There's an App for That...

I was recently reading a Cosmo magazine and came across an ad titled "Want a Better Boyfriend? There's an App for That..." After reading further, this app, created by Cosmo entitled Cosmo for Guys (CFG), enlightens men to "know exactly what to say when you're in a crappy mood, buy you the perfect gift, and even come up with tons of awesome date ideas." I thought this was ridiculous just after reading the title, and was even more shocked after reading the whole thing. A relationship should be based on initial attraction and trust in one another that an app's assistance is not needed to clearly communicate when there is an issue in the relationship.

Demographic Targeting

http://advertising.yahoo.com/article/demographic-targeting.html

When you go to a website that has ads on the side, not all other users are seeing the same ads that you are.  Why is this? That site may be using some type of profiling to best connect with their audience.  

                Websites want to connect with their audience (There is no person to person contact through an online interface, so they must use other ways to give the audience a feeling of personal attention).  Websites do this by making sure that ads and other features on the site are directly related to the people viewing their site. They do this by connecting to social media accounts and also by asking viewers to take surveys when they visit the site.  These surveys are of particular use because they enable the webpage to ask for personal information, such as age, gender or race, without having to be overly pushy.  I've noticed that a lot of surveys ask these personnel questions even when they seem to have nothing to do with the actual content of the survey.  

This aspect of the internet scares me.  There are pages and pages of information on how best to connect with the viewer and how to garner statistics about who is visiting your site.  What if I am being exposed to only a tiny bit of what is out there because people are making assumptions about what I am interested in based on my age, gender or occupation?

Hungry for Change

"The problem is we are not eating food, we are eating food-like products. And they are adorned, they are made to look better... so that people are attracted to them."

This line is from a documentary I watched this past weekend called Hungry for Change. This movie focuses primarily on the side-effects of consuming too much sugar - relating the addictiveness of it to that of drugs, such as cocaine.

"You might as well be rolling up the kid's sleeve and putting in heroine, because it's the same thing." 

Although, this movie does not focus specifically on food advertising, it does touch upon it briefly. Advertising and marketing these boxed and packed foods to appear desirable to consumers leads to America's excessive consumption of sugar laden products. The packages are deceiving consumers by saying "more fiber" or "non-fat." Few buyers check the actual ingredients list to see that the fat has been replaced by sugar, and even fewer people know that that sugar is converted into fat in the body.

"The marketing essentially lies to you because it presents you with the promise that you are going to be sexy and popular and cool, but in reality you are going to be obese and miserable and sick." 

The food advertising world is even more dangerous than beauty products or clothing advertisements, because it is what we are putting into our bodies and essentially we are letting advertisers decide that for us. As well, sugary foods have been proven as being addictive. Further more, more and more sugar is being injected into products that didn't originally have sugar in them, such as bread. If you make bread at home, no sugar goes into it unless you are making a sweet bread, however, if you buy packaged white breads it contains sugar.

Advertisers must market the food so it seems healthy, however, it MUST not dare taste healthy. For example, Fiber One bars television ads are promoting the fact that it's fiber that also tastes good, so it must be good for. Right? Fiber is good, but not when it's accompanied by 10 g of sugar.

"If I was in the food industry, what am I looking to do? I want to sell you more food... they are into just selling and marketing!" 

Okay, so this obesity epidemic. Is it really the consumer's fault? Or are the food advertisers the problem?

Another (mostly rhetorical) question: when's the last time you've seen vegetables or the benefits of whole foods advertised?

How to Make a Buyer Feel Good

If you read my blog post from last week, you might assume I dislike Volkswagen for their commercial that plays on the idea that women are the ones in the kitchen, while the fathers are off at work. While that version of their marketing disturbs me, Volkswagen has caught my attention in a positive way. In June, I ran into a stream of videos hosted by Volkswagen's Fun Theory Project. On their website, they describe The Fun Theory as "fun is the easiest way to change people’s behavior for the better."

