Procter & Gamble Thank The Mothers

According to an article released on April 16 by The New York Times, Proctor & Gamble are about to release their largest ever campaign, "Thank You, Mom". It focuses on the Olympians mothers and what they have done to raise their children. The company has a partnership with the Olympics until 2020, which explains the focus on Olympians. The advertisement will have several different versions, due to where the ad will be shown. The mediums that this campaign will use are digital media, print and television ads and a mobile application. All of these mediums reach all generations of women, young and old. The interesting part to be noted about this campaign is that it is the first campaign by Procter & Gamble to use online advertising, instead of beginning with traditional media. Not only will the mothers be praised, but the fathers will also get their glory when Father's Day comes around.

source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/17/business/media/mothers-get-the-glory-in-procter-gamble-campaign.html?ref=media

Adidas Stretches

This Adidas advertisement was created during the World Cup in 2006. It is a very clever advertisement, because it appears to be very hard to miss for anyone driving under it. Although it does seem a little dangerous for the drivers, because they could be easily distracted. I personally like the ad because of the creativity put into it. There isn't much thought behind the meaning, but the placement was very impressive.

Source: http://weburbanist.com/2010/01/11/creative-billboard-advertising-campaigns/?ref=search

Magazine Advertisements

Magazine advertisements used to be the one of the most prevalent types of advertising. It was considered a good way to get your product or service to a certain demographic of people. With the emergence of the Internet and mobile phone advertising magazine circulation is starting to take a hit. Companies have to think of new ways to advertise in magazines because of all the other mediums that are being used to make more creative advertisements. Television ads are more creative as are Internet and billboard ads. Magazines used to be one of the number ways people got information, but with the emergence of the Internet and blogs people are reading magazines less and less. In the ads magazines are using more creative way to interest people before magazines die out all together. They are simple and provide more visuals than anything. The copy is short and to the point. When people are reading a magazine they do not want to get caught up reading copy because that keeps them from getting to their articles. The creativity and layouts of the ads are superb and the companies are for sure trying to capitalize on magazines while they still last.






Credit: Smashing Hub. Google Images, Deruchio Blog

Major League Advertising

According to an article published in the New York Times on April 17, the NBA is discussing the possibility of allowing advertisements to be placed on players' uniforms.

At a recent meeting, jerseys for the Bulls and the Celtics were displayed with possible variations. These included a jersey with the team name stripped away and replaced by a corporate name; a second with a company name beneath the uniform number; and a third with the corporation’s logo on the jersey strap. Owners were also briefed on the financial deals between the English Premier League soccer teams and the companies that sponsor their jerseys.

The NBA states that other sports, such as soccer, golf and NASCAR, allow for uniform sponsors and gain a great deal of revenue that way. Officials from other major league sports do not like the idea of advertising on uniforms.

This possibility begs the question of when is it too much. With all the advertising that is done during sports games and within the stadiums, will cluttering the uniforms really do anything?

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/sports/basketball/nba-takes-a-look-at-jersey-sponsorship.html

Putting Things into Perspective

This ad which emphasizes both the heart in mind, puts things very much into perspective. What appears to be a woman from a third world county, is posing very similarly to how a fashion model might for a print ad. The fact that this woman is doing so seems out of place and bizarre, which helps to capture the viewers attention. It forces the viewer to ask the question, why does the pose seem so out of place in this ad? Then there is the other factor of the purse the woman is holding as well. It is quite evident that visually the purse represents luxury and wealth, whereas the woman represents poverty. To pair the two together almost seems ludicrous, which is in fact the point.

Your attention is then further drawn to the copy, "Handbag 32 euro, Food for a week 4 euro". Combined with the ad's visuals this copy is extremely powerful. It increases awareness that something as frivolous as a bag could pay for at least two months worth of this woman's food, needed to survive. It puts things into perspective of what actually is important in our lives, especially when comparing material things to the necessities of life.

This ad is definitely very successful in getting across their point, and the best part is that People in Need aren't asking people to pledge money on a regular basis. They are only asking that you text the mentioned number once and donate 1.50 euros. Given how moving the ad itself is, I believe it would definitely motivate a great deal of people to donate the amount asked. In the end it's all about perspective!

This ad was found on: http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&biw=1280&bih=681&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=00qgGotC1_ku6M:&imgrefurl=http:

Charlie Sheen's Comeback in Commercials?

Fiat 500 a new and upcoming car company, trying to enter into the American car scene, is doing a surprisingly good job at capturing their audience's attention. Their latest commercial which makes light of Charlie Sheen's house arrest is both relevant to pop culture, and entertaining to watch. The question however, is what risk was Fiat taking associating themselves with Charlie Sheen?

Charlie Sheen who has become even more popular since being kicked off the hit show Two & a Half Men, has very publicly displayed his life deteriorating from substance abuse and all around bizarre behavior. For some reason though, advertisers have taken advantage of his ill-won notoriety and have been very successful in taking a damaged brand that is Charlie Sheen and making it work for their companies. The reason for their success may stem from the fact that Charlie Sheen has no qualms making fun of himself or his circumstances on these commercials, making it even more entertaining for viewers to watch.

For example, in this particular commercial for Fiat 500 Charlie Sheen himself is making fun of being under house arrest. But, he does it in a way that actually makes fun of the people who put him under house arrest to begin with. Fiat focuses on two things, the cars size, functionality, speed, and all the other important aspect of the car itself, along with the fact that driving this car will make you seem cool. The tag line at the end was "Not all Bad Boys are created Equal". In essence Fiat 500 is a sexy and well run car, that you should take notice of.

