Sofia Vergara's "Many Women" Kmart Commercial

Sofia Vergara, of Modern Family fame, has a new clothing line for women to be sold at Kmart.

The message she wants to portray to her audience is that any woman can and should be proud of how they look and dress to match. To not be afraid to "work what [they've] got." This is communicated through her TV ad, "Many Women," as Sofia morphs into other women who are all wearing her clothing line. As each woman pulls off an outfit, she morphs into another woman of a different shape and color and they each mouth the words to Sofia's dialogue.

The commercial ends with a woman morphing into Sofia, who tells the audience that her line is at Kmart, "So go!"

The ad, created by the Peterson Milla Hooks agency in Minneapolis, shows a variety of Sofia's clothing line as worn by different types of women. This portrays that any woman can "Be proud, be sexy" by wearing her line.

Source: Ad Week

HomeAway Searches for New Agency After Super Bowl Blunder

HomeAway, the online vacation home rental corporation, is looking for a new agency after their controversial Super Bowl ad landed them in hot water.

During the 30-second 2011 Super Bowl, HomeAway's ad depicted a "test family" arguing in a small hotel room, showing that it would be better to rent a home than a hotel room. For comedic effect, a baby doll representing a "test baby" was thrown against a wall and its face was smushed as it hit the wall facing the audience. The ad was promptly taken down after customers complained that child abuse was depicted in a joking manner through the commercial itself and in the online portion of the campaign in which users could insert their own faces in place of the "test baby's."

HomeAway decided to step away from the agency responsible and search for a new one for the coming year. Not only that, but HomeAway CEO Brian Sharples said that he doesn't "have the stomach" for another Super Bowl ad, either.

The Austin-based vacation home rental corporation has been in talks with a number of agencies, including McGarrah Jessee and GSD&M.

Sometimes an attempt at shocking comedy can backfire, as HomeAway and their previous agency found out with their risky "Test Baby" commercial.

SOURCE: Ad Age

NBC Series Losing Support From Advertisers

NBC's new series The Playboy Club is losing advertising support, and quickly. In the week-and-a-half since the show premiered, seven different advertisers including Kraft, Sprint, Campbell's Soup and P.F. Chang's China Bistro. The speculation is that the show's slow start in the ratings could potentially lead to a cancellation if things don't improve. With disappointing ratings and little advertising support, it would seem like a long shot for this show to be around much longer.

Is it only the poor ratings that have caused these advertisers to leave the show behind? Well, most likely. Yet some believe that the show's content may be partially responsible as well. The Parents Television Council has reportedly berated the show on account of "mainstreaming the pornography industry." The PTC is pleased with the desertion of the show by many advertisers, yet is still hoping for more. They've since been in contact with Capital One, Chrysler and Samsung about doing the same.

My belief is that if any remaining advertisers decide to leave the program, it will have nothing to do with the Parents Television Council. Nor do I believe that the PTC had anything to do with the original seven advertisers' decision. It is not as if the advertisers had no clue what kind of subject matter would be dealt with in a show called The Playboy Club. If advertisers desert the program it is entirely due to its disappointing performance in the ratings game. I do not think that the show looks appealing, but I find it a bit discomforting that the only way a network judges a show's value is by how many people watch it.


Read more about it here.

Hasbro Embraces Unexpected Audience for My Little Pony

When Hasbro launched the latest reboot of its My Little Pony franchise in October 2010 with the show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, they aimed to build upon their target audience of 5-8 year old girls. What they didn't expect was a groundswell of support from a different audience of 15-24 year old heterosexual males.

These so-called "bronies" (bro+ponies) initially discovered the show through discussion on 4chan, the internet's most infamous imageboard site. From there the unexpected audience grew as more young adults (male and female) watched Friendship is Magic and enjoyed it for its good animation and writing and relatable characters.

The brony subculture exploded online as they created fan sites, videos, music, and other content dedicated to the show. They even uploaded full episodes of the show to YouTube. Surprisingly, Hasbro allowed the full episodes to stay up on YouTube, which encouraged the brony fanbase to grow even more. Doing so showed that Hasbro was accepting of the unexpected new audience for My Little Pony.

Hasbro not only accepted but embraced the brony subculture by releasing a Friendship is Magic TV ad that gave a shout-out to the bronies. It's called Equestria Girls, and it's a parody of Katy Perry's popular song, California Gurls.