Volkswagen held a competition that gave an award and money to the idea that best implemented their Fun Theory.  Some of the videos documenting the creation of Fun Theory projects include making a staircase into a piano to encourage exercise, a recycling bin transformed into an arcade game to encourage more recycling, and a speed camera lottery to encourage safe speeds in driving.

The piano staircase, the most popular of the projects, has collected over 18 million views on YouTube. These videos are what made me think to look up Volkswagen commercials for this blog in the first place. Before I saw these, I would never have thought of Volkswagen when choosing a car. But when I eventually do look for a car, I will definitely research their options. Volkswagen is also implementing this idea into their car plans, for example, they are creating a fuel efficient sports car. They want to make driving more fuel efficient cars fun. More companies should invest in projects like this that help benifit the world but also positively promote their company name. I want to feel good about promoting the companies I buy from, and Volkswagen does that for me.

Animations and the Related Products

Everyone wants chocolate milk! Even when they already have original ones. Meant to display in an animation form, I believe this commercial is mainly targeted at children who like watching powerpuff girls. Well, powerpuff girls was one of the most popular cartoon in the US, and even this commercial is more than 10 years old, it's even more fluid and attracting than the commercials we have today: The three actresses all used there own skills to make chocolate milk, and if you have mentioned, before they were called on a mission, all three of them hurried to do one thing together--finish the chocolate milk. And the funny thing here's the mayor's mission for them is also mixing chocolate milk, which further shows that nobody can resist chocolate milk, no matter who you are. And another point of this commercial is that it's not just telling you how good chocolate milk could be. It's presenting a video of our favourite cartoon characters drinking them. Back in childhood time, when kids are absorbed by cartoon episodes, how can they not want to be the same as their favourite cartoon characters? Especially Powerpuff Girls, who are designed caring, energetic, helpful, powerful and beautiful. It's the same influence as teenagers following the way their idols dress and behave. The aimed consumers just can't help trying to do the same thing, hoping to be more like their idols.

Well, the main idea I want to say here isn't really about the product. It's a Powerpuff Girls cartoon-related product. Can you imagine how many profits you can make out of cartoon-related products? In Japan, another world's biggest cartoon production country, made 4.359 billion dollars in 2003. And it is absolutely several times as many today. Profits that Japan earned from cartoon products in the US are 4 times as steel products exported to US. Japan is now considered more of a culture-exporting country rather than a production-exporting country based on the amazing amount of cartoon it produces every year. And even though we can often get the cartoon episodes for free, it's just the beginning. There are comic books, games, costumes, anything that the characters use in cartoons, models of the characters and so on that await to be sold. I bought stuff from my favourite cartoon before I came to US as spiritual support. Actually, I regard them as spiritual support because I bought the cartoon culture. I'm deeply into it, empathy with the characters and do what they do. It's not a bad thing, but it's something we should pay attention to. Think of Pokemon, do you have people around you that spent money on it? Cards, toys or games?

So Real it's Scary

High Definition has become the ultimate thing for televisions, no television on the market today is with out the that device which makes our televisions crisp clear. Technology has advanced so much that now people can no longer tell the difference between what is actually real and something that is being televised. This commercial for LG proves how crisp clear their televisions are by playing a prank on people riding an elevator more than a couple of stories high. Technology has advanced to such a degree that now we can no longer tell when we are seeing an illusion and reality. Marketers want this to happen because the illusion that is created brings in more clientele who are also curious to see if the technology really is all that the commercials make it to seem. I personally think that if I had been in the same situation as these people, I too would have been scared. Not only of the illusion but also the idea that we have come this far. In the last couple of years our technological advancements have surpassed those of previous generations, thus creating a bigger market. It seems that now nothing can stop us from going beyond the television screen, per say, and doing something even greater. Now, it would seem that not even the sky is the limit.