Overall though, the advertisers who have used Charlie Sheen in their commercials have been well received and in the end increased awareness of their brand. This does not mean that all downtrodden celebs are created equal and should be paired with a company's brand. All of these companies took a risk associating their brands with Charlie Sheen, however their gamble payed off and their advertising campaigns were well received.

This picture was found from http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&biw=1280&bih=681&tbm=isch&tbnid=lHraPrLd4KcdPM:&imgrefurl=http://www.realestateradiousa.com

Internet advertising climbs to $31 billion in 2011

Internet Advertising in the United States went up 22% from 2010, to $31 billion in 2011, setting a record high number. Last year, most of the spending went towards search (search advertising came in at $14.7 billion, up almost 27% from 2010) and display advertising (which rose 35%, to $11.1 billion), while this year, the numbers show that spending went towards websites, smartphones, and tablet devices.

The report also found mobile advertising increased a whopping 149% to $1.6 billion in 2011. Mobile advertising is experiencing the fastest growth of all categories.

In contrast, newspapers advertising has seen a drastic decline. $23.9 billion was spent in 2011, down more than 50% over a five year period.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/18/internetadvertising-idUSL2E8FI8M120120418

Cigarettes are back in style

After being absent from magazines across the nations for decades, cigarette advertising made a comeback this year.

According to Magazine Radar, cigarette advertising was up 11 percent in the first quarter of 2012. This increase is equal to about 160 pages of advertising. The magazines favored for cigarette advertising include Motor Trend, Entertainment Weekly and National Enquirer. Newport spends the most on advertising with a total of 65 pages, which is up 67 percent over last year.

Cigarette advertising was drastically reduced by stricter regulations aiming to protect children from its harmful effects, but the Supreme Court has ruled that it is unconstitutional to completely ban cigarette companies from advertising their products.

I personally don't think that banning or increasing the warnings on advertising, or even the packages themselves, is going to do anything. People are still going to smoke if they want to. The only thing that may help in the slightest is to not allow these ads in magazines aimed towards people under the age of 18.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/cigarette-advertising-is-on-the-increase-againand-entertainment-weekly-is-to-blame-2012-4#ixzz1sPSsJ5Gx

Bavaria Tests Charlie Sheen's Sobriety

A recent agency in Amsterdam created new ads for the beer "Bavaria". The commercial starts off with Charlie Sheen leaving rehab and saying to his doctors "let's not have a drink sometime"... followed by him imagining everyone he sees on his way home drinking a beer. He's welcomed by a surprise party with all in attendance drinking beer when he gets home and soon figures out that the beer is a non-alcoholic one. I thought that the commercial was very clever. As it started out I didn't realize that it was a non-alcoholic beer, so it kept me interested until the end (knowing that Charlie has recently gone sober) when I saw a close up of the Bavaria beer bottle that read 0.0% alcohol. My opinion on the commercial is that it was done very well. Using such a celebrity that has had so much publicity recently catches your attention as well as the idea that this person is sober and is dreaming about alcohol. What do you all think of the new ad? Read more on the campaign at adweek:



http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-bavaria-139547

Dr. Pepper Target Strategy

The Dr. Pepper advertising campaign for their new product, Dr. Pepper 10, is clearly targeting men. The slogan, "IT'S NOT FOR WOMEN", seems to be a sexist comment and could cause an uproar among feminist women. One woman actually wrote to Dr. Pepper to complain and the response she recieved was from a female customer relations rep that stated, "We hope you, too, will come to see our advertising campaign for what it is, a humorous take on the many men who are worried about their waistlines but are too “manly” to drink a diet soda". This advertising campaign was not created to offend women, but to allow men to think it can be manly to drink a low calorie drink and not be ridiculed.

Most women think with their feelings and emotions instead of their brains when they get offended, so when it comes to this sort of sexist advertisement they would automatically think, or as i thought, "I will drink it if I want to". By thinking this, it would make me want to go out and purchase it just to say that I am very capable of drinking the 10 bold calorie soda and that it is not just for men. Seeing that this is how I would respond to the advertisment, if other women would do the same, it is targeting women just as much as it is targeting men. But this mentality I have could just be the advertising side coming out of me.

http://feministing.com/2012/01/09/dr-pepper-10-response-more-patronizing-than-ad/

It Takes a Divorce Between Mike and Ike to Run an Advertising Campaign.

They have been around for more than 70 years but Just Born, the inventors of the legendary—Peeps, have split up the title of their popular candy, Mike and Ike. Now, customers are only able to buy boxes of Mike, with Ike crossed out or boxes of Ike, with Mike crossed out. Just Born announced this split via social media sites earlier this month.

Soon, there will be commercials and billboards but first, Just Born wanted to target their prime prospect audience through popular social networking sites. They want to trigger the younger crowd; they need to spice things up after being over 70-years-old. And by doing so, Just Born is giving Mike and Ike each an identity to interest followers/viewers.

Check their Facebook pages and see who you fall for…Mike or Ike? And look for their future television campaign.

http://www.facebook.com/mikeandike

Does history repeat itself?

A feature story in the latest issue of Ad Age, "This Week in Ad Age History: A Lot Like This Week in Ad Age Present," discusses features and pieces from Ad Age issues of the past and how they are similar to pieces published in the current issue, as well as issues that are of importance recently.

As a nation, we like to believe that we pay attention to history's lessons so that mistakes aren't repeated down the line. Reading this piece just cements the fact that we obviously do not pay attention to the lessons history tries to teach us.

Past stories published in Ad Age have been early foreshadowed some of the issues and news that are big in advertising today. It is crucial for students of advertising to pay close attention to where our craft came from, where it's been and where it is going.

