Interruptive Advertising

Advertising is constantly interrupting our lives it feels like, but is it really being interruptive or is it simply a part of life we don’t always want to pay attention to.  Advertising is everywhere from the clothes we wear to the food we eat to the material objects we surround ourselves with, but the only form of advertising people seem to really get annoyed with is radio advertising or television advertising.  This seems odd to have only one form of advertising be interruptive to our daily lives, but really we just want advertising to be present but not in our face.  However if we didn’t have this type of advertisement then as consumers we would suffer and not participate in the daily cycle of consuming items we hear or see during these interruptions.  While we would never admit to it consumers need these advertisements to keep them up to date on the newest and coolest items.  Therefore, interruptive advertisements are not at all a nuisance, but a necessity. 

Nostalgia - Frosted Flakes

Nostalgia is a big part of advertising because when someone can relate to a product or a brand they are more likely to pay attention.  Many consumers will purchase a product because their friends say it works or because they can recognize the advertisement for it, and this is enforced further when the brand has been around for many years.  Frosted Flakes is great example because people will always recognize Tony the Tiger and when they have an option between choosing Frosted Flakes or store brand, the majority of the consumers will chose Frosted Flakes.  This works well for them because if they ever decided to come out with a new type of Frosted Flakes consumers will be more likely to eat it because they trust the brand they have had for their entire lives. 

Toblerone - Crunchy Almond

For our Toblerone advertisement we decided to take the route that many companies have tried, some succeeded and some failed, by having the consumer create a new flavor.  We want to emphasize the new sweet and salty crunchy almond flavor so our platform would be social media based, primarily launched in the bay area around the holidays.  We would have a site connected to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, where the user can like the new Toblerone flavor site on Facebook, which would then take them to the fan page for Toblerone Sweet and Salty Crunchy Almond, where they can then create their own flavor.  The catch to this is that the consumer would only be able to choose one flavor, from a given list of exotic and more unusual foods, such as acai or ginger.  The user would chose their option and then take a picture of half of their face… which then gets paired by one of their Facebook friends choices and a combination is created.  The combination is then combined, as our the faces, with the picture for the user to set as their Facebook profile picture, a picture to post on Instagram, and now something to tell people about on Twitter.  This would then be shared for likes where consumers can vote on their favorite combination.  During the last of the holiday season Toblerone will wrap their new flavor with a limited time only option for the fans, and these will be given out at a free promotion event for Toblerone. 

Symposium - Got Ethics?

The symposium for the advertising department was actually quite interesting.  The topic was “Ethics in Advertising”, so I was expecting a debate between the speakers, however I was pleasantly surprised to see that they all pretty much agreed on every commercial or topic that was brought up.  The commercials were a bit questionable but the speakers all did an excellent job of explaining that the ads are not to blame, it’s the people who take the advertisement personally or to a completely different aspect then it had been intended.  I was surprised to find out that most of the speakers had a topic, or product, that they would never endorse or create a platform for simply based on their own personal ethics.  Overall the symposium went really well and I would definitely return to another one. 

Everyone Poops! - Toilet Paper Docking Station

Our group decided to advertise the iPod Toilet Paper Docking Station to the busy mom who needs a gag gift.  We thought that as a mom, she has explained many times that pooping is a normal part of life.  Being that she most likely has had this conversation a few times we decided that this product would be appealing to her sense of humor, therefore we included catchy theme songs to each mode of advertising to help improve the humor. 

Radio:

Less Conversation

SFX: Elvis - A Little Less Conversation slowly fades in. Music cuts quickly during toilet flush.

Announcer: (Mr. Moviephone Deep Voice)

Claim your porcelain throne,

Be the King of your Bathroom,

with the Toilet Roll iPod Docking Station.

SFX: Song cuts back in to guitar solo.

TV:

Jeep - Its never been so simple...

“It’s never been so simple to live the Jeep life” The theme of our Jeep commercial is how simple it is to live an exciting and energetic life even when you aren’t in the 18-25 year age range.  The age range we targeted was 50-70 year old people who are still out exploring and enjoying life.  We wanted our commercial to be geared towards these people; therefore our spokesperson is Chevy Chase.  We chose him because he has recognition among the crowd and brings a light and funny mood to our commercial.  The commercial would start with Chevy driving around in the Jeep with a few friends and he would be showing them how to use the turn dial shifter.  He would then end up getting questioned by a police officer and would “play dumb” by acting old and senile.  This would then result in Chevy getting out of his ticket and him driving off to more adventures in his new Jeep.

 

The Harley Brand

Harley has definitely created a brand following and with that a sense of community.  The brand has given the consumer a way to make friends and join a community of other people just like them.  The consumer enjoys feeling special and this can do just that, therefore the consumer will continue to stick with Harley simply because they are now “part of the family”.

The Posse Ride helps to enhance the meaning of the brand because they have created a gathering place for the consumers to go and use the product together.  Not only are the consumers now using the product but also they are going with other consumers of the same product to different places where they can buy more items from the Harley brand.  This is very smart for Harley to do because while the consumer feels like they have their friends by them just hanging out they are actually advertising for the brand and they are consuming merchandise along the way.