The Fashionable Minnie Mouse

      

            

             Disney has appealed numerous generations with its family-friendly, anthropomorphic animal characters, such as Mickey Mouse. Yet despite its family-friendly reputation, Disney has recently been criticized by parents and activists regarding its joint marketing collaboration with Barney’s. The subject of this controversy is the companies’ “Electric Holiday” campaign video, which features an emancipated, elongated rendition of Minnie Mouse and Minnie Mouse dreaming about being a model in Paris. Many have protested that the video promotes an unhealthy body image for girls.

            After growing up with the round, bubbly Minnie Mouse, I was shocked by the sight of the new, sickly-thin Minnie Mouse (shown above). After I saw her body proportions and read about the video’s story-line, it was clearly evident that the ad projected an image what the ideal, attractive female should look like. For many young girls who idealize and/or frequently see Minnie Mouse, this “make-over” brings a wrong message about body image and glamorizes unrealistic, unhealthy body proportions in the name of fashion.

            Although the redesigned Minnie Mouse is only for the special campaign, the fashion campaign and its redesign of Minnie Mouse have alienated many who grew up with the healthy, bubbly original. When I first saw the rendition, I didn't recognize the beloved Disney character I had grown up with. But considering the popularity and familiarity of Disney characters to kids and adults alike, I am not surprised for a company big as Disney to take advantage of this profit-generating opportunity by using its brand history.

The Cocktail Party

This ad for Maker's Mark whiskey is cleverly using the current election to get our attention.

The two characters debating/discussing are real life husband and wife--James Carville and Mary Matalin. She's in her 50s and he's in his 60s and have managed to stay married for almost twenty years despite the fact that she is and always has been a Republican. He, on the other hand, has always supported the Democratic Party. They have both worked for vice presidents and presidents in their respective parties as consultants and advisers.   They are a perfect choice for the targeted demographic, because Maker's Mark drinkers tend to be older, a little better educated than the average bourbon drinker, and politically engaged.

The New Windows 8

Since I am not regularly informed about computer technology, I was not aware of the fact that Microsoft had another version of Windows in the making. I was therefore shocked to find out that there is now a newest version of Windows, Windows 8, available in the market. I can still remember how innovative it was for us long-termWindows XP users to switch to Windows Vista, followed by a quick change to Windows 7. In my mind, the switch to Windows 7 is still very recent, and since my personal computer operates on the "outdated" Vista, I still find computers with Windows 7 really modern. I have barely learned to work with Windows 7, but apparently Microsoft executives felt that it was the right time to introduce a new software to consumers. The release of Windows 8 is definitely an example of creating planned obsolesence. Not only will consumers with perfectly functioning Windows 7 buy the new version, but they will also buy new computers to support that software. Along with Windows 8, Microsoft introduces a whole new series of unprecedented computers with rotating screens, detachable parts and minimum weight on its internet site. Windows 8 also shows Microsoft's attempt to create a software that is much more oriented towards the personal needs of the consumers. The opening screen can be personalized by the owner, so that the customer feels cherished and not part of a "faceless", generalized public.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/home

Something Different

   "A Life"

       

              "Two Worlds"

Many commercials that we see in our daily life are featuring real people, and most of them are directed at adults. These two United Airlines’ commercials are completely different, for they are animated and cartoon-like, which are much more interesting to children. Though the commercials are well-suited for children to watch, they have implicated messages that are directed to adults who watch them.

The first commercial “A Life” shows how United Airlines is integrated into the person’s life, and how important it is to the person. It shows the person’s whole life and how each stage is related to United Airlines. This commercial conveys a message that United Airlines is an important part to a meaningful life.  

The second commercial “Two Worlds” first shows a person walking in a colorless world, and after his fly with the United Airlines, everything turns colorful in the world. The company is sending a message that a fly with them will change your world. In addition, when he is experiencing the fly, he is treated like a king in that “world" and everything surrounding him is fairy-like. The company is conveying another message that a fly with United Airlines will be perfect and superior.   

