matter of time. And since the PC in the commercial said it has a clock, he can just sit there and watch it tick.

 

 

http://articles.cnn.com/2012-07-05/tech/tech_gaming-gadgets_mac-vs-pc-graph_1_microsoft-s-pc-windows-mobile-devices?_s=PM:TECH

Prices for Super Bowl Ads Have No Limits

According to Nielsen Company, over 111 million people tuned in to the Super Bowl in February, 2012. That is nearly one third of our entire country! As a big football and entertainment fan, I find it somewhat comical that most of those viewers are only watching the game for reasons other than the sport:  the commercials. Every year, people rant and rave about what new commercials companies like Coca-Cola, Toyota, Ford, and Chevrolet will come up with. Then for weeks after the game's conclusion, like some wacky game show, everyone loves to play "rank the commercials." Personally, I have seen heated arguments and even physical altercations over which Super Bowl commercial was the best. Ridiculous? I'll let you be the judge of that. It seems to me that if I was a player in the Super Bowl and wanted the whole world to know my name, I'd almost rather be in one of the commercials than in the game itself. Okay, maybe that is a slight stretch of the truth, but how far of a stretch is it?

In 2012, the average price for one of these ads was 3.5 million dollars. For those of you that have trouble with division, that is roughly 117,000 dollars per second. Chris Smith, a writer for Forbes Magazine, wrote an article that stated that the rates for a 30-second Super Bowl ad could as much as double in the next decade. The return on investment for these companies that are spending that kind of money for a Super Bowl advertisement must me incredible. Now, I am aware that for a company such as Coca-Cola, 3.5 million dollars means absolutely nothing to them in the broad spectrum of their annual earnings. That is not what amazes me. It just seems to me that no matter how high the prices soar for a Super Bowl commercial, there will always be the powerhouse companies that are there waiting to pay it. So where is it going to stop?

With the number of Super Bowl viewers expected to increase each year, it only makes sense that the prices for advertising will also increase. Even a marketing major at Virginia Tech can make that connection. And within the next few years, the Super Bowl will also be streamed online for the first time, therefore increasing the audience and yes, you guessed it, further increasing the cost of advertising. It's an fast-paced, ongoing cycle that shows no sign of pacing itself in the near future. So prepare the chips and dip, chill the beer, enjoy the game, enjoy the commercials, and be glad that you aren't the one signing the checks to advertise your company during the Super Bowl.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2012/02/01/super-bowl-ad-rates-can-double-within-ten-years/

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703507804576130502068719070.html

Should Progressive Change the 'Flo' of Their Ads?

        Over the past few weeks I have been watching television and have been sucked into many commercials that, well, sucked. It is the same thing over and over again. Each set of commercials typically features the same companies and concepts:  Geico, some irrelevant law firm with cheesy stories about how they can get you millions, video games, upcoming movies, etc. The company that I am most annoyed with, however, is Progressive and their "Flo" campaign. I don't know about the rest of you, but I am at the end of the road with these commercials. When they first came out, they were silly and had simple and humerous dialogue but lately they have just gone over the edge. Take a look at their newest commercial, for example, and see what your reaction is:

 





        Hmmmm. That's a rough one. If you were left sitting there scratching your head with a look of confusion, you're not alone. Sure it starts off great when Flo is naming all of the possible discounts that a Progressive customer could but then it quickly takes a turn in a different and altogether weird direction. She then starts rambling about chipmunks and squirrels, which in my opinion, throws the whole commercial down the drain. I lost complete ability to recall what she had said about the actual service of the company. The idea of a commercial is to provide entertainment but also for the consumer to be able to recall it and use the product or service. Right? It is not just this commercial that turned me away from Progressive, it has been a long process of bad commercials mixed with the somewhat annoying personality of Flo that makes me change the channel when any of these commercials come on. I personally think, if you cannot already tell, that Progressive needs to start going in a different direction with their ads. Flo had a good run, but the wearout of this concept is rapidly approaching, if it's not in fact already here.

 

Beware: Fine Print Ahead

Reading glasses? Check. Sitting one foot from the TV screen? Check. Being able to read 100 words per minute? Check. These are just a few things that you will need and need to do in order to obtain all of the necessary information in today's commercials. To the untrained eye of the majority of consumers, all commercials that are selling us new and improved products seem genuine and straightforward. Really? I beg to differ.

 

This is one ad in a series of commercials that Ally Bank launched a few years ago. It uses kids to represent the bank's customers and the man is meant to represent most other banks that may have hidden fees or other important information that it keeps from its prospective customers. The art of using fine print is more popular than ever before it seems. Chances are that we have all seen a commercial or ad with this fine print hidden at the bottom of the screen and some of this print can be as long as a paragraph or two:  impossible for any human to read and comprehend in the short seconds that it is shown on the screen. There is also the situation in which someone in the reads the fine print and details to you but they sound like a spanish soccer (or futbol) play by play announcer! By the time the commercial ends, you are left dumbfounded and trying to recall a single word that was said.

Humor and imagery seem to be what people remember most about commercials but is that what we really need to be paying attention to? In the Ally Bank case above, the kid just simply wanted to play with the real truck (the product that was probably in the commercial that HE saw). But instead, the man so kindly reminded him of the small print that the boy's truck was just a limited time offer, something that the advertisement strategically left out. What I am trying to say through all of this is that we as consumers, in my opinion, tend to get carried away with what is directly advertised to us, whether is be fancy commercials or print ads that have a strong aesthetic appeal. Instead, we need to be more responsible and intelligent consumers and just simply keep in mind that if something seems to good to be true, it probably is. Go the extra mile to uncover the details before you so helplessly get consumed by an ad or offer.




* If you are reading this, good job! You passed your first test in being a better consumer

Musically Challenged?

 

Recall this mash-up ad from Wrigley's for its Doublemint Gum:

 

 



I'm assuming you all are looking for your car keys so that you can go find a pack of this gum. Why not? There is a catchy tune, a handsome (speaking from a female's perspective of course) and popular icon, Chris Brown, winning you over with his smooth moves and voice. But what does this have to do with gum? Sure, if Wrigley's is trying to narrow its market to young, impressionable girls that drool over a good dancer with a nice smile, I'd say they hit a homerun with this ad. For me, not so much. Not to say I don't like chewing gum or don't have a few Chris Brown jams on the iPod, because I do, but seeing this commercial offers not connection between gum and the hip-hop world of today. Simply using a popular song's tune with a remixed version of its original lyrics to fit the product does not make a successful ad. The connection between the product and communication is huge, something that Wrigley's tried to take a stab at but used a dull knife.

 

Now view this Sprite ad:

 

 

 

Following the same thought process that Wrigley's so dreadfully did, Sprite used up and coming rap artist Drake in their commercial. While I agree that using Drake to promote a soft drink is not a seamless fit, I think it is a much better attempt. It shows the effect that the product has on the consumer, rather than simply having the product and pop star in the same shot. Finding a connection between the product and promotional tool is essential to a successful advertisement and this is a good example of just that.