Another summer advertisement for the show also had a more non-traditional flair for the franchise. Near Los Angeles, CA, a billboard for the show went up that parodied a previously released billboard for the adult comedy movie, Bridesmaids.

For their upcoming Halloween episode during their second season, Hasbro has created a "Ponygeist" billboard, which is a parody of the 1982 horror film, Poltergiest.

Finally, Hasbro has released a "There's a Pony For That" TV ad, parodying Apple's "There's an App For That" ads.

Through these advertisements, it's apparent that Hasbro has noticed the new audience for My Little Pony and has accepted them. Hasbro has shown that it's not always a bad idea to embrace the unexpected, as the profits from My Little Pony sales and general recognition of the show continue to grow across all audiences, especially among the bronies.

Source: MAMBO: Digital Marketing Solutions

Source: Wired.com

Source: dailybillboard.blogspot.com

"Brandwashing"

Advertisers are always trying to find new ways of reaching their audience, but this may also mean finding a new demographic that has not always been targeted. Recently, many brands have produced goods and products that are made for the demographic of infants to 3 years old. By getting their logos and iconic characters exposed to babies, the companies are hoping to establish brand name preference.

For decades, licensed characters have always been on many food items, toys and clothing of infants and babies. But now, the marketing of branded goods has be increased as high end fashion brands are producing products for that demographic as well. Designers including Versace, Fendi, and Marc Jacobs have all recently released lines for kids, some even producing designer diapers.

Senior Vice President of the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association Marty Brochstein said, "People like to dress up their kids and show off their kids. For that luxe brand itself...it's beginning the relationship with the child". Furthermore, Martin Lindstrom, author of the book "Brandwashed" said "Marketers are getting more and more desperate to generate sales, so we're slowly moving the ethical lines. When it comes to families, parents are much more influenced by the kids' and babies' preferences for brands".

What do you think? Are advertisers crossing the line into brainwashing?

Click here to read full article.

Real Nike Women

Nike Women recently came out with a positive ad campaign encouraging women to appreciate their physical assets rather than want to constantly change how they look. The ads are intended to garner the attention of the reader by the large, glossy pictures of women with many vivid colors surrounding the body parts which are posing in confident poses. The women are actually unnoticeable because their faces are not showing so it is unknown whether or not they are famous athletes or everyday women.

The vivid colors and crooked writing help catch the attention of the reader and forces them to read into the ad. This series of ads attracts the Esteem and Safety levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. The ads are intended to empower women who may be insecure of their larger thighs or athletic knee caps.

I think that these ads have great contrast which makes them aesthetically appealing to the eye and the oversized headlines make me want to continue reading the body copy. Overall I think that this was a great approach for Nike to take because it shows normal looking women in an attractive manner. If you look at these women, you wouldn't know they feel insecure about their flaws; if anything, you would know that they have taken charge of their unique physical features.

New focus: “Got Milk?” Latte Ads

In the newest campaign from "Got Milk?" after the travesty that was their PMS ads, actress Maggie Gyllenhaal takes the spotlight. Promoting milk in lattes, they take a french direction starting with "Oh la latte!" and "C'est magnifique!"



From Adweek: "The campaign aims to inspire mothers (Gyllenhaal has a 4-year-old daughter) to start each morning with a latte made with lowfat or fat-free milk." It also mentions that most people are missing these essential nutrients from milk in our morning routine.

The TV ad consists of steps to creating a latte with milk of your choice and in doing so, encourages others to try it at home. Emphasizing on the ease of making your own latte and in various different ways, this newest "Got Milk?" campaign is sure to pique interest.

Source: Adweek

Sherwin-Williams Eye-Catching Commercial

For simply being a paint company, Sherwin-Williams does a fantastic job at creating eye catching and beautiful commercials. When I first saw this particular commercial on television, it literally made me stop what I had been doing and watch it.

One of the main reasons for this was because of the vibrant colors used in the commercial. All the colors used are bright, cheery and just pleasant to look at. It is also an interesting concept. All of the images created in the commercials are made from the paint swatches that one can find in any paint store. I think this is an interesting way to take a simple everyday item and look at it in a new way.