Can you see Google?

Earlier this month, Goggle released an advertisement called Project Glass--- for what their concept product, virtual glasses, could do in the future. The advertisement was the number one hit for viral-advertising campaigns on the web this week.

The video gives a real-life perspective of someone waking up, eating, making phone calls, texting, and meeting up with a friend---all with the help from his Goggle virtual glasses. The screen on the glasses show all of the actions you could on your phone now.

Yes, this advertisement is a demo; there is no product just yet, but a Google representative says they may be testing them on the public in the near future.

It is a very unique and well-down view of the concept product but bloggers seem to have caught a missing “key” item in the advertisement: the ads that pop up on your smart phone, computer, etc. There are no ads in the bottom of the corner of the virtual glasses’ screen.

Check our Project Glass and let’s hear what you think!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c6W4CCU9M4

Planters Peanuts - Nuts for Men

Planter Peanuts has teamed up with Men’s Health magazine to create a co-advertising campaign.  The product is a particular mixture of nuts that is recommended by Men’s Health Magazine.  The product aimed to be the “manliest mix” ever assembled.

The message in this ad is clear.  Eat Men’s Health recommended nuts and you will be healthy, the best of the best, the boldest of the bold, the bravest of the brave, the most hardcore.  Eat Planters nuts and you will be a ‘man’s man’.  The deep voice, the action, and the nature of the drama define the male target audience. 

The support comes in a few ways.  One way is that the video depicts in shape figures conquering physical activity. Another sign of support is in the copy, “Six fats of protein; it’s the manliest mix we have ever assembled”.

To see the commercial and more of the story, http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/mr-peanut-gets-manly-after-mixing-it-mens-health-139632

Covergirl

                                                                           covergirl

This commercial is great.  They use the humor, which is something you don't often see from Covergirl commercials, but they finally took advantage of having Ellen as one of their endorsers.  Sofia is a new addition to the Covergirl "family", but in this ad she makes her debut.  I think the idea of them being very opposite, white on black, tomboy-ish on glamorous, all represent the product that they're advertising,which is a two-in-one product.  Another great thing about Covergirl having these women as their representatives is that Ellen has a very popular show, and uses it to help advertise for Covergirl in return.  Sofia is also a very popular star on Modern family.  By attaching Covergirls name to these beautiful and distinct women, they are making themselves even more distinct as a brand.

Burger Kings Fresh New Flavors

Burger King recently introduced a new menu advertising they are "fresh new items". Their slogan is "Exciting things are happening at Burger King". This is one of their biggest menu expansion in 58 years. There are ten new items that are added to the menu. Is this just an attempt to out do McDonalds again? And if so, what makes them think that this new campaign is going to help them out revenue the rival company.

Click To See Commercial

Burger Kings "Exciting Things Are Happening at Burger King" campaign has hired on some big names to be in their commercials. Celebrities that you would never think they ate at this fast food chain are shocking audiences. For example, above is David Beckham. He is a famous soccer player who has used his fame and good looks to branch out and start his own small fortune company. He has been in campaigns for cologn, underwear, and high end fashion houses. He also just recently started his own underwear collection that is sold at H&M stores around the world. But really? He has now signed on to be one of the campaign spokespersons for Burger King? Is this what exciting things are happening. It doesn't add up to me. Especially the Jay Lenno commercial that can be seen below. If these new faces of burger kings campaigns bring more costumers into their restaurants then kudos to them. But personally, I see this as another failed attempt on burger kings behalf. What are your thoughts?

Click To See Commercial

Weight Watchers

                                                      Jennifer Hudson - Weight Watchers
Watch the video!  Jennifer Hudson has become the most recent face of Weight Watchers.  She has helped them launch a positive and successful campaign, displaying her positive experience with the weight loss program.  For consumers and viewers who are interested in losing weight, these are very inspirational commercials.  I also think that the entire campaign has been a really successful in creating a brand identity and sense of community between its members.  The ads ask "Are you on Weight Watchers?", as if not being on Weight Watchers is less cool.  Especially something like this where the success of the product can be life changing and life saving for it's users, creating a community for the customers is helpful because people love to share their success stories and love to feel happy and confident in their new bodies.  It also probably feels good for them to feel as if they can be a positive influence on someone else too.  All these things help make it an attractive product.

HOPE

This poster is dated, since it came out around the time of Obama's original campaign but i think it was a very powerful and successful tool that was created by a fan.  This is apparent since, even now, the poster still has a positive effect and message attached to it.  Unfortunately, I believe that the creator of the poster was prosecuted for using the image that was originally taken by the Associated Press, even though he used his own art techniques to make it look like it does.
Regardless, it is an extremely powerful and useful poster that help spread a positive message about the president.  I'm hoping it gets brought back for this election in some new format!

Clorox

This new clorox bleach it away! commercial is my current favorite.  I think it combines the reality of gross, cold season stains with humor and exaggeration.  I think that humor is one of the best ways to reach audiences.  Not only can a kid see this commercial and understand what's happening but so can an adult who would actually be purchasing the product and putting it to use.
By doing this they not only make their brand memorable, but they also make it likable and challenge you you put their claim to the test.  If you buy their product you can see for yourself how credible the claim is exactly.

iHeart Advertising

iHeart Radio... What is it? How does this apply to advertising? iheart radio is a new wave of radio. It not only creates custom stations that allows the user to be in control, but it is now becoming one of the hottest applications to use for radio use. Consumers can listen to iheart radio in their car, online, and on any smart phone.

