Ipod

one of the best advertised products to this day is the ipod.  when it first came out, it was super bizarre and eye catching.  Other brands would change their look a couple of times through out the year but ipod has kept it classy.  no matter if there is a new generation of ipods or a new ipod all together, apple will continue to advertise in bright colors, using the signature headphones and dancing people, artist artwork/ backgrounds.  This specific ad was placed on the side of a building every car passes when they drive on the eisenhower and turns to the kennedy.  

connections

Every school I have been to has connections with companies.  For example my high school had connections with coca cola where all the vending machines were stocked with cocacola and disani water bottles.

My college has a contract with Pepsi so all of our products are all pepsi products.  This is normal because there are so many people that go to both schools and that this way the products are bought in bulk at a cheap price.  But what I thought was interesting is that these products are advertised at like every event on campus, which is even anther way to get into the consumer's head

Palermo's Pizza

Who does not like a free slice of pizza? Palermo's Pizza has great PR.  Every basketball game Palermo's brings out a pizza for everyone in a random row in a random section.  granted this has never been in the student section but i am not complaining, maybe i am, whatever.  this is just one of the many examples of how Palarmo's connects with the public.  They have had numerous contests and donated so many free pizzas for the public of milwaukee to not know their name.

Burberry is an old brand name that has had a reputation to be high end, expensive and signature plad design.  Burberry has numerous print ads in the more high end magazines such as vogue. To up the anti they put in a huge celebrity in their campaigna nd who has a bigger name than Emma Watson.  She is one of the most successful starlets of our times thanks to Harry Potter.  

To top this they ad her model brother into campaigns such as this.  

Then if siblings are not enough publicity for the brand, they take advantage of her relationship with the lead singer in the band One Night Only.  Granted they are not together anymore, (and what celebrity couple actually lasts forever) but the power couple ruled the designer ads for a very long time)

I think one of the most iconic commercials on TV in my generation is the the UPS commercials.
they are extremely clever.  they have become so iconic that the famous Saturday Night Live comedy show did a spoof on it.  I think that if SNL starts making a joke out of a commercial then that commercial is getting through the clutter.  whether it has helped with sales is a whole other story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-c4O6nxLcUs

covergirl

Covergirl is a huge brand with lots of brand essence.  They have been part of tv shows like america's next top model, and partnered with walmart for a long time.  Their consistency is phenomenal.  all of their print ads are so consistent.  always a huge celebrity in a medium shot and flawless skin with massive eyelashes.

Snacklish

Brand essence is strong when you can take away the brand name and the consumer will still know what brand is being advertised.  I do not know what brand is a better example of brand essence as Snickers and the snacklish campaign.  The snickers logo is so old and everyone know what to expect when they see the logo.  So they started substituting different words for snickers on advertisements such as bus stops and buses.  best campaign ever.

Unless you are watching a sports game you are bound to watch a commercial about tampons.  Tampax has a great campaign that has been running for a couple of years now and still airing.  all of them have the same "mother nature" character and the same story line and the red bowed present...enough said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3kugHmbNgQ

recall

When I think of Sunchips I remember standing in line at a Subway after a soccer tournament when I was roughly in the second grade.  The next thing that comes to mind is that extremely noisy bag that was bio-degradable.  I thought this new green chip bag was a fantastic idea for the company.  It came out around the same time as the pepsi refresh campaign which had such a positive reaction.  The culture has finally turned to living a more "green" life style so this new chip bag should be perfect for the americas consumers right? well then why did it go wrong.  Personally I loved the bag, I new from the texture and the noise that there was a significant change in the design, (not like water bottles that say that they use 30% less plastic).  But apparently america did not like it and sent in too many complaints that they recalled the design.

           Resolute is a rowing company that makes rowing shells.  They have a well thought out sense of advertising.  All of their ads have the same feel to it.  When people see their ad they know what company it is.  They are similar to some of the more intense print ads that nike and under-armor use but a little different, there is always someone showing intensity, not just showing off their muscles.  