I was on Facebook a couple days ago and saw this picture of Taylor Swift on a Papa John's pizza box. Under the photo's description, it said that for a certain period of time, you could buy Taylor Swift's new CD "Red" and a large Papa John's pizza for $22. While this seems like a great deal, this marketing ploy is rather annoying and redundant. Taylor Swift is perhaps the biggest country music star, if not overall music star, of the country right now. Obviously, she does not need extra publicity for she has so many fans that will buy her album regardless of how good or bad it is. I'm not trying to bast Taylor Swift; I think she's a great role model for girls and writes honest music. Yet, her lending her name and face for a pizza company seems almost desperate. Like I stated earlier, she does not need the extra advertising, especially when she released a good chunk of her new album before it was officially released. Also, Taylor seems to get a new boyfriend and break up with him every couple of months. All in all, Taylor Swift does not need the extra endorsement for she is constantly in the media. Yet, she still chooses to lend her name to products in order to sell even more copies of her CD's. I'm sure Papa John's Pizza won't hurt from selling her CD as well. The main point to take away from this is that no matter how popular you are, there is never too much publicity.

celebrity advertising

 While it's more common with young teenagers almost everybody has idolized a celebrity. When we see our favorite celebrity advertising a product we will be more likely to buy whatever it is. Marketers know that celebs hold great power and that their sells can reach all time highs if someone like Justin Bieber endorsed their product. They use their start-status to grab the attention of the young and celeb obsessed individuals.

Body Image

I found this ad while attending a meeting of the new body image club at Smith. This video depicts the false advertising that most companies participate in--distorting the bodies of their models so that they appear flawless and can presumably market the product better. I did not realize how computerized and modified the model process was until I saw this commercial. I am proud that Dove has taken a stand against using these methods to sell their products and has made a campaign for young woman about promoting a positive body image. I wish that more companies would follow in the footsteps of Dove, but people are so accustomed to "perfect" models, that embracing "normal" models would require a fundamental change in what we perceive and believe is beautiful.

You NEED More Than the Phone

     It is no secret that for the past couple of years the “it” phone as nee the rather expensive iPhone.  But it is no longer enough just to have the iPhone complete with the every famous Apple logo on the back.  Now it is all about what you do with that iPhone.  To be truly cool and in style, one must accessorize their phone with the proper case.  Now, some cases do play the important role of protecting the phone and keeping it safe from inevitable drops (The real question here is, why are these phones built so fragile and built to last not to last?), however some cases were clearly designed more for the statement than the function.

This somewhat ironic case is still within reason- it is still functional, yet has a unique and quirky design. 

This case may appear to be functional and reasonable- until you notice the price tag.  This case is made of titanium and yellow gold and will cost you more than the phone itself ($1700).

Where is the function in this? IPhones were designed to be slim and fit anywhere, yet this case will make it bulkier and more ostentatious than even the oldest flip phone. 

Even after a consumer has fallen prey to the advertisements urging them to purchase the newest thing that they do not need, they are still subjected to many more ads trying to sell them accessories that do not always fit the need.  A case for a phone makes sense- something to protect that expensive gadget, however a bedazzled My Little Pony case (which is probably more fragile than the phone itself), does not make sense.  Then, why would someone buy it? They buy it because some part of the American idea of consumer culture has told them that they have to, that they needed it, that having the cool phone was not enough and that they needed the case as well.  

Pictures and Info:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/11/iphone-5-cases-covers-buy-coolest-most-outrageous-bizarre-funny-weird_n_1956028.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003#slide=1627491

Volkswagen Vader

 

You watch the little boy in his Darth Vader costume, and you cannot help but to say "awww." This advertisement is something out of a story book. It is the perfect home life, and this car is what facilitates that awww moment. While you think it may be hard to criticize such a cute advertisement, when you watch it a second time around, a different idea reveals itself. While the child is playing, it is the mother who makes him a sandwich and the father who comes home from work in the nice car. There is a dog, a beautiful house, a yard; it is the American dream. They use these aspects of the American dream to make it so you associate their product with this perfect home identity. Women work now, they drive the cars, and they are not just found in the kitchen feeding the children. It is disturbing how when I first watched this advertisement, I thought it was cute and harmless. But really it just facilitates and encourages the idea that the men will come home from work driving the car, while the women are left in the kitchen. We have become so accustomed to these type of advertisements that we overlook their awful assumptions of a woman's role.