Click here for more information

So how does this apply to advertising? iHeart Radio's popularity has sparked a musical festivle just like cochella or similar concert events that bring top artists together for a must see concert. Since iheart radio is being brodcasted to thousands of listeners, this alows for advertisers to get their product out to a prime and valueable market. Brands can sponser breaks throughout the over 100 stations provided. They can also sponser their once a year iHeartRadio music festival. This gives that brand sponsorships, promotions, vip passes, meet and greets with the artists, and more. If a company like Pepsi sponsors a vip section at this event their product will be showcased to over 25,000 on site fans and over 10 million viewers that watch the live stream! This is a HUGE promotional vent that will allow that product or brand mass exposure to people across the world. When searching for a sector to advertise your brand, this would a succesfull oportunity to create brand awareness and possibly an increase in sales and revenue.

Mad Women of Advertising

The television show Mad Men focuses on the men of advertising during the Creative Revolution of the '60s, but women had been a part of the advertising scene from the late 1800s on.

In 1880, Mathilde C. Weil opened the M.C. Weil Agency. Helen Lansdowne was already an experienced copywriter when she took on the Woodbury Facial Soap account in 1910 for the J. Walter Thompson agency. By the 1960s, women were already experience copywriters and help positions in many agencies because they were natural copywriters; they had an innate knowledge of how to sell to other women.

At the same time that women were succeeding as copywriters, they were being denied other, more prestigious positions because women were not seen to be fit for positions of importance or power. Advertising maven Bernice Fitz-Gibbons summed it up best in The New York Times in 1956 when he said:

"Now, let's get this clear. Women have always worked. And the men have always approved. And the harder and grubbier and dirtier the work, and the longer the hours, and the lower the pay, and the grimier the environment - the more warmly and heartily have the men approved. It is only since some of the girls began to climb ... into the Chanel and Dior suits and onto the five-figure payroll and into the corner office with the broadloomed floor that the boys have gone in for headshakings and mutterings and hues and cries and anguished plaints ... about women's place being in the home."

Source: http://www.care2.com/causes/mad-women-a-history-of-women-in-advertising.html

Government's new Anti-Smoking Campaign

I know most of you have probably seen these ads, and if you haven't you're lucky. The first time I saw one I was extremely disturbed. As a non-smoker who was already aware of the dangerous affects of tobacco, these ads appeared to me just as a reminder of why I don't smoke. To others who do smoke tobacco, however, these ads came across as a harsh reality. The hotline to help smokers quit received a large increase in calls, as well as the government run "smokefree.gov" website, which received more than triple visits to its website than it had before. While these commercials are very disturbing, they definitely get their point across. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the ad campaign will help about 50,000 smokers to quit smoking. I have two different feelings on these ads; one being that they will be very effective because the subject matter and content of these commercials are so harsh and disgusting, the other feeling being that the ads won't be very effective because most people already know of these dangers and continue to smoke tobacco. What do you think about these ads? Are they too harsh and explicit? Or do they seem as though they will be significantly effective? Check out an article written by the NY Times about the ad campaign; one of the commercials can be found on this site as well:


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/15/health/policy/cdc-finances-nationwide-antismoking-ad-campaign-a-first.html

Viral Marketing

Viral marketing is one of my favorite types of advertising. Viral marketing can be achieved in many ways but is usually uses the internet for to get their messages across. This can range from movies making fake websites to promote their movies to brands like Nike showing Kobe Bryant jump over a car. The point of it is to make that something look believable. They can also be challenging like being an interactive game to decode something. Viral Marketing is making waves even in the most of unlikely of places. Obama girl made headlines by promoting Obama's presidency Sometimes Viral Marketing will be a little subtle in what it is promoting. They won't directly say what product they are promoting, but it will be within the realm of their industry. There was a video of a guy back flipping into his jeans. At first it just looked like a cool video but it turned out to be marketing campaign for Levi Jeans. One of my favorite examples of viral marketing is from The Dark Knight. They used many examples of Viral Marketing. The movie made fake websites for the companies involved in the film. They also did a fake promotional campaign for the fictional district attorney from the movie Harvey Dent. Also The Blair Witch Project may have created viral marketing. The incredible success of the film could be attributed to its unique website that effectively blurred the lines between fact and fiction.  The website, that still exists today, spoke convincingly of the mythology behind the Blair Witch, contained a realistic photo of the three filmmakers/stars with a caption that the photo was taken “less than a week before their disappearance,” along with a sideshow of other rather generic, yet real photos that made many believe that this site was actually authentic. Another great example of the technique is the famous Messin With Sasquatch. Jack Links made these advertisements which debuted on YouTube. These appear to be self-shot videos about groups of guys messing with a Sasquatch or bigfoot. Viral Marketing is a great tool for brands that want to get their message out through other means. It helps to by making consumers play games or decrypt messages and actually makes them interact with the advertisement. One of the best ways to sell something is to let people interact with it. If people feel they are a part of the brand then they will be more likely to buy it. Viral Marketing is awesome for the consumer and great for the company and I hope it continues to flourish.

...Forget Them All and Meet Simple



Page 1 of Ad
Clear Page



Page 2 of Ad
Clear Page Reverse




Page 3 of Ad
Glossy Magazine Page


I first saw this ad a couple of months ago in Glamour Magazine. Simple is a sensitive skincare line made in the UK and is now available in the United States.

The ad states that the Simple brand is the #1 non-medicated skin care brand in the UK. The difference with this product line is the exclusion of dyes, artificial perfumes, and harsh irritants that are commonly found in other skincare lines. And it is safe for sensitive skin.