Harley should not get more involved because then it will be more like they are trying to sell the brand to the consumers when in reality this is true, but the consumer feels as if its their choice and its not being forced upon them.  If Harley were to get more involved it would become too commercialized and lose its essence of the makeshift community that has been formed by the consumers. 

In addition to the Posse ride, Harley could hold “Harley Routes” for riders to go out and explore the country on routes given by other riders.  Similar to what Nike did in Amsterdam and Paris, by allowing the riders to map out their travels with their Harley bike they can then share that experience wit other riders who can travel the “road less traveled” as well.

A Day in the Life of.... a Tide user!

A young, stay at home mom named Emma who has two boys named Jacob, 5 years old, and Jeremy, 7 years old; begins her morning by waking up at 6:30 AM by her internal clock. She begins her day by making her Folgers coffee for her and her husband, Max, before he heads off to work. She wakes her children up and begins making them breakfast composed of Cheerios and milk. As they are eating their breakfast, she makes their bagged lunches of Jiff Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches, carrot sticks, and sliced apples. She and her boys dress in Target brand or Eddy Bower brand clothes. She drives her boys to their public school in her Hybrid Honda SUV. When she returns home, she takes their dog, Buddy, the Golden Retriever for a morning walk. She takes a quick shower with her BB green products. After she gets out, she begins on her large load of laundry with her green Tide detergent. She shoves the load into her GE brand washers and dryers that use less water. After she finishes laundry, Emma watches her Telenovelas as she munches down on her chicken salad for lunch. After her lunch, she drives over to pick the kids up from school and take them home, in order, to make dinner on time for when Max's Hybrid Honda Civic pulls up. For dinner, Emma prepares grilled chicken with asparagus. The family watches ABC sitcoms as the Max and the kids clean up from dinner. Her day ends by tucking her kids into their beds with fresh sheets and Emma climbing into her own bed with Max.

Consumer Behavior - Failed Product

Consumer behavior with product releases is generally quite typical.  The idea of first-ism is not new to our society but it has certainly grown.  With the launch of any new Apple product there will be a line out the door at midnight just to have a chance at being the first people to have that new product.  This would all go away however is suddenly Apple dropped its prices and the product was readily available to everyone, because at that point the consumer is no long special and they no long hold that status symbol that is Apple.  This works with all kinds of products, such as Evian, Ferrari, Tiffany&Co., ect.  The point of people wanting these products is purely that they are a symbol of status in our society.  Many brands have tried to make themselves a symbol like this but rarely does it work out.  A great example of this would be the launch of the Arch Deluxe by McDonalds.  For consumers, McDonalds is not the place you would think to go out for a nice meal, but rather for a quick, cheap bite to eat.  McDonalds did not realize this and then launch the Arch Deluxe.  Needless to say the burger was a huge flop.  The burger simply was not equated with the high-class status and thus failed.

Political - GreenPeace

When someone says political advertisements people usually think about the presidential campaign, but rarely about environmental campaigns.  The great thing about environmental advertisements is that they don’t try to address something in a stereotypical manner, or try to make fun of someone else to get the point across, but rather just get the most direct route to addressing their issue.  The Greenpeace organization does a great job at putting out advertisements that address their issues and still have a strong impact.  Greenpeace put out a great campaign of images that showcase the problems of global warming.  One advertisement shows a little boat with the caption reading, “A life-raft for 6.6 billion people.”  These advertisements directly show that global warming is an issue that affects everyone in creative ways.  A creative ad with this campaign depicts a polar bear with its white fur turning brown from supposedly melting off.  This campaign does not use any stereotypes; it does not call any specific group out, or even address the people.  The campaign simply states the problem and leaves it up to the viewer on how to feel or what to do.

Sexist - GotMilk?

Stereotypes in advertising are quite common, like with race stereotypes, gender stereotypes are everywhere as well.  The most common stereotype is that men are dominant over women.  In almost every ad you will see a man standing above a woman, a man looking down on a woman, or even purely in the size of the person, the man will be larger.  This stereotype has been around for ages and is still present in today’s society.  Commonly advertisements make reference to male superiority and usually do that in such a way as to insult the woman.  A common way of achieving this is to show the woman doing “her job”.  Women are depicted in the role of mother or housewife, but rarely in the role of CEO or strongly business oriented.  The GotMilk? campaign shows this stereotype in a different light.  The focus of the campaign is showing men with “PMS”.  This campaign directly insults women for having PMS symptoms and makes fun of that fact.  The ads use a caption that can directly relate to what is typically a “female on PMS comment”.  The advertisement also uses a catchy website of “EverythingIDoIsWrong.org”.  The advertisements are seen as funny and lighthearted but a good look at them and its clear the campaign is truly sexist. 