Even though the rowing community is so slow this company will still do huge intense ads to sell their product.  Compared to other shell companies, resolute stands out the best

International level

Because the rowing community is very small and another blog about rowing will not hurt to spread the word I decided to blog about it.  Since rowing is a generally neglected sport I wanted to blog about it.  Crew usually only gets in the media every four years around the summer olympics.  So when chicago was trying to get a bid for the summer olympics, they made a commercial that is no longer on youtube, so I cannot put a link but I will explain the situation.  To get more Chicagoans involved in the support they made a commercial about youth athletics featuring different sports and different students int he city including Lincoln Park Juniors, a club high school rowing team.  The commercial definitely captured the students intensity but I do not know if it captured the excitement for the olympic games.  The point of using the rowers was to one point out that rowing exists in the city and also that if the games were to come to Chicago, they could hold the event in the city.  I only know this because I have been in the rowing community for a while, but the problem in that the rest of the city and everyone else watching did not.  So in the end I do not think it was a very effective commercial.

Branching Out

      What has been a predominately male based company, has really tried to make their ads targeted to both men and women.  It still has an extreme sport feel to their ads but they are sponsoring female athletes such as Sally Fitzsimmons, an elite Australian surfer.  Although there is still room for improvement they have commercials featuring some of the best female athletes competing today.  Their website is a fantastic way to find out the new up and coming athletes and still be bombarded with red bull band essence.  

Downy Commercial

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS-SwLy6sAs (I apologize for the extra adjustments to the commercial)

This is a good example of another way companies utilize their television time.  Brands can say as much as they want about the benefits of a product but to show the results is a whole different way of rhetoric.  I’m not talking about the actual lab results, but to show what looks like “random” people on the street (even it they are clearly staged actors in perfect outfits and accessorized).  But in the moment you believe these people are super impressed with the cleanliness of the sheets and especially the fact that the sheets are said to have been washed seven days prior to the taping.  In a short commercial thats really all you need.  IF people want to proof they can go and research it on their own, but chances are the majority of the viewers wont but will still try the product.  

What Makes a Great Ad?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6h1SMjQEog

Does this commercial break through the clutter?  Yes it does.  I know this because I was surfing through a bunch of commercials and this one stuck with me enough to make me want to blog about it.  It starts with the characters/ shoe parts, which to the viewer doesn’t make complete sense yet.  This is to make the viewer continue to watch the ad and be hooked.  Even the music in the ad is upbeat and positive which makes you want to get out of your seat and see what is so exciting and energizing.  In addition the extream YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHs are also soo motivation in this commercial.  As an athlete, an energetic YEAAAH! is sometimes all it takes to put you in a good mood and want to start working out.  

Its a fun commercial but is it a good ad?  Well I am not completely sure.  It was a clever commercial, but I felt more like I wanted go running than go to the store to buy the shoe to go running.  

What is the Point

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpjaOUjUPUc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpjaOUjUPUc&feature=related

Since I am on a Doritos binge at the moment I would like to talk about another Superbowl Doritos commercial. This also broke through the clutter because there was such a big event after so much drawn out anticipation.  I first wanted to ask the world why they chose a pug for this commercial.  My thoughts were because the dog already looks like it ran into a door like all pugs and puggles do, but I do not know if everyone else thinks the same way.  

What was the purpose for this commercial? I believe that commercials have multiple purposes for different companies at different times.  Some companies use commercials to prove their product is special; whether it is the strongest, most useful, or tastiest product out there.  Other times they use commercials for brand awareness.  In this case I believe that Doritos made the commercial to show that Doritos has an unbelievable taste no matter who you are.  

Breaking Through the Clutter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYlyC3XSkIo

So this commercial came out during this year’s superbowl.  The night that even if you are not interested in sports you still watch for the commercials.  Did this commercial break through the clutter? yes I believe it did, and there are a couple of reasons why I think so.  One reason is during the super bowl I remember people in the room kind of getting up for more food, another person was on their way to the bathroom but as soon as that guy started licking the other person’s finger dead silence, everyone stopped what they were doing, the guy on his way to the bathroom pulled a 180 and came back into the room.  They could not believe what was happening on the computer screen...clutter was broken in the television room.  

Another reason this commercial  broke through the clutter people remember it distinctly.  I sent out a mass text message to some of my friends asking them if they could give me ideas of advertisements i could blog about and three of my friends responded about this one.  

Whats Next?