But that's not the only difference. This ad caught my eye because it is one of probably three ads that are more than just one or two 8.5x11 glossy pages. The ad consists of three pages (one front and back, plus one front) and is not like a typical ad. The first page of the ad is a heavy, clear page with a pink "liquid" printed on it to represent all of the artificial ingredients of other skin care products. You can see the model's face behind the "liquid" as if it is being hidden by these ingredients.

When you flip the page, the tagline on the back of the clear page reads, "...forget them all and meet Simple." In addition, more information about the brand is printed on the backside of the page. The facing page is a full size, glossy page featuring a fresh-faced model and an image of the full skincare line. The colors are primarily white and green and give the appearance of fresh and clean skin, unlike the previous page.

I really like the use of the two pages for the ad, especially the clear page. I very rarely see any unique ads such as this. It works very well with magazines since most readers flip page by page. It was a surprising find. I also think that this works well as an eye-catching ad due to the history of the brand. It was introduced to the United States only recently, and by creating an uncommon ad, I think it will help consumers remember the brand name and assist with sales here in this country.

The Double-Edged Sword of Repetitive Ads

Commercials for a brand often occur in a series, in a sequence of similar advertisements that can be related to each other by a common theme and therefore ensure consumer recognition of the brand position. Creating multiple commercials with a common element can help the company by expanding exposure over and extended period of time, if the commercials maintain appeal. However, this strategy risks the commercials becoming redundant and boring to consumers, or worse, disliked by consumers for their predictability and repetitiveness. An example of this, for me personally, is the string of recent Ford F-150 commercials.



The current series of Ford F-150 commercials features large, bulky, black and orange text that appears exactly as it is read by a masculine voice. The text consistently zooms onto the screen as Ford pickup trucks haul cargo, drive through obstacles, and perform hard work. Every commercial is fast-paced with the same narrator who addresses viewers directly with "Hey Pal," and other cocky, self-assured greetings. These advertisements personally appeal to me less the more often I see them. I don't mind that the commercials ooze testosterone--there's nothing girly about a pickup truck--but I do not like the almost condescending tone of the narrator and the repetitive use of large text zooming into every frame. For me, it appears that the commercial is drilling the message into viewers' heads by reading it in a cocky, casual tone as well as throwing copy around to make sure that viewers get the message. These commercials are repetitive and irritating for me, but others will of course have different opinions about this particular series of ads.

An advertisement series that works well may be the Geico gecko commercials wherein the gecko travels throughout the United States.



This series may be successful because it tells a story in installments, with each commercial being a different chapter of the Geico gecko's journey. As the gecko appears at a different destination, viewers recognize the gecko and his explanation of traveling across America. This repetition leaves viewers eager to know where the gecko will go next, and maintains interest from commercial to commercial, ensuring recall. I personally enjoy these repeated commercials because they tell a story and maintain a common theme that I can recognize on my own.

Common themes within advertisements may be a double-edged sword, because they will encourage recall but may also irritate or deter viewers. Repeated elements should therefore be chosen with great care.

Mobile Advertising

In this day and age people are always on their cell phones. This is how mobile advertising got invented. When smart phones got developed and people spent less time on their computers and more time on their phones advertisers had a problem on their hands. No longer could they just target computer users they had to compensate for the people who used their phones to search the web and to use apps. Now you can not use any apps or go on any websites without their being advertisements. Companies are now dedicated to develop specific advertisements for mobile phones. If you use the music application Pandora an advertisement will play after every couple of songs. The same principle is used on YouTube. Almost every website has somebody who develops another website specifically for cell phones. Companies have taken advantage of this by developing mobile advertisements. There are a lot of apps for the sole purpose to sell something on a cell phone. Live Nation is an app for cell phones that lets you buy tickets for concerts through your phone. Groupon and Living Social are apps whose sole purpose if to offer deals for local businesses and traveling for vacations. The ticket is actually stores on your phone and you present it when you go in. Companies can reach even more potential customers this way because usually people have their phones on them at all times. This development has helped companies reach even more customers than previously. You used to just change the channel if a commercial came on or just skip the advertisements that came through when you were on the internet. With mobile phones you actually have to watch the advertisements or you can pay to use a "full" version of an application. It is a win win situation. You can check in to specific places with some applications. This lets advertisers know where you are and what places you frequent. Advertising plays a large part in the day to day use of cellphones and I suspect it to continue.

Is this Real Life? Internet Memes in Advertising

Wonderful Pistachio is well known for its bright green, quirky commercials with an equally quirky spokesperson. The commercials have used celebrities, athletes, and typical mascot fare, yet recently (and increasingly) figures from the Internet to promote the fun of cracking open nutritious pistachios.

It may be considered a bold move by Wonderful Pistachio, to use potentially obscure references in order to convey this message and attract a broad audience. However, Wonderful Pistachio notably uses figures that have gained fame on YouTube, one of the most used and popular sites in the world, assuring widespread recognition of the "celebrity." Examples include the Honey Badger and Keyboard Cat.

Using figures from the Internet generates appeal to young adults and children, who frequently access the Internet, especially YouTube. It also promotes a fun and quirky personality to associate with the product, which resonates well with such a demographic. And because anything on the Internet is there forever, these Wonderful Pistachio commercials may be effective for many years to come. Therefore, more companies and brands may want to consider using "memes" (an Internet fad) to promote their products; it might never lose its appeal.

A Wonderful Pistachio commercial with Keyboard Cat:

Bethenny Frankel's Skinnygirls

Bethenny Frankel the mastermind behind the Skinnygirl fortune is taking a new spin on her new product Skinnygirl Smoothers n' Shapers. Bethenny, who started her fame with the television network Bravo. She was casted as one of the original housewives of New York. From there, her entrepreneur status lead her to her Skinnygirl margarita goldmine. She allegedly made 120 million dollars when she sold her Skinnygirl cocktail to Fortune Brands Beam Global.

