Creative Advertising

With all the outlets of media we have today, there are so many creative advertisements to keep our short attention span entertained. The iPhone ads, although very simplistic, I thought it was creative how they showed the different ways you can use Siri. This is one of my favorite commercials. This is one of the first advertisements I ever saw for the iPhone 4s, and it was amazing to see all that it could do. Even though there wasn't any cool flame effects or stuntmen or a hilarious ending, this commercial was creative and effective.

Nostalgia

When a product is trying to sell to possibly an older audience or trying to advertise for an older product with a comeback, nostalgia is a very effect selling point. It helps bring back memories to consumers. Whether it may be good or bad, they are going to remember who they were with, what they were doing, and not just the product itself, but the experience while using the product.

In this commericial, Pepsi used Michael Jackson's legacy to bring back nostalgia of the drink to consumers. Michael Jackson was the King of Pop and meant a lot to people. He was the music of their childhood and using it in this commericial brought back memories and experiences not only of his music, but also drinking Pepsi.

Interuptive Advertising

Despite our ways to completely avoid advertising whether it be changing the channel or the radio stations during commercials, advertising is unavoidable. Advertisers have learned from our ways of avoiding advertisements and have created innovative ways to advertise products.

After every Google search, you may be reminded of it on the ads on Facebook or your Gmail account. Your searches are saved to help formulate what ads would be best for you. All during October, I had ads for discounted Halloween Costumes. Recently, I did a marathon and all I get are ads for the Color Run.

Pandora also uses a similar process where it puts ads based on your music listening. I listen to a lot of electronic music, so I always get ads for night clubs in San Francisco.

I think these types of ads are invasive to my privacy, but they are effective. I usually tend to click on them because they are based on my interests.

Corn is not a vegetable

With obesity epidemics with men, women, and even children, the new hype is going organic. More health foods are on the rise and eating right became cool. Well, that didn't really help for big junk food corportations. In the pursuit to help defend themselves, the people that make high frutose corn syrup developed ad campaigns saying that corn syrup was "okay in moderation." Through out all the ads, person A questions the high frutose corn syrup, and person B makes them feel dumb for not getting the real facts. These ads were really cheesy, unrealistic, and were not believable. These ads did not spark people to continue to eat foods with high fructose corn syrup, but made them more aware of what they are eating.

Almond vs. Original

instagram:

Post picture with almond or original and hashtag

Youtube:

Mini episodes of how chocolate is made and how almonds are added to chocolate

Controversy: almonds should not be added

--Alternate endings and “like” the video--

Facebook:

Mini episodes also on facebook

“Like” Toblerone Almond or Original Toblerone to follow their campaign

Bug Vacuum

Radio Ad
**Mom cooking, sound of boiling and simmering in kitchen**
Child: MOM!! COME HERE. THERE IS A FLY IN MY ROOM!!

Mom: (in joyful tone) Coming sweetheart!

SFX: bug buzzing ZZZZzzZzzzZ

Mom: Let me get the swatter.

zzzZzZzz

Child: Oh no, there are more!!

SFX: sound of swatting, multiple bugs, baby starts to cry

Mom: (slightly frantic) I'll be back

Child: MOM!! There are more!!
Coming...

SFX: baby crying louder
ZZZZZZ, swat sound
Fire alarm goes off: BEEP BEEP BEEP

Child: MOM!!!

Mom: (sighs)

Woman: (soft, calm) Here, use this... (throws vaccum)

SFX: buzzing slowly goes away

FVO: When life is flying by you, don't take a swing, vacuum those pests with the Bug Vacuum

Always Reliable, Always Timeless

Our focus group to sell a typewriter to is early middle-aged people who enjoy travelling and keeping up with the latest technology. Our struggle was trying to sell such a simple piece of a equipment to those who are always up and out and don't want something big and bulky. Some of our main selling points were to show the consistency, the simplicity, and the nostalgia of the typewriter.

Since, our focus was to bring back the simplicity of the typewriter as our focus, we decided only to use print and tv ads, excluding any social media campaigns.

For the print ad, we had the idea of showing the typewriter throughout the decades. First in an office dated in the 1960's with wooded floors having only a typewriter and a radio. In the 1970's, shaggy carpet and tile, with the typewriter, a technicolor tv, and a radio collecting dust. And in modern office, there would be a flatscreen tv with stainless steal appliances, and still, a typewriter. This would show that even with life passing you by, the typewriter is always a constant.

For the tv ad, there would be a son on a typewriter writing to his son and it would be set as a flashback. Then fast forward, the son will be writing to his son on a typewriter. 

 

Jeep

Our focus group was people over 50's, so we focused mainly on safety features of the Jeep.