IPAD 2

So it was time for the next big product to come out of the apple enterprise, and it is now on the market.  The ipad 2.  Apple has a tendency to make you feel like a complete idiot around this time of year.  You spend a ton of money on a nice christmas or holiday gift and then a couple months pass and there is the next best thing AHHHH soo frustrating.  Granted there is a longer battery life and some cooler features such as video not to mention that new cover is super nifty, but is it really that necessary.  I mean we do live in a high tech world.  But the last time I got exited over an email was when I got into a cool program I applied for.  As a college student it is easy to get caught up in all the new toys  and technology out there such as ipads, and skyping my friends for the first month of school before school got too busy.  The best times I’ve had in school (granted I am just a freshman) have been just hanging out with people.  I believe I was more excited when my grandparents wrote me a hand written letter through the mail than I did when I bought my first mp3 player.  It is easy to get caught up in consumerism especially when every couple of weeks something new hits the market.  Watch the next new thing will be holograms, where you lay your screen on the table and a 3D face pops up and starts talking.  

Comedic Campaigns

Snickers Diva Campaign 

            Another Campaign by Snickers is the Diva Campaign.  Though I hate to relive this time period, these commercials were very popular during this years Superbowl and had a couple of time slots durning the game.  Unlike other companies, Snickers no longer has to persuade consumers why snickers is better than other candy bars.  All snickers has to do is continue to flash their name and their comedic commercials on the strobe light that is television.  This is why Snickers can put on multiple multimillion dollar commercials during a two hour program.  the consumers are used to the comedy and are now expecting to laugh.  Snickers is able to give them just what they want

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW6ZXHWvaGc

Consistent campaigns

Feast

Those these may be old commercials, they are a great example of how consistent snickers is with their campaigns.  For the Feast campaign Snickers is able to show their strong brand essence of “instant gratification” through numerous commercials.  All of which contain predominately male figures such as vikings, kings, pilgrims etc.  Snickers has a common theme of presenting a problem where their own brand is a solution.  They are good not to cause the problem but just to mention that one exists.  

Even the music in the commercials reiterate the MANLY characteristic of the snickers candy bar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9JnNhwTUTE

What is it really saying?

      I was sitting in a Starbucks coffee shop when I came across a Dasani water bottle the other day and it looked a little different compared to what i am used to seeing.  There was a large green recycle leaf shape on the side of the label which was the first thing my eye was drown to (the signature label has been solely blue for forever).  Then there some print under the new green symbol.  I couldn’t see exactly what it said so I was going to wait until the guy threw out the bottle, but then I thought what is the fun in that.  So shamelessly went up to the guy and asked if I could read his water bottle...what ever I’m over it.  He kind of looked at me funny, I mean who wouldn’t be confused if a stranger asked you that...but he let me and now I can blog about it. thank you Starbucks man.  Below the green water leaf thing said and I quote “30% less plastic 100% recyclable”. 

If I was any normal person I might think ok good job way to make the planet fill up with 30% less of your plastic.  But i’m not that normal when it comes to water, water conservation, and water bottles.  First off the bottle itself was about 30% smaller than the normal Dasani water bottle so all the reduced plastic was taken out it the size.  Secondly “plastic”= recyclable 100% of the time and it also equals landfills and garbage circle and eventually in our food chain.  

 It may seem like they are trying but it just does not do it for me and i will continue to never buy a plastic water bottle especially a coca cola product.  SO nice try coca cola PLEASE TRY AGAIN!!!!

Brand Positioning

Students like to complain a lot and I feel like a teacher’s least favorite phrase is “when will I ever need to know this?”  I am guilty of asking myself this all the time, but I wanted to blog about how even though I might not need to use certain subjects, I find myself thinking about my Advertising Public Relations class all the time outside of school, which could be annoying to some but I remember that I have to blog so it is probably a good thing I’m noticing things in the real world.  So for this blog I just wanted to talk about product placement.  I take an early train to chicago so I can have time to see old friends and family but my dear mother had other plans.  I had not stepped off the train and into her stereotypical suburban minivan for five minutes and we were pulling into the parking lot of the River Forest Jewel-Osco.  