Adweek Article

This recent product of Skinnygirl is a "spankx" like product that slims and smoths womens curves to allow for a more sleek and smaller physique. This advertisement is getting heat due to the women that are in her ad. This ad showcases the many women that work for and are on the Bethenny Frankel team . The critisim that this ad is getting is these women are not the real and typical women in our society today. Yes they are not as small as Bethenny in the middle, but they are far from any larger more voluptuous women that has become the average women today. So was this a bad move by on her behalf showing women that seem to be in great shape and look like they have no need for slimming spanx? Or should she have put more women that will be the cosumer of this product? You be the judge..

American Eagle Goes Mobile

American Eagle Outfitters is celebrating one million downloads of their mobile application this week. More and more people are becoming attached to their smart phones. Smart phones are the go to gadget for anything you could ever need. Retail companies have flocked to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to keep up with the new generation of buyers. But now, it is going past the social media site and retailers are creating mobile applications that can be downloaded right to your smart phone. These applications skip the step of using a webbrowsers on the phone and takes you right to the store.

http://www.ae.com/web/mobile/mobileApp.jsp

Because of American Eagles one million download success, they are using promotional advertising to get more American Eagle customers to download this application in order to get the coupon. This "mobile offer" gives someone a % off when they download the app and show it once they are ready to check out. The cashier can then scan the smart phones screen and the new member to the AEO app community will benefit and AEO benefits with yet another sale!

Dr. Pepper and its One of Kind Advertising Campaign

Earlier this January, Dr. Pepper released its new campaign, “One of a Kind.” The basic idea of this is promoting Dr. Pepper’s existence in the public eye for more than 125 years. Dr. Pepper is using its history to promote themselves but they are also modernizing the campaign.

They are using the theory of everyone is one of a kind. The commercials involve all young adults with red t-shirts that reveal something unique and extraordinary about them---which make them one of a kind, just like Dr. Pepper.

T-shirts consist of sayings like, “I’m a fighter,” “I’m a cougar” and “I’m a control freak.” Dr. Pepper is also using social media to attract to the generation by using Facebook and giving an option to their audience with buying their own red t-shirt to make them unique. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02vku-6fZWQ

Hunger Games goes Advergaming.

The Hunger games received a mass amount of attention when hitting theaters in March, but there are a lot of other components other than the game. A lot of fans of the Hunger Games were already fans because of the widely popular book but more recently, the creators of the Hunger Games used social media to attract their audience.

One if the popular things that they used were different social games. One was a matching game---you had to match which actors and actresses belonged to which district. This gave the film’s audience a sense of identity and a relationship to the film. Another advergame that Liongates, the creator of Hunger Games, came up with—along with the help of Microsoft was Girl on Fire (Hunger Games). This focused on the main character, Katniss Everdeen, avoiding explosions and others trying to kill her. The look of the advergame has an old-school look. It looks as a game I played once as a child. It is simple but catchy, and it did catch a lot of attention.

Girl on Fire: Hunger Games was released the same day the movie was.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOd1YlYB1Xw

Smashburger Uses Social Media to Advertise…And It Works.

Smashburger Uses Social Media to Advertise…And It Works.

Smashburger is a chain from Denver, Colorado. They started off with 3 different chains in their starting location but grew significantly with their advertising campaign via social networking.  Now 150 locations, Smashburger uses their advertisements as a way to communicate more effectively with their customers.

Is seems as if their advertising look is based off of a typical-burger joint—like Red Robin or Five Guys. After looking at their menus, their food items are specialized with what city that chain is located at. The have a variety of milkshakes, and different cheeses that are offered for sale.

They also have a good advertisement campaign through their Palmetto Cheese Page. With over 20,000 likes, customers are recognizing things they didn’t with Palmetto Cheese. Sales also went up from regarding the purchase of Palmetto Cheese containers.

Smashburger also posts coupons, trivia questions for customers—along with free t-shirts as prizes and customer recipes that are posted. This gives a good reputation for Smashburger because they are not just giving an ad to their customers; they are building a relationship with them. 

http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/story/2012-02-16/small-business-social-media-outreach-smachburger/53122300/1

The Human Connection: Spokespeople in Advertising

Spokespeople, including celebrity endorsers, are a rapidly increasing trend in advertisements. Fictitious characters adorn insurance company advertisements. Celebrities testify for weight loss programs. It seems that, as consumers become more skeptical of claims in advertising, corporations see more of a need to personally tell consumers the benefits of their product from a source who can be universally trusted.

As mentioned, insurance companies today can't seem to go without that personal connection to consumers. People want to know that they are getting the best service and deal for their financial investment, and seeing a friendly face assure you that the company is your friend is more convincing than reading statistics on the TV screen. One example is Progressive's Flo.



Cheerful, bubbly Flo has captured the hearts of American consumers with her neat appearance, sparkling smile, and eagerness to help customers.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is Mayhem, from Allstate.



Mayhem personifies the disasters that could befall consumers at any time--and why Allstate can protect from financial repercussions. Both characters appeal to consumers on a personal level, giving consumers a human face and personality to associate with the companies. This creates a sort of human trust between consumers and these companies that are crucial to convincing the public that the companies can be trusted to protect them.

On the other hand, when deeply personal connections aren't required, a celebrity spokesperson will do the job for creating trust between consumers and a certain brand. An example of this is Jennifer Hudson for Weight Watchers.