An adult male, over 70, would be driving the new Jeep Cherokee through a beautiful neighborhood, he pulls up to a house where we seen a young man, this man is his grandson. The grandson would say to the grandpa, "ready to teach me how to drive?" The man then steps out of the car, hands the key to his grandson and the young man sits in the drivers seat. When he gets into the car the older man points out safety features to the grandson which include the back up camera, and side cameras. The begin to drive. While driving the grandson goes to switch lanes, doesn't look over his shoulder, and starts to merge unsafely, and the side camera begins to beep as it sees a car in the blind spot. The grandson looks startled, but because of the safety features provided in the Jeep, everyone was safe. Then the finish their driving lesson pull back up infront of the house and give each other an endearing look that states, "thanks grandpa for teaching me how to drive!"

Hellen and her Tide

Hellen wakes up in the morning at about 7:00am, hops out of beautifully white sheets to make breakfast and lunches for her family. When making breakfast she throws something together quickly, a bowl of cereal and some fruit. Then starts to prepare lunches for her three children, two boys and one girl. The lunch includes a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, carrot sticks, and a small baggie of pretzels. Although she may be in a rush, she never forgets to leave an encouraging note in their lunch box to get the kids through the rest of their day.  Then, she helps her kids get ready for school, placing their brightly colored and clean clothes on them and kisses her husband goodbye wearing his Then, in her Honda Odyssey mini van, she drops the kids off at school. Next, she goes to Safeway and picks up groceries for the week and a bottle of Tide. Then goes home, puts some laundry in the washer, and cleans the house. Then, she goes on a run with their families chocolate labrador, Charlie. Then comes home and starts to prepare dinner. Around 2:30, Hellen leaves to go pick up the kids and then brings them all to soccer practice, then around 5:00 picks them up. Because the kids worked so hard at practice, they all got grass stains on their uniforms; causing her to have to do more laundry when she comes home. Then while the kids are doing their homework, Hellen finishes cooking dinner, when her husband comes home. Then the family eats dinner together, then watches a family show where each of them are wrapped in a blanket that smells so wonderful because of the Tide detergent. After the show, it is off to bed for the family where they climb into their clean sheets and fall asleep.

Rose Pedal Playhouse

Rose Pedal Playhouse is specifically directed towards little girls. There are many aspects of this commerical that are stereotypical of little girls. The colors used are very feminine, the music played is very soft and cute, and parts of the playhouse were stereotypical of girls like a kitchen and laundryroom.

Some aspects to change in this ad to make it less stereotypical would be to incorporate different colors in the commercial. Less soft pinks and more blues and purples. Also, it would be better to show both boys and girls cooking in the kitchen and playing together.

PETA Pit

PETA, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, is one of the largest non-profit organizations for animal rights. There belief is that "Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment."

There media campaigns are known to be very racey and they are always trying to push the envelope to get attention on their issue. One of their most successful (and my favorite) running campaigns is the "I'd rather go naked than to wear fur." This ad uses famous actresses and actors, tv personalities, and other celebrites to go naked in their commitment for animal rights. These ads are used for billboards, in magazines, and also used on social media like Facebook and Twitter. These ads are sexy, sometimes funny, depending who it is, and I believe are really effective.

You is Kind, You is Smart, You is Important

Women are strong and independent, we always have been. But until the past couple decades, it hasn't properly been displayed in advertising. I guess it was reasonable in a sense to show women using household products like selling this cleaning machine since most women during a time were homemakers.

But being a homemaker/housewife doesn't make you dumb or less equal of a human being. In the ad below, it is advertising men's ties. By wearing this tie, you are showing that this is a man's world and women are just living in it. The way the woman is looking down, how she is smaller than her male counterpart, and her feminine touch serving the man breakfast in bed shows typical stereotypes of women.

Today, ads are much less obvious in gender roles and stereotypes. It is more common for women to show strength and power. In this Nike ad, the woman looks muscular and not very delicate and feminine. The message shows empowerment not only to herself, but to other women that you don't have to be a size 2 or fit into the media norms to be beautiful.

But then again,  some ads make women look stupid. In this ad with Zoeey Deschanel, she has to ask her iPhone everything. Even if it is raining outside, when it is clearing raining outside. If you aren't familiar with Zoeey's personality, she is naturally cute and quirky, but I could see if other people take this commercial the wrong way.

Bookem' Kono

I don't really like crime shows, but Hawaii 5-0 is my exception. It is about a special crime unit based in Hawaii. The main characters are a navy seal, Steve McGarrett, a police officer from New Jersey, Danny, former Hawaii PD officer, Chen Kelly, and rookie, Kono. Most of the shows deal with murder victims and kidnappings, the usual stuff happening in paradise.

Hawaii 5-0 is a remake from a 1970's version. In the 1970's show, everyone was white. This show does have white people on the task force, but there are also a fair amount of native Hawaiians and pacific islanders on the show. This is important because having an all white cast isn't very accurate. Having a female on the show, Kono protrays asian women in a different light. In this show, she kicks ass and is very independent, very different from the typical asian stereotype.