Another reason why I believe this commercial works so well is because it connects with the audience on a deeper level than simply 'buy our paint'. The commercial shows many different scenes of farm land, trains, city buildings and bridges all colored by the Sherwin Williams paint swatches. This makes it easy for people from many different backgrounds to be able to identify their life with what they are seeing.

Watch this commercial!

The Problem with Netflix

Just weeks since causing an uproar over yet another price increase, Netflix co-creator and CEO Reed Hastings revealed the online movie rental outlet's plan to split in two. Now they will have one site dedicated to movies that can be received through the mail and one site dedicated to the online streaming service. The site that offers movies through the mail will be called Qwikster, while the site that offers streamed video will retain the name Netflix.
I was puzzled by the fact that Mr. Hastings actually believed this explanation and justification would somehow improve customer morale. His statement is disguised as some sort of apology (see: the first sentence, which reads"I messed up."), but does nothing to actually convince customers of his sincerity. Now, not only will customers have to pay two separate fees (one for streaming video and one for delivery by mail), they will also have to register on two different sites. As a customer, I must say that one's patience can only stretch so far. These sudden changes reveal what must be a complete disregard for those who have supported the service for so long.
In order to advertise their new site, Netflix may be looking to get Qwikster on Twitter. The problem is, there is already a user on the site using this name. It remains to be seen whether Netflix will reach a buyout deal with the user. Regardless of what they do to advertise the new service, I believe this is yet another move in the wrong direction.


Want to know more? Read this.

Friskies' Portrayal of Cats.

Friskies wasn't always a food just for cats. In fact, the brand started out as a dog food, then for both, until they finally narrowed it down to an exclusive feline food.

It started in the 1930's when the company Carnation began selling Friskies as a dog food as their sales in condensed milk were dwindling. After World War II they began making Friskies for dogs. It was so successful they created Little Friskies for cats in 1956. 4 years later they would drop dogs from the label and make it simply Friskies for cats.

Why is any of this relevant? Well, advertising has done something great in the way that the Friskies brand has personified cats. Yes, personified cats. Ad week tells us that because of Friskies' clever advertisements, "A 2009 AP poll revealed that half of all Americans consider cats to be full members of the family, and 43 percent say their cats have their own 'sense of style.'”


Source: Friskies.com

How did this happen? Friskies' subtlety worded advertisements lead the reader into believing that a cat has human qualities. Calling a cat "she" instead of "it", providing food names that you'd order out of a menu instead of plop into a cat's food dish, and portraying the cat as acting in a way that is autonomous. It may seem like a long process, but in time Friskies' has portrayed cats in a whole new dimension.

Source: Adweek

DiGiorno Pizza

I am sure that we all know the typical catch line of "It's not delivery, its DiGiorno!" for the frozen pizza brand of DiGiorno Pizza. But in this recent add, the company is not really focused on telling the audience to compare their pizza to delivery pizza. Instead, they want the consumer to compare it to other health foods and see that the brand has released a new whole wheat pizza crust.

I think that the advertisement is effective because of the large image and the fact that the actual product is being displayed for the viewer. Also, the image of the product box is displayed in the lower right hand corner to show what the customer should look for while shopping for the item in the store. The headline of the article is also unique but without the image of the pizza you wouldn't know what they are comparing wheat bagels to. Overall the advertisement caught my attention due to the colors and images and made me read it and therefore I find it to be effective.

Dave's Hot 'N Juicy Cheeseburgers

Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers is gearing up for the launch of a new ad campaign that will present the long awaited introduction of the number 3 burger chain's original muse, Melinda Lou "Wendy" Morse (nee Thomas). The fourth child and youngest daughter of founder Dave Thomas will be featured in one of the fast-food chain's "most important product introductions." The series of ads for the Big 'N Juicy line of cheeseburgers will follow along the lines and mission of the latest "you know when it's real" campaign.

The chain touts that the beef patties used in the burgers are "40% thicker" than the original old fashioned burgers currently on the fast food menu. The ad was produced by Wendy's own agency, Publicis Groupe's Kaplan Thaler Group, and comes amongst several moves within the executive suite in recent months. In August, Wendy's Co. former president and CEO, Roland Smith, stated that a "2% to 3% increase in same-store sales" resulted from the Big 'N Juicy burger, which sold in three different markets.