Hudson demonstrates to consumers the effectiveness of Weight Watchers, as the general public recognizes her as a contestant on American Idol. Her story resonates with female consumers with the use of before and after images of her weight loss, and her encouraging attitude establishes the Weight Watchers program as a positive experience.

Spokespeople and endorsers, both fictitious and real, establish a personal connection between brands and consumers, and create a human personality for consumers to associate to a product. This makes companies and brands more appealing and easier for consumers to trust, and works particularly well for human-based products and services, such as insurance, banks, weight loss programs, etc.

Pop Up ads on 9Gag

The use of memes or cartoons pertaining to everyday life have exploded onto the social media scene. One of my favorite platforms to view new memes every day is 9gag, a site that shows exactly what its name entails of 9 memes per page.

Usually I opt for viewing memes on 9gags ipad or iphone app rather than their website. It's more convenient when I need to take a break from whatever work I'm doing, and I can just whip out my phone or ipad to engage in some laughs. However, like any social media platform advertising is used for 9gag to make money on their brain child. And if a poor college student such as yourself chooses to use the free 9gag app you will most certainly be subjected to banner ads. There is a 9gag app free of ads, but who actually pays for those?

For the most part 9gags banner ads do not bother me and are not extremely intrusive to actually enjoying 9gag. Recently however, a more extreme version of advertising is being implemented where every 3 minutes a pop up ad occurs and you must exit out of it in order to continue on with 9gag. Due to the frequency of these ads and how much it disrupts my enjoyment of 9gag I am slowly starting to use it less and less. Which leads us to the question, if ads are becoming so prominent within a social media platform will users want to continue using it anymore, therefore wasting your advertising dollars? How much advertising is too much?

From the use of advertising, an app which was considered cool has lost its edge and is sure to become synonym with other failed entertainment sources like MySpace and AOL. Everyone understands money needs to be made in order to grow and stay relevant, and more likely than not this money comes from advertisers. Companies such as 9gag, Facebook, and Pintrest must walk a fine line though between increasing profit and losing dedicated and loyal customers to continuously annoying and intrusive ads.

This picture was found on: http://www.google.com/imgres?num=10&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=681&tbm=isch&tbnid=sid57zL8QEu4fM:&imgrefurl=http://startupgrind.com/2012/04

CAPCOM Brings Survival Horror to the Real World

A zombie craze is rapidly spreading across pop culture. With the undead shuffling on TV, in comic books, and in video games, it's easy for anyone to become immersed in the newest horror trend. But video game developer and survival horror patriarch CAPCOM, with a new installation in its Resident Evil franchise on the way, has advertised for its Resident Evil 6 game by bringing horror to the real world.

Beginning approximately January 11th, 2012, a mysterious viral website named NoHopeLeft.com has posted images and videos indicating the unstoppable spread of a strange symbol and the phrase, "No Hope Left."



The symbol is reminiscent of a virus, and the symbol appears as graffiti throughout the globe. An unsettling video accompanies these images:



The ambiguous website perpetuates a sense of oncoming terror and hopelessness with increasingly believable "proof" of the graffiti phenomena. The mystery surrounding the symbol created intrigue about its meaning, until CAPCOM was unofficially confirmed as the source.

Until official Resident Evil 6 trailers debuted online, NoHopeLeft.com had garnered a great deal of interest by inciting fear in viewers. Users on the site discussed the images and translated the Chinese video, as the mystery of the site encouraged users to seek answers. This interactivity and sense of urgency brought on by fear fits well with the survival horror genre of Resident Evil 6, and established significant attention for the upcoming video game. CAPCOM directly confronted human fear and curiosity in a creative and interactive manner so as to bring survival horror straight to users--and to bring users to its newest video game.

It's Mr. Quiggly!!

Ever wonder why it is that some commercials have the ability to really touch us, while some don't even receive a second glance? In this case with Skechers' Mr. Quiggly commercial not only did it grab my attention, but I liked it so much I ended up showing the video to the rest of my family and posting it on my Facebook wall.

In other words, Skechers was successful in capturing my attention enough to have their message sink in, and even more so when I decided to willingly show others the commercial. In essence isn't that advertiser's end goal? To reach their customers yes, but to also have them relate and identify with the brand. By sharing this commercial with my family and on my Facebook wall, I am acting as a credible source for Skechers. Which is mainly because customers are more likely to listen to the opinion of their close friends than that of a corporation trying to sell them something.

The best part is, I actually hate Skechers shoes. I think for the most part they are ugly, and have a negative connotation in the world of sneakers. However, because of this commercial and their ability to touch myself and my family, perhaps in the future I will reconsider my previous perceptions of the brand.

Regardless, if I end up naming my future pug or bulldog Mr. Quiggly, Skechers will have a lasting impression on my life and will have won in the grand scheme of things. This is particularly so because with a dog named Mr. Quiggly, an explanation for the name is obviously needed. Which will lead to my referencing the commercial, and potentially even bringing it up on my iphone or ipad. Which essentially is great advertising and branding.

This photo was found on: http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&biw=1280&bih=681&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=be0sfen46spDoM:&imgrefurl=http://financialpress.com

Relationship Status

Recently, I've been impressed by the newest cell phone and service provider commercials and their accuracy of daily life.

Whether it's a good or bad thing (I'm not sure) smartphone users depend a lot on their social network apps to provide them with information, especially about people they've just met and their closest friends. I find it funny how much people are willing to share about themselves and how important it is to provide every detail of your life on Facebook and other platforms. I'm pretty guilty of this myself, but have recently "cut back." However, I'm not the only person guilty of this. So many conversations now begin with the words, "So I saw on Facebook..." This is why these new ads are so amusing to me.