Angry Birds Live!

http://youtu.be/jzIBZQkj6SY

"For the first time ever, watch how people use a simple smartphone to play a life-size version of the cult Angry Birds game. Complete with real shooting birds and exploding pigs!"

In this ad, this mobile Angry Bird game was connected into a reality. This ad advertises both T-Mobile phone company and Angry Bird game. Since Angry Bird is the most popular game of the world, this ad makes people want to be in that place and try that reality Angry Bird game. 

Christmas is Coming

The last couple of days I have been hearing Christmas tunes in my head, the main being, "Here comes Santa Clause, here comes Santa Clause, right down Santa Clause lane". I couldn't understand why. Then today as I was watching television with a couple of my friends I realized what was happening. As the commercials began to roll, I started noticing a pattern: child's toy commercial, child's toy commercial, child toys commercial, than a Walmart add announcing lay-away. It seemed that this patterned would continue endlessly, and it made me realize that I was already beginning to feel as though Christmas was almost here. The bombardment of toy commercials and the constant reminder that lay-away is back caused my brain to associate both of these events with the holiday season. Which in turn made me realize that Halloween hadn't even passed and already marketers were beginning to manipulate us into believing that we needed to buy Christmas presents. It would seem that Christmas is coming sooner each year, every child's dream but not every parents. Marketers have created a world were parents need options such as lay-away in order to give their children the toys they want. Parent's should not feel the need to worry about what they are going to give their children two months from now, their only concern should be if their children need new uniforms or more school supplies. It is hard to put what we need ahead of what we want because of the world we live in. Parents feel the need to give their children these new expensive toys because they believe it will help their toddler recognize color and sound or their five year old improve his or her reading skills, when in reality they do not have to worry about such things. Toys such as these are expensive, hence the lay-away option now available at many stores offering parents this chance to buy ahead of time. Children do not need these toys, yet they feel they do because of all these advertisements telling them to ask their parents for said toys in mid October. Consequently I believe I will be hearing more Christmas tunes before Christmas season actually starts.

Pespi = power

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40DykbPa4Lc

 Funny video Enjoy.

Major companies are certainly determined to relate their product to power and succees.
This commercial reminds me on AXE the deodorant's commercial. right?
By consuming our product, you will embrace fame.

I saw this Old Spice Commercial tonight while watching a football game. The catch phrase "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" jumped out at me. After finding the ad and watching it again on YouTube, I realized that the ad itself isn't even directed at male consumers. It constantly is directed to women and what "their man could smell like". I found it odd that instead of trying to reach out to the actual consumers of this product, men, the ad instead reached out more-so to women. Granted, perhaps a women would suggest to their significant other to buy this product, ultimately the man is the one who makes that decision and therefore this confused me as to why the ad was not stronger aimed toward the male population.

Ｍ＆Ｍ’ｓ

Everyone loves M&M's. They undeniably already have a huge market in chocolate lovers. But the chocolate companies are so many today that even they can't stop innovating. This is a commercial to sell the limited edition of M&M's in red, white and blue only. It made Yellow try his best to be British but Red just keep saying No, because Yellow is not a color in Union Jack. It achieved its goal showing us how this British-only edition's different from its classic edition, and attracts consumers in a cute way. M&M commercials are always interesting, and a unique thing about them is that they are made animated rather than cast by people. Imagine you sit in the couch waiting for your favourite drama to resume, bored watching all the ads. Don't you feel refreshed when an animated commercial come in between all real ones? There are some stereotypes in the commercial too, for instance, the Morris Dancer at 0:18. It's also awkward to think that when it comes to American edition, it will have to be Red, Blue and White again.