Racist - Re-Civilize Yourself

Race in advertisements is quite common, mostly because of stereotypes in today’s society. Advertising agencies need to be very careful as to not cross the line between a lighthearted and funny stereotype and something that would be considered racist.  In actuality anything, funny or not, that is racist should not be allowed to make an advertisement, but the reality of our society today is that the viewer tends to like advertisements more if they make fun of someone or something.  Should an advertisement agency want to test this theory out they would simply need to look at some of the most popular advertisements.  The Nivea ad that depicts an African American man holding the head of another man, while the caption reads, “Re-civilize yourself”.  Also, in a box near the top another caption reads, “Look like you give a damn”.  This ad has so many racists issues it is quite unbelievable.  It was ridiculous for Nivea to think that something like that would come off as humorous or even quirky.  The ad is supposed to be promoting lotion, however in the entire visual there is really no reference to lotion until you reach the second half of the ad, which then describes the lotion.  Advertisers really need to be cautious of what they are sending out there and try to be a bit more tasteful. 

Semiotics

Semiotics is consistent of signs, signifiers, and the signified.  The sign is anything that is being communicated, as in the word or the objects or the sounds.  The Signifier is what we would call this object, the word used for it.  Then there is the signified, which is how we see the object, where a meaning is invested into the object.  Semiotics allows the viewer to understand what is going on in visual imagery and to associate with the advertisement images.  Semiotics allows the viewer to decode what is happening in an AD.  However, the meaning that is understood from the AD is all based upon the viewer’s denotation of what is happening, and the connotation for the specific society and cultural group the AD is aimed towards.  

Brainwashed by Brands

While I like to believe I am a free thinker I hate to admit I am driven by brand choices, luckily for me price more often then not sways my decision.  Brands are a particularly important part of life, in that we as consumers must constantly chose between multiple products purely based on the brand.  Almost everyday I am at the grocery store and I am feeling the dilemma of which product to chose from.  Personally, I chose the least expensive option, being a broke college student, however my sister will always go for the most well known brand.  My sister, like many people today, buy into the advertising being sold on shelves, whether it be the ever popular Coke, or a simply a new and interesting brand being compared to the store brand.  In high school I had to host a test where students were blind testing food and drinks to decided which was better.  The results were surprising to the students, being that the majority of them opted for the off brand.  These results proved that people would buy what is attractive to the eye not necessarily what is attractive to their taste buds or their budget! 

Dietmar Dahmen

Dietmar Dahmen gave an excellent presentation on branding and the evolution of technology.  I particularly enjoyed his presentation because of what a great personality he brought to the lecture, and his energy when presenting made the information being provided much more interesting.  The way in which he connected the idea of now-ism and the different aspects of advertizing was exceptionally appealing.  The idea of now-ism is simply the process of always having to be the first to have the newest hottest product and having to have it now (I am certainly part of this group!).  I am focused on moving towards a career in branding so the aspect of branding being a way of life was creative and when he discussed the ideals of digital anticipation I began to get thrilled for my future profession.  His speech was very much in line with what I find interesting and learning how he views the evolution of technology was intriguing and fascinating, especially the evolution of the web, beginning with what was first introduced (web 1.0) and ending with what he believed would be the future (web 5.0).  I have heard other people talk about what consumers are looking towards but never has someone given such a clear and entertaining spin to the idea.  The idea of connectivity has been known for awhile, but it was interesting to know just how far companies are taking the ideas, like the airline KLM allowing customers to choose seat partners based on Facebook profiles.  I am absolutely part of the Generation Connected by having my iPhone on me at all times and never leaving technology behind, which made it that much more interesting to learn about, and realize, how quickly technology has changed over just the past few years.  The rate at which people have begun to consume technology has shot up recently.  I can remember having the most basic home computer growing up and being so amazed by it, yet today my MacBook Pro is just another aspect of my life and even feels as if it has always been here, rather than just showing up in the past few years.  The facts Dietmar brought to attention were interesting and exciting.  His speech was entertaining, enjoyable, and I would love to here another one of his lectures someday.  

Branding in Advertising

Advertising is a great way for a company to brand itself and set a public perception or a desire for their product.  Almost everything we see in life is a result of advertising in one way or another.  All companies use some form of this to get their name out or to sell their product.  Whenever you walk down the street you cant help but spot advertising somewhere either on a billboard or on a bus or even through the use of product placement in areas such as grocery stores and newsstands.  This is also done through the use of using people as the brand placements.  The use of decals and branding is everywhere to the point of anyone standing around you at any given moment will have some sort of brand on them.  Generally, most people are drawn to visually creative ads that stand out from all the rest.  This is usually done through the use of playing off people’s emotions.  When an ad is trying to simply get you to notice their brand in a sea of others they would use something to draw your attention and get you to remember them.  This can be done in a dramatic way with either the music used or the subject is purely something that requires attention.  This is also done in crude ways with the idea that the viewer will laugh off the commercial but it will be so bizarre that the viewer will remember it and tell others about it.

My favorite form of advertising would be the comical ads.  Humorous ads get a lot of attention because of a funny slogan that is easy to remember or a visual aid that is amusing in some way.  These ads are generally light hearted and would normally be used to get a brand name out.  Laughter is a great way to remember something, and when a reoccurring commercial is on that makes you laugh you make sure to go watch it.  This is always a good way to advertise because it places a brand on the company and develops a market following. 

My favorite commercial right now is the E-Trade commercial with the adorably funny baby!