The advertising campaign is set to be released over the internet and television on October 3, 2011, just in time for Advertising Week. The 8th annual conference is kicking off in New York City and will include some of the world’s largest advertising, marketing and media industry leaders. I feel that the use of Wendy's founder Dave Thomas' daughter will add a credibility factor to the fast food chain's reputation. It will help to promote the honest offering the chain has tried to incorporate with the "you know when it's real" slogan.

The full article on Wendy's latest menu addition can be found at http://adage.com/article/news/real-wendy-featured-hot-n-juicy-burger-rollout/229761/.

Kia Soul Still Plays with "Hipster Hamsters"

Whether we enjoy it or not, we are all aware of Kia Soul's commercials with hip hamsters that essentially groove along with the beat of music featured in the cars. The initial commercial in 2009 featured a group of hamsters running in place on wheels that often entertain these cute pets. All of a sudden, a Kia Soul pulls up beside them and rolls down the windows to reveal a group of hamsters jamming to the beat of the music, all while driving an upbeat vehicle that makes them appear cool as well. But the music and scene does not only provide humor to the audience, the lyrics of each song has a message for those viewing the ad. The song "Goldfish" by Fort Knox portrays "shaking and moving all because of you" both in the lyrics as well as the actions of the obviously cool hamsters driving in the Kia Soul. It also says "hold on to the moment when there's something brewing in the sky", which suggests there might be some sort of new movement that the consumer should want to be apart of. The text at the end of the commercial also highlights Kia's goal to aim the ads a younger generation of techies who are also concerned with a car's fuel efficiency. 

Here is the initial ad.

The second ad in this campaign is comparing those who have Kias with those who "deal" with other cars. There are a lot of hamsters just hanging out in an urban setting, but one main rapper hamster who is constantly repeating, "you can deal with this, or you can deal with that". The phrase is in beat with the song lyrics of "The Choice is Yours" by the Black Sheep. The "this" in the instance of the Kia Soul ads represent the Kia and they show clips of the vehicle running smoothly. And the "that" are various items from toasters or cardboard boxes dressed up like mock cars. These random items that fall into the "that" category are clearly competitors, but without identifying them to the audience. This is a crucial point because the audience solely focuses on the Kia for the entire duration of the commercial versus thinking about actual competitors.

The second part to the campaign can be found here.

Finally, the most recent ad for the Kia Soul includes the use of modern technology. There are robots in the commercial that join in with the hamsters this time, who dance to "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO.  The Kia is briefly featured in the ad, but at this point viewers who have identified with the campaign at this point, know what the dancing hamsters represent. 

And the most recent ad to the campaign is here.

The copy in all of these commercials remains the same: Kia Soul "A New Way to Drive", starting under $14K, and a reference to the vehicle's fuel efficiency.

All in all, I believe this is a successful campaign. It promotes the Kia Soul in a fun, upbeat way but also focuses on fuel efficiency and pricing, which are crucial components of its target audience. With that being said, the Kia Soul is most likely focusing on young adults (18-30) who are in need of purchasing an affordable, yet efficient car. You could also deduce the audiences want to look cool and appear hip, the Kia Soul is featured in this manner in all three of these ads. I also think the hamster characters are so cute dressed in human clothing and even taking on certain human characteristics (i.e. rapping, dancing both in the car and outside of it). It's a great character to use for these commercials because when most people think of Kia Soul they think of the dancing hamsters.  

You're Putting Him Where!?

Mars Chocolate North America, the maker of M&Ms, decided to add a new flavor to their line of M&M products: the pretzel. For the ad campaign they choose to bring back the orange M&M as the spokesperson for the candy rather than the usual green and yellow M&Ms. The orange M&M is characterized as neurotic and afraid that everyone wants to eat him, which is perfect for the ad campaign.

The pretzel M&M ad campaign features Orange fiercely protesting when he discovers that he is going to have a pretzel placed inside him. The commercials are meant to be humorous and are targeted towards a younger audience. Because the combination of salty and sweet flavors is becoming a more popular trend in snacks for kids, adolescents, and teenagers, Mars has creatively used the "Hungry Eyes" commercials to attract a younger audience to the product.

One particular Hungry Eyes commercial shows Orange and a pretzel at a party being fawned over by both a very attractive woman and an unattractive man (Hungry Eyes). The pretzel and Orange are arguing because Orange does not want to be eaten but the pretzel simply states that he would prefer to be eaten by the attractive woman than Hungry Eyes.