The Power of Creativity

               

After visiting the popular internet meme site, 9gag, I came across to a series of ads created by the Science World, a science center run by a not-for-profit organization located in Vancouver, BC. At first, I had no clue what the Science World was about. But after seeing the clever marketing promotion, I became interested, and from this immediate interest, I browsed through the internet, learning that the Science World was a science center in Vancouver. Even though my family and friends live more close to the Seattle Science Museum, the ads made me convince my family and friends to drive the extra miles to visit the Science center in Vancouver.

This example shows that companies/businesses don’t have to use sexist, exclusive, and/or adverse ads to attract viewers. Although featuring attractive models and using gender stereotypes oftentimes help lure

prospective consumers in today’s society, like shown in the “ Axe Showerpooling” video I posted last week, I personally enjoyed and preferred Science World's clever, inclusive, family-friendly ads. Given their creativity, the ads were able to differentiate Science World from the Seattle Science Museum, which encouraged my family and friends to drive the extra miles to see the science center in Vancouver.

But for creativity, it seems like businesses/companies have to invest lots of resources – time and/or money – to plan and create an ad campaign that capture the audience. And so, given the effort needed to create somewhat “original” ads, businesses/companies oftentimes rely on sexist, violent, and/or mature content since they usually do a good job in inciting reactions and commanding attention from their audience.   

http://shielababes.blogspot.com/2007/11/science-world-magazine-ad-campaign.html

http://www.advertolog.com/science-world/print-outdoor/tiger-litter-box-11807205/

The Irony Behind Blush Lingerie

A popular lingerie store in Germany is called Blush. Although it's name alludes to being shy and meek towards sexuality, their advertising shows the complete opposite. In fact, the ads display female sexual dominance. In the first ad, the tagline states "Make him your sex toy." Thus, it is assumed that by wearing Blush lingerie, a woman can make her partner sexually submissive. The next ad also demonstrates this role reversal. Instead of the stereotypical woman giving a man oral sex, it is hinted that the man is about to give her oral sex. The last ad, placed on the company's shopping bag, is most surprising of all. If placed in the right position, it appears that the shopper is not wearing any pants.
At first, the idea of female sexual dominance is refreshing since so many ads showcase women being sexually submissive.  Instead, Blush Lingerie chooses to sexualize both men and women. This practice should be stopped, for it exposes a private practice that many hold sacredly. By exposing sexual advertisements to the general public, our youth generation gets the wrong impression about sex. They learn that sex is a safe and popular practice that must be practiced in order to be "normal." As a result, they never learn the ramifications of unprotected sex, including catching various STDs or becoming pregnant. Overall, sexualized advertisements only teach sex to our society instead of selling a product.

Innovative and creative advertisements for Lexus ES

Lexus has really taken a good advantage of what the internet has to offer by creating innovative advertisements for a new car model called Lexus ES. In the video above, a consumer can place his or her iPad underneath a printed Lexus ES advertisement on a magazine, and the two dimensional image becomes alive with light and movement. In addition, Lexus ES ads that appear during the commercial breaks of online episodes for TV series are interactive, meaning that the viewer can place the mouse over designated areas on the screen in order to read the information that pops up.

The image above shows the areas where viewers can click on to get more information on the car interior while watching the ad.

Women in Sports

These two advertisements promote female athletes to be the best they can be, but they also address the role media plays in how American society views women's sports. The first ad shows tennis star Anna Kournikova with an annoyed look on her face as the paparazzi and media follow her every move and compliment her on being pretty. This shows the stereotype the media is trying to promote of a white, rich, pretty, female athlete, even though there are many other great athletes of different races, socioeconomic standing, and a different definition of being beautiful. The second ad focuses on statistics for women in sports and stars younger girls who could be the future Anna Kournikovas. However, I find this ad to be less effective because even though it is dramatic, the girls are all sitting and not being active--only one girl hits a softball in the video. I think it is important to show the strength of women to help empower them to be the best, instead of promoting the stereotype of being on the sidelines.