Although she is a badass on the show, in the first season, was always thrown in to be the decoy for finding the criminals. She had to play a prostitute, a sexy waitress in lingerie, and a bimbo driving a classic car. She was the rookie on the team, but for some reason they always made her do the easiest jobs, or play the damsel in distress.

(Please excuse the first 30 seconds of Kono just surfing.)

Everyone's a little bit racist

Of course, it is not right to racially stereotype for advertisements sake, but how can you not? How do you make an advertisement pop, be memorable without focusing on a certain group/type of people. Although its wrong to put one racial group in a negative light to sell something, I think stereotyping is somewhat necessary to get a point across to a certain group of people. In the infamous Jamaican superbowl commerical this year, many may see this as a negative view of islanders. But I don't find his happy go lucky attitude on life negative. Its light-hearted and sweet. Something is going to offended no matter what an advertisement amount, just realizing the risk you take is what is important.

Semiotics

Semiotics are important to advertising in many ways, especially when analyzing and understanding visual advertising. When looking at a TV commercial, a billboard, or a magazine ad, we can use semiotics to decode and encode the meaning in messages.

In this first image, it shows Ronald McDonald in a draped garnment, with the same pose as Lady Liberty. The end of the torch even has a McDonald's arch  instead of fire. With hundreds upon thousands of McDonalds locations in the United States alone, this ad replacing Lady Liberty for Mr.McDonald shows how American getting a burger is. McDonalds is tradition and a place that people can count on no matter where they are in the states.

This next commericial is for SkinnyGirl cocktails. SkinnyGirl has a line of different alcoholic beverages that are focused towards women because of the low calorie and sugar in their drinks. In the commericial, they show a very poised women giving tips on "how to be a lady." That is, to sit right, to wear the right shoes, and to behave in a certain matter. After she gives a tip, there is video of girls having a good time and just relaxing breaking all of the "lady rules." This video shows that you don't need to be perfect and lady like all the time. Drinking SkinnyGirl allows you to cut loose and have fun, without worrying about sitting up straight.

The last ad is a billboard for Victoria Secret. It shows a Victoria Secret Angel with a seductive look on her face. Over her chest area, there is a huge barcode. And other than the barcode, she isn't wearing anything other than pink, fluffy wings. With the new QR codes, you can scan them by taking a picture onto your phone to get more information about a product. Although this ad is trying to sell bras, making its buyers take the time to stop and take a picture of this QR code, it is selling sex. People want to see, what is under that huge barcode? It is a bra? Or is nothing?

Brands

Being a frugal shopper, I hate to say brands run our lives, but they do. I spend $2.15 on a cup of tea from Starbucks almost every morning. I could probably make the same cup at home for much less. I prefer Starbucks tea rather than a cup from home because in my mind, I think it has better quality. And a part of me thinks I'm kind of cool walking around with a cup of Starbucks, hoping maybe someone will ask me what I'm sipping on, and I could then share a little part of me through a 32oz cup.

Advertising is meant not only to sell a product, but to sell a lifestyle. And branding builds onto selling a lifestyle, giving its consumer an identity. People who sport certain brands hope to help ensure their status in this world. My first thoughts when seeing someone driving a Porsche is that the person behind the wheel is successful in their career and is comfortable with their finances. Just by one single brand, you can infer what the person is like, possibly that they are well educated, and maybe that they have gotten a few speeding tickets.

An important part of a brand creating identity is that the brand is relevant. Everyone wants to keep up with the Jones' (or maybe its the Kardashians) and nobody wants knock offs. A brand needs to continue developing, changing, and going with the swing of society. Yet, brands need to still bring their quality that they started with. I work in retail and all of our products are very natural. Keeping with the natural ingredients, most of the makeup came in natural colors. But a new audience, 18-24 year olds, they usually don't want a natural look. Its interesting to see my store's transition from natural to vibrant to stay relevant to new audiences. 

Dietmar Dahmen

I really enjoyed Monday's guest speaker, Dietmar Dahmen. He was such a dynamic and passionate speaker. I loved his style of power point that he did. Most of the time when speakers put too many words in their presentation it loses people, but I was really interested in everything he said. It was all very relevant.

Dietmar introduced  to me the idea of nowism. This is very important to keep in mind with advertising today. With so much new technology and how it has shaped our lives, it is vital to stay connected with our consumer and to be creative.

Expectations of ADV91

I am in my second year at San Jose State and will be soon done with my GE's. Since most of the GE's I needed were full, I considered taking a class unrelated to my major, and advertising seemed appealing. I am a communications major and soon to be business minor and although advertising isn't a requirement of either, I feel like it will help me understand business if I understand really how advertisement works. Out of this class I want to increase my creativity and also to understand how to advertise effectively. I work in retail and always see really cool billboards and signs in the store I work at and throughout the mall. It would be pretty cool to contribute to something like that!