Since the start of the pretzel M&Ms campaign salty snack sales have increased by 15% from 2007 to 2009. Seems like Mars made a good decision by pairing M&Ms with pretzels. They now have 8 different M&M flavors out including: peanut, peanut butter, coconut, dark chocolate, regular milk chocolate, dark chocolate peanut, dark chocolate almond, and of course pretzel. I can't wait to find out what they think of next!

Honesty is the Best Policy

Domino's Pizza corporation created a new campaign a few years back with the hope that it would turn their image around. The pizza giant suffered humiliation and customer base loss after a damaging video of Domino's went viral. Domino's has since bounced back incredibly well, all thanks to the honest-based "Oh Yes We Did" campaign.

The "Oh Yes We Did" advertising campaign launched in 2009 as Domino's showed viewers that they had revisited their pizza making process after listening to consumers' opinions from focus groups - both good and bad. In these first ads, Domino's' criticisms were clearly outlined by the focus group participants and the Domino's CEO gave a direct response by showing the audience their new pizza and how they make it.


Pizza Turnaround

In the next series of ads in the "Oh Yes We Did" campaign, Domino's employees find anyone who have not tried their new pizza and gives them one. The people who tried the new pizza seemed surprised and pleased and announced that they were re-committing themselves to Domino's Pizza. What began as a series of ads showing Domino's Pizza changing to fix past mistakes turned into ads showing people enjoying the food and rejoining the company's consumer base.

Holdouts - Scott Shoyer

Finally, and most recently, are the Domino's Pizza ads promoting the new Pizza Tracker feature on the company's web site. The Pizza Tracker seems to allow customers to view the progress of their order and to submit a review, and so lets them become more active in the Domino's Pizza experience. The ads show Domino's employees reading and responding to both good and bad reviews from customers through the Pizza Tracker, which once again displays Domino's policy of honesty in their newest campaign.


Raising the Bar

The "Oh Yes We Did" campaign has largely been a success for the Domino's Pizza company. This past spring, Domino's Pizza rose to a 52-week high in stocks and sales have been steadily growing since, proving that, sometimes, honesty is the best policy.

SOURCE: "Domino's Pizza - like 'em or not, "Oh yes we did" turned their brand around"

Monday Night Football Reaches Deal with New Sponsor

Fresh off the start of a new season, ESPN has reached a multiseason deal with Dunkin' Donuts, confirming their role as an official sponsor of Monday Night Football. More specifically, Dunkin' Donuts is set to become the official sponsor of the "Field Pass" segments of the programming. These segments show what happens on the field prior to kickoff, giving viewers a look at how players and coaches as they prepare for the game. Now when you this segment airs, the Dunkin' Donuts logo will be featured.

Nicholas Dunham, director of media for Dunkin' Donuts, believes that this long-term deal makes perfect sense for his brand. The "Field Pass" segments are all about preparation for the game, just as Dunkin' Donuts are often used to help prepare people for their day. And Dunkin' Brands are no stranger to the sports world; they just signed a 10-year extension of their naming rights to the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, home to the Providence Friars men's basketball team.

This looks like a good deal for both sides. ESPN has found yet another way to incorporate advertising into its games, and Dunkin' Donuts should see an increase in business with this level of publicity. After all, ESPN's Monday Night Football did receive an average of 14.7 million viewers per game last year. For Dunkin' Donuts, this move comes in a year that has already been a big one in terms of marketing. They've spent an estimated $115 million in total, and hope to see results in the year to come.


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Philadelphia Proposes Antismoking Ads at Retail Stores

What if you saw an ad like this perfectly laminated underneath the countertop of a Giant Eagle? Would it bother you? Would you use it as a teaching tool for your children? Or would you simply go about your day unaffected by it?


Government control on smoking and tobacco products has often caused some controversial stir amongst smokers and non-smokers alike. But statistics show that smoking remains the number one cause of preventable deaths, its become clear that the government is not shying away from promoting the dangerous habit. Philadelphia Board of Health has one such proposition in mind. Placing images that show the harmful effects of smoking on retail countertops where the product is sold.