We Are Number 2!

Have you ever seen an advertising campaign based on the fact that the company was number 2? I had never seen one either until I happened upon this image while browsing the internet:

This ad is from the 1960s.  The rental car company had not been doing well for some time, but, in an attempt to turn the company around, the new president of Avis hired an advertising company to help to create a new advertising campaign.  That ad company did their job well because within a year, Avis went from being 3.2 million dollars in debt to having a 1.2 million dollar profit.

                Would this scheme work today? It seems that Americans are so focused on being number one in everything and always trying to have the best that few would settle for a product or service advertising themselves as “Number Two”.  In Avis’s case the company really did not have much to lose.  If the scheme worked- great! If not, the company was pretty much in the same situation that they had started off in.  It would be interesting to see if this method would be able to bring a business back to life in the modern world.  Perhaps it would because although American like being the best, they also hate waiting in lines. 

Images and Information from:  http://www.ddrewdesign.com/blog/index.php?cmd=article&id=136

Vitamin Water

When I first starting seeing print ads for Vitamin Water, I was acutely aware of the target audience-white women. A young healthy looking, post workout clothes wearing Jennifer Aniston was featured with some accompanying copy that I don't remember. The words were insignificant. The visual was all that was necessary. If you relate to blond starlets, here's what you should be drinking. So, when I saw this commercial I was a little surprised at the change! It looks like the producers are aiming a yet another group-Afro-American men. The guy in this ad reminds me of a young Spike Lee. He could be a grad student, but not a hip hop artist. His look says he's intelligent. And since the video is aimed at a male audience, a little violence is thrown into the mix to keep 'em watching. By downing some Vitamin water, he's ready to take on life's challenges! The target demographic is, again, obvious.

real ads

Many ads always get commented on for picturing highly glamorous models instead of more realistic women. Dove has decided to change they way they portray their product and opt to use real women. These campaigns have been highly popular and successful and its just to show that not all advertisements are sending a negative message. 

The effect of featuring children on ads

Companies know how cherished and important children are for the adults, and that’s why more and more advertisements feature children to grab the consumers’ attention and persuade them to buy.

This commercial for Volkswagen is conveying the message that this car is the best for families. And with all the children in the ad, this video gives a feeling of warmhearted, which is a positive mood that may generate the consumers’ desire to buy.  Therefore, featuring children in the ad is a great strategy for companies to “hunt down” the consumers with kids.  

"20 Prices That Will Blow Your Mind"

I was looking through this list, and none of the prices were that shocking to me because I assumed items would cost more now than they did in 1960s (the decade in which advertising really got going). However, when I got to the television set, the similarity in price startled. It made me wonder where the TV was made, who made it, what it was made out of, and if it could be potentially harmful (on a toxic level). The relatively cheap price of television sets today is viewed as "great" by many consumers I'm sure, but I can't help but think that something inhumane is occurring during the manufacturing of this product.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/melismashable/now-and-then-20-prices-that-will-blow-your-mind

Time to Split

"An election year would seem an auspicious time to launch an ad campaign pitting right against left in a petty war whose origins are obscure and whose resolution seems all but impossible. We're speaking, of course, of the new Twix campaign from BBDO. "

Whenever I try to watch a movie or drama, I always see this Twix ad. This ad is about two inventors at Twix constantly fight over and eventually separate from each other and create two different factories, each producing their (different) own bars.  I think this ad is really funny, interesting. I think the ad producer was smart to make this ad at this time of moment because it can be easily compared to the official Obama-Romney tie as well as its own competition against other snack factories.