The two that caught my eye are for AT&T's fast iPhone 4GS and Nokia's Lumia 900 "Beta Test" campaign. I find these the best because they discuss network speed and "relationship status", two important factors in today's society. Those individuals who devote themselves to social networking depend on speed to send and receive information, making their phone an essential part of effective communication. And checking on a friend's status? A necessity. But what get's me is the irony of the two commercials. They combine interpersonal communication with electronic communication, showing awkward moments that really could happen in every day life.

I feel that the two companies are trying to reach their target consumers by playing into the idea of quickly checking up on friends and knowing what everyone is up to. And they succeed. But at the same time, I feel like they are almost mocking today's society and its obsession with technology and fading communication skills. Again, I'm one to talk because I have my iPhone always and use my iPad as much as I possibly can. It's almost like we're forced into it. However, I have taken a few minutes to sit back and look at what we have become as a society, and it's actually pretty funny (and a bit disheartening for someone who learned the importance of interpersonal communication).

Here are the two ads. What do you think?

Keeping Advertising "Pinteresting"

Businesses are taking advantage of a new social media platform; a bulletin board-like option for sharing favorite images. Pinterest was introduced in 2010 and allows users to organize and share images with their followers, quickly drawing traffic to their websites and blogs. Users "pin" images that serve as links to articles, blog posts, recipes, and e-commerce sites. But no one thought that this new platform would take off as quickly as it did.

Pinterest appeared out of nowhere, or so it seems. The platform grew from 1.6 million in September 2011 to 7 million in December of that year, according to Entrepreneur.com. And the majority of these unique visitors are female. This created a great opportunity for those businesses that appeal to this demographic. Magazines in particular, which rely heavily on visuals, took this opportunity for growth and traffic. Magazine websites even added a "Pin It" button their websites to help share their content.

E-commerce sites have received a lot of attention from Pinterest users as well. These sites have the ability to share their products on their own Pinterest boards, which link back to the online store. And it's easy for these images and products to go viral on Pinterest. According to an article on AdAge Digital, the platform ranks number three for most minutes spent online per month, behind Facebook and Tumblr.

From personal experience, it's easy to see how Pinterest has gained so much popularity in such a short amount of time. The site allows users to search images based on favorite categories such as DIY and crafts and women's clothing and accessories. And for those women who are planning a wedding, Pinterest has become a replacement for the infamous wedding binders by linking to wedding blogs and magazines.

I don't know that Pinterest would necessarily be strictly "advertising," however, I see the pins as mini ads. They serve as visual stimuli to attract users to specific websites and even include short captions to give a description of the image or let the user know who "pinned" that image and why. If correctly utilized, just as advertising copy, these short captions can provide websites with traffic not simply based on the visual.

Some people are saying that Pinterest may run into some issues down the road, but right now its doing wonders for the people in the creative world.

Try a Pair of Google Eyes

Google is now visionary in both the literal and physical sense of the word. One of the company’s latest projects is the creation of Google vision, which basically brings augmented reality right to your eyeballs... literally. The AR glasses allow the user to integrate their mobile lifestyle with their physical lifestyle, meaning you won’t have to fool around with those smartphones anymore because now you can wear them! Isn’t that great? Or… wait a minute.

The youTube video shows a quick glance at the experience of walking around with the AG glasses. The video was interesting. It piqued my interest. But it also left me with a few questions. For example, how would I feel walking around with glasses and constantly having interactions popping up on the screen? Would it be convenient or would it become a burden? With all this mobile technology surrounding us, what would the effect of AG glasses bring to the table? Now we’re covering up our eyes with mobile technology, furthering that social disconnect everyone is always talking about. And last but not least, what the heck do these glasses even look like? Are they fashionable, or do they look weird? According to the article in adweek, the AG glasses are likened to those worn by Star Trek’s Geordi La Forge.

So the real question posed is whether our real world is capable of interacting with our mobile world, and if so, what kind of implications may result from such a union? Google’s pet project is currently generating a bit of buzz around potential users, which is likely to involve advertisers. The idea is innovative. It reminds me of several films I’ve seen that are set in the future. You never know, perhaps these glasses will become a part of your future. What’s your opinion – good or bad?

http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/google-eyes-future-augmented-reality-glasses-139416

Advertising In Video Games

Advertising agencies are always looking for new mediums to get their ads out to the masses. Whether it is television or magazines or out-of-home advertising they always find something new. Product placement has been used in movies before with great success. Companies paying studios sometimes millions of dollars to advertise their product in a film. Another venue they are now looking into are video games. Remember how the film Avatar broke box office records with a total gross of almost two billion? Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 made a little over 800 million in five days and 1.5 billion in 15 days. Video games cost about 60 dollars a pop which makes them more expensive than movies. The thing is video games have just started to show signs of advertising in the actual video games. I think this market could be tapped into to make more money for some products. If advertisers want a new market to go after I would say their first choice should be video games. There has already been advertising based games to show up for our phones, but these games are small compared to the estimated tens of millions or sometimes more invested into popular video games. While these games are often comparable in cost to Hollywood films it is hard to compare directly because individuals interact with video games more than they do with films. It is rare that somebody watches a movie more than once or twice, but gamers may spend hundreds of hours on the same game. And they often have in-depth profiles of themselves online which can be marketing gold. It would be nothing to put a can of Pepsi or Google billboard in a video game and reap the benefits. Some companies are starting to do this and I think it is a very smart move. Check out some of the pictures below.

Credit: Google Images