You can probably guess how thrilled I was to be 1. about to spend a good two hours with just my mom and 2. a good two hours stuck in a grocery store.  Not thrilled at all.  But I kept a close detail on how the store was stocked.  First thing I see when we enter the store cookies, cakes, cinnamon rolls etc. all of which happen to be on sale might I add.  Funny how that works out.  All of which are little kids first choice foods.  preceding the high blood pressure snacks is the produce section...by pass that section and turn to bread section.  House brands are on the ends and big brands like Wonder and Brownberry, take up a good portion of the isle.  Next to the sport drinks.  Gatorade had the biggest space on the shelf next to Powerade then the vitamin waters.  Down the isle I noticed Redbull had an entire two rows to itself and all the other energy drinks shared the super high shelves and the bottom two.  

         Nothing seemed out of place probably because I have been in that store over a hundred times, but now as I walk the isles everything makes more sense when it comes to placement. 

Marquetting Education

When it comes to advertising a product the sky is the limit.  I before this class I thought advertising was just for things you can buy in a store like food, clothing and sports equipment, but college has made me realize that education gets its own advertising.  Driving into Milwaukee the highways have a blue and gold coloring to them.  Schools are now putting up billboards.  Each school of Marquette makes their own T-shirts.  In the beginning of the year free T-shirts are as common as seeing a city bus, not really but they are always being handed out.  The free ones are usually gold.. what do all the students where to basketball games (which happen to be televised) gold Marquette shirts.  This happens across campus but especially in the admissions office.  Every high school student, and usually their little siblings, are handed a marquette T-shirt on their way out of the office.   Whether you study psychology and think this is a positive reinforcement, it is also great advertisement.  The student will where the shirt to school and the name and logo will be imbedded into their pears brains for a long time.  Psychology and Advertising cross paths on a lot of things especially instances like this.  

Brands Connecting With Their Target

We spend a great deal of class talking about “who is the target?”  We have discussed what makes an ad good or bad.  We have also seen a fare share of commercials that are lets face it, just not funny and sometimes really dumb.  But nine out of ten times we think this, we are probably not the target so our feedback probably means very little to the company.  I always thought that ads should be made for all types of people so that everyone and their mom will want to buy the product.  I recently understood that the point of the target is to convert the most people in a specific demographic to be a consumer of the product and dominate that market before you start to grow demographically.   

For that reason companies have been hosting events, where their target will be, across the country to interact with their target.  I mean I’ve seen Kellogg and Kashi tents at the mother’s day 5k race in chicago.  At events like the 5k, I felt unconnected with the product almost like they were just another registration tent i would pass.  There was a lack of personal interaction.  Granted they were nice and happy, it was just too in your face for me which could be because I may not have been the target even though I was in the race.  It was not until Red Bull came to campus that I truly understood how companies are trying to connect more with their target and have a more personal bond with their target.  They had a contest where three groups of students created a band using only school supplies with the exception of Red Bull cans.  All participants were winners with free Red Bull and one of the three prizes all of which any college kid would enjoy; Summerfest tickets, Tickets off of a website similar to TicketMaster, and a $100 tab at a local bar or restaurant where Red Bull is sold.  I was just in the audience but I can contest that every single participant left that room with a good experience with Red Bull, including those who did not buy Red Bull previously

Smaller venues made the difference.  It was more personal than the tents at the race, there was more interaction and the event was long enough where I felt, even as an audience member, connected with the company and their employees than i ever did with Kashi or Kellogg.  

http://www.theredrocklounge.com/images/redbull.png

Spring Break

I was relieved to get a break from school this spring break but I kept thinking about advertising class every time I walked outside.  Every time I saw a huge billboard or bus with faces on it.  But what really got my attention was when I was driving in Chicago and saw a billboard for Mini coopers. From a distance it looked like a really good 3d looking picture.  but as I drove closer I realized it was an actual Mini cooper attached, stories high let me add, to the side of the billboard as if it was driving on a wall.  Well done guys well done.  I always like Mini cooper but for a while it seemed that smart cars were starting to take the lime light.  but with this new ad I think that mini cooper is working its way into the spotlight, not by making extreme changes to their product but buy creating new and creative ways to WOW the american buyer. After seeing this advertisement Mini cooper is one of my top pics for a first car.  

http://www.billboard-outdoor.com/2008/07/21/mini-cooper-billboard/