I also attached the Twix ad video down.
Twix ad

Smith's Advertising Identity

             I love Smith. I love the students, the professors, the alum, the beautiful campus, the traditions, and the houses. But this week I began to notice a difference in how Smith is trying to portray itself. "On Saturday, October 13, Smith College announced an ambitious $450 million campaign titled 'Women for the World: The Campaign for Smith,' an initiative with the critical goal of increasing access to a Smith education through financial aid." The idea of this campaign is amazing in every way, but if you take a look at all the beautiful Smith women on the posters, not one has the "Smith haircut" that dominates so many of the classrooms. I hadn't noticed this until after a classmate mentioned it while walking by one of the many posters around campus. While Smith celebrates its woman and diversity, it seems to have hidden, in these posters, an aspect of Smith that dominates so much of its culture. There are many woman with the "Smith haircut," and there are many woman who are lesbian.
         And when you talk to the woman they are targeting these posters to, you begin to understand why there are no short haired women in these posters. "You must have cut your hair when you got here, didn't you?" said an alum with a descending tone accourding to my housemate regarding her short bob. There has been much controversy over alums chastising Smith's direction in who they are accepting nowadays. So when Smith is asking for money from its wealthy alums, they are going to present an identity of Smith that the alums want. I have not yet met an alum that did not like me. Perhaps (this is an idea but by all means not proven or necessarily what I believe), that is due to my long blonde hair, some-what wealthy upbringing, and interest in males like them. Something I loved about Smith was how accepting its community is. When I first met my house, we introduced ourselves and were asked to tell which pronoun we preferred--whether it was he, she or gender neutral. I love the campaign and the beautiful women on the posters, I just wish it was more representative of our full diversity among Smith. It is interesting how even Smith markets itself as a certain identity to get money like many other businesses.

“ 'With a larger financial aid endowment, we can lower the economic barriers to higher education for middle- and low-income families from around the world,' said Elizabeth Mugar Eveillard, class of 1969, chair of the college’s board of trustees. 'That’s a critical step toward making Smith an even more global and diverse campus — and community — than it is today.' " I love the message this campaign is sending and the opportunities it will bring, but maybe next time we can fully show our diversity among Smith College that I fell in love with from the start.

Quotes from http://www.smith.edu/wglc/campaign.php

**Please note, none of this is to be taken offense over or even taken seriously, for I have not done the proper research or asked any of the people in charge of the campaign. This is just unproven observations about the campaign through the telescope of advertising/consumer culture identity. I am in full support of Smith and its campaigning for financial aid.

Snickers

I absolutely LOVE this Betty White commercial for Snickers that premiered at the 2010 Superbowl. There are so many spin-offs of this commercial, such as the ones starring Aretha Franklin and Liza Minnelli,  that are also very funny. Snickers does a great job trying to appeal to many generations in this advertisement buy using a young cast with one older star. Further, this ad is appealing because it has a relatable message: you are not "you" when you're hungry! Everyone has had that moment at least once in their life where you act or say something out of character because you have low blood sugar. Snickers has found a cure for this: eat their candy! I think this is very smart and well-thought out advertising by Snickers. Hopefully they will come up with another neat concept soon because these commercials are getting repetitive after being on the air for two years. 

The Pepsi Generation

Several years ago Pepsi released this commercial and it got me hooked. (Not on the product, because I rarely drink soda and I think Pepsi is too sweet!) By hooked I mean it accomplished its objective; it got me staying tuned until the very end. Unfortunately I was ultimately disappointed and found myself groaning because the last few seconds were so very hokey. The unsatisfying ending got me thinking about how bizarre it was to imagine these monks drinking a soft drink. Aren't they usually associated with a sensible, unprocessed diet? To see PepsiCo suggesting that a monastery would serve something that we in the U.S. consume in qualities that have been attributed to obesity was a bit absurd. Isn't a monastic life thought of as being one of moderation? Having a tattoo on one's forehead that resembles the top of a can of Pepsi seems to be a bit obsessive, as well.   Despite the fact that the whole idea was so far fetched  I like to think that it didn't offend anyone. And it was so refreshing not to see scantily clad women anywhere on the screen.