Medical groups generally like the idea, even if the promotions may appear graphic to younger children who may be shopping with their parents. "People need to be shown that these things are real," said Deborah P. Brown, president of the American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic. And it is partially true. 

A lot of children are harped on by their parents from a young age about how harmful cigarettes and other tobacco products can be and sometimes they find it annoying. But what about a graphic of what happens to your lungs if you were to continue smoking? I think an image from someone other than a parental figure may cause children to avoid it. However, the propositional ads have received backlash not only from concerned parents, but also from retailers themselves.

Retailers fear that customers who do smoke will be so turned off by these ads that they will take their business elsewhere. And this is a possibility, especially if those customers do not care to quit smoking. But for a city like Philly, who additionally also holds the record for highest obesity rates in children, they will not give up on their city wide health campaign.

Now you may be thinking...how can they do this? What right do they have? Well it turns out this tactic was attempted nearly two years ago in New York, but it was turned down by a judge. So there is a chance that this proposition will be denied. And while this proposition still remains in draft form, the Philadelphia Health Board is determined to promote health within their communities whether or not this becomes a requirement of all tobacco retailers.


To view more of the article click here.

New Generation Brown Spirits

Jim Beam, a popular brand of bourbon, has been on sale since 1795. But recently, the brand has decided to branch out to a wider audience to gain more consumer support for the brand. The new version is called Red Stag and was released in 2009 by adding a touch of black cherry flavoring.

Jim Beam is not the only brown spirit company to come up with flavored liquors- many other companies are doing the same after the long-term success of flavored vodkas. Vodka companies have been doing this for years- flavored vodkas making up 20% of all vodka sales. So far, these flavored brown liquors have helped grow the bourbon and whiskey category by 6.5% last year.

Overall, flavors of liquors bring a whole new audience for marketers to reach. But marketing companies are not taking this task lightly- they are proceeding with caution with the challenge of marketing to males and females. These brands want to keep their image as "hard" liquors- mainly dranken by males, while females can also enjoy the flavored choices because they are fruitier and more tasteful. And at the same time, if you market the product as female oriented, many males will be turned off to the product and will begin to think it is not something they want to drink. Overall, marketers will have to think outside the box to advertise these new flavored brown spirits to both genders.

Full article click here.

"Spend Less Summer" Comes to a Close

I remember it well. It was a typical summer night for me and my friends hangingout and watching tv when our summer was changed for good. We saw for the first time Taco Bell's ads for what they refured to as a "Spend less summer", or basically 99cent food. Almost immediately, we got up and went to make the most of this deal. After stuffing myself with unnecessary amounts of Taco Bell, I began to wonder what was it about these commercials that evoked such an immediate and effective response.

According to the New York Times, Taco Bell approached this summer with "a new twist on its summertime advertising, giving it more of a campaign look and feel with a big idea that echoes an age-old thought about eating, drinking and being merry while one still can." The entire idea behind this advertising was a simple one; have fun and eat Taco Bell without spending a lot.

One reason why I believe these commercials had such an impact on me and my friends is because they speak perfectly to the target audience, men ages 18-24. Every commercial starts out with the question "Are you a young person on the brink of responsibility?". This does not only immediately demand attention, but also results in a 'yes' response that will continue to hold the viewers attention.

The face of Taco Bell's campaign is Aasif Mandvi, a comedian from “The Daily Show” as well as other shows found on Comedy Central. Having Mandvi play "Mr. Responsibility", the main character of this campaign further speaks to the target audience. He is a familiar face -- someone who already can be trusted which makes taking his advice of eating Taco Bell even more tempting.

Although the 'Spend less summer' has drawn to a close, these simple yet impelling commercials did their job well and left us all hungry for more.

If you want to watch a commercial Click Here!

To read the full New York Times Article Click Here!

"Beauty to Action", Bare Escentuals' newest campaign

Starting this September, the make-up company Bare Escentuals will be revealing it’s first global creative platform and marketing campaign. This new campaign stems from the 35-year history of one of the company’s idea ‘Be a Force of a Beauty’. Bare Escentuals works towards and enforces their belief that beauty can change the world by inspiriting positivity and activating women to put beauty into action. Their slogan Pretty is. Beauty does. ™ gives emphasis to their idea to the influential power of beauty as more than meets the eye.

Their new global campaign will be focused by TV, print, digital, and social marketing advertising in the Americas, Asia, and Europe. The point of the new global campaign is to create a discussion among women about how beauty motivates you into action. “We wanted ‘Be a Force of Beauty’ not only to be relevant, but also tangible for women around the world,” commented Simon Cowell, Global CMO for Bare Escentuals. “We acknowledge that there is real power and potential in beauty and it’s our role to inspire women and serve as advocates to showcase the cultural impact beauty can have on humanity.”

The various ads throughout the campaign focus on truth of beauty and the original characteristics each woman has in the campaign. “This level of truthfulness became critical for us as we continued to ideate on this campaign,” noted Cowell. “‘Be a Force of Beauty’ really sums up our brand anthem and pays tribute to the legacy we’ve already established and also carries us into the future as we continue to expand our global footprint.” Bare Escentuals newest campaign is obvious that they want to steer away from other companies and focus on natural and in this case, “Force of Beauty”.

Read the full article here.

Extreme Advertising

Do you prefer advertisements that entertain with dangerous stunts? If so, Hotels.com has got your back. The online room-booking service has teamed with skydiver J.T. Holmes for it's latest ad. In the ad, Holmes jumps from an airplane and proceeds to book a room using Hotels.com. The entire process is finished before he needs to pull his parachute; this is only around thirty seconds.

While exciting, this is not the first time that skydiving has been utilized in the advertising game. Lenovo previously had an ad in which one of their laptops deployed it's own parachute after being turned on right as it fell from the plane, proving how fast their computers are able to start up. Hotels.com has even used skydiving in their previous advertisements, though in Claymation form. Perhaps they felt that the animated commercials lacked verisimilitude, and decided it best to prove their claim that a room can be booked in 30 seconds or less.

Personally, I'm not all that impressed with the ad. As previously stated, the skydiving concept has already been used by another company so it's not as if they are setting any trends. Furthermore, while viewers may be moderately intrigued by seeing a stuntman jump from an airplane, it is unlikely that they will be tempted to book a room using Hotels.com because of it. That said, the ad does a good job of revealing how easily the site can be navigated and rooms can be booked.

See the add for yourself

The New Running Craze

Unlike other sports, running does not require a large amount of expensive equipment to participate in the activity and sport. The only item that is really needed are good shoes. Recently, many shoe companies have designed running shoes that are considered lightweight footwear- meaning the cushioning and structure of the shoe are removed.

What does this mean in the advertising world? A new item for them to market to consumers- and making many advertising/marketing companies compete for consumer attention. So many shoe manufacturers are producing lightweight footwear- Reebok, Asics, Puma and New Balance- and it is important for each company to distinguish themselves from the others in order to gain consumer support. According to Matt Powell, an analyst with SportsOneSource, "right now, everyone is playing the hot hand, so they'll be putting their marketing dollars behind it."

I am sure that in the near future, we will be seeing more ads and commercial promoting these new lightweight running shoes. And I am even more sure that these will be vamped up as the holidays approach. It will be interesting to see how each brand advertises their minimalist shoe and how they will differ from the rest.

Zara's New US Online Store

Zara may not be a clothing brand you recognize, but you won’t need to worry about that for long. Zara, with clothing styles much like the Swedish clothing brand H&M, is a Spanish clothing brand that has a handful of shops set up in the states. If you weren’t able to shop in store, Zara opens their online store today, September 7th. The online store will be featuring free standard shipping to all US states or you have the option to pick up your order at a local Zara store. Zara is also honoring free exchanges and returns with their online opening.

Zara has started spreading the word with its twitter hashtag “#DearAmerica” to go along with its new campaign. The campaign ties in with the now launched online store and features an online exhibition of 50 photographers take on the 50 states.

Credits: BrandChannel.com

The #DearAmerica promotion supports the stores activity in social networking, which has been proven to be one of the most lively among its competitors H&M and Gap. Of its over 10 million Facebook fans, more than 400,000 are located in the US. H&M accrued 617,000 online visitors in July while Zara’s numbered 189,000 according to Nielsen, and other U.S. competitors are taking a piece of the online pie like Abercrombie & Fitch with Q2 sales of 11% of total revenue. Gap, a decade into online receives 9% of sales from its website. With the brands activity in social networking, it will be no surprise that people will be swarming Zara’s online store soon enough.

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