Ok, so this is my last post, and i hope this one isn't too late to be included, I'm going to try and get it done before class so hopefully it will be countable.
Next let me say that I started this semester hoping to learn a lot about advertising by keeping this diary and some of the things that motivates companies to create the ads they use, and maybe start paying attention to advertisements. And i'd like to say that i feel it was successful. I don't look at ads all the time, but at least I don't just change the channel as soon as one comes on T.V., or just dismiss them in magazines as often as i used to anymore. I also feel that keeping my diary online helped me to do this because it forced me to actually pay attention and try to keep up with it since i knew other people could see it and because of this i didn't wait until the night before to do the assignments like i would have with a regular book. I actually made my plans wait on some nights so i could keep up with this and had a lot of fun finding commercials and advertisements to use. But i really do think this diary was a great way to learn outside the classroom and made me realize how much advertising really was around me.
I also think commercials have more of an effect on people than they even realize. If you look just on Youtube.com and type in the word commercials many actual commercials will come up, but also many commercials were remade by people, that had to have been inspired by those commercials in some way or other, or else they wouldn't have felt the need to remake them for whatever purpose.
And other companies also look at commercials and advertisements from their competitors and see what they are doing in a way to figure out their own advertising strategy and campaigns. for example the Mac and PC commercials for Microsoft were spoofed for other companies and they turned out slightly similar ads.
Then there are the people who don't really pay attention to a commercial but end up buying the product over a competitor, just because they now recognize it because of the advertisement they saw.
Which goes to show something I didn't really realize before this class and doing the participation diary: the magnitude of, many many people who do pay attention to advertising and how effective it really is for businesses whether people think so or not.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Sunday, April 22, 2007
In order to compete with popular coffee shops such as Starbucks, McDonald's is working with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. to incorporate its Newman's Own Organics coffee into their morning breakfast menu. I feel this is a smart move by McDonald's because they had to do something to compete with the popular coffee houses, and they could not make the process of making a burger too much faster, if I remember right their record is about 10 seconds, or allow people to pick, choose, and
watch like they do at subway. First of all, I don't think people would like to see their food being cooked in all that grease, that up close and personal. Secondly, it probably wouldn't be the safest thing to do , having the customers that close to the grease, there would probably be a lawsuit or two. But by incorporating the new type of coffee into their menu, it can help bring business because people are already in their cars driving to work and probably hungry, since a lot of people don't have time to eat breakfast like they should every morning. This way they can just stop for their meal and have something good to drink, since McDonald's was not previously known for having good coffee at all. But by doing this while having the convenience of not having to get out of your car, like at competitor's Starbucks, it may also help them to get some of their business back. Another change that McDonald's has made to its morning coffee is that you no longer have to worry about spilling our coffee all over yourself and car while trying to put in your cream and sugar. All you have to do is tell the drive through worker how much you would like and they do it for you. This also makes stopping at McDonald's much more convenient, since all you have to do is drive up get your coffee and continue on your way to work, no fuss.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Yea, I know, I've been really bad with posting these last few weeks. I've had a lot of good ideas, but life's been getting in the way (this week especially with Spring Into Success, everyone should come, its really interesting and there is free food and prizes) and I haven't had the time to sit down and write. Believe me, my cell is full of mini notes I've written to myself about topics to write on. So I've decided to make this a giant post of a few ads that I'm going to try to work on extremely hard today between my classes. Hopefully this will make up for the ones I've missed.
The first series of ads that I want to talk about is Starbucks.
Personally, I love this ad. I find it comical that a guy would have his own set of cheering fans and a mascot ready to cheer him on throughout the day. I think Starbucks did a good job with this commercial publicizing its double shot espresso drinks in the can. They speak to a target market of younger people who have a lot to do during the day and may need that extra kick of caffeine to get them through it. Also, everybody in the commercial cheering Hank on through his day, which is a thought that would boost most people's spirits to think that there is at least one person out there who wants them to do well. Plus I also thought it was creative how they changed the "hey" to "Hank" because not many names would have worked too well with that song. But the only thing I don't like about this commercial is it kind of displays vampire creativity, because I remembered the commercial, but until I saw it again, I couldn't remember what the ad was for. This tends to be a big problem with funny commercials, but I think they could have helped people remember it a little bit better by putting the Starbucks' name and logo on more things than just his can, because even when they showed it, it still didn't seem to be a main focus of the commercial.
The next series of ads that I found interesting is Target's. Target has gone through many commercial changes. One of my favorites in terms of creativity is this one:
I love how in this commercial they took normal people doing normal summer things, such as getting a haircut, surfing, and playing volleyball, and turned them into products. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before this one. Also, it is easy to figure out and remember that it is a Target commercial because they consistently use the Target red and white colors for a background, and mix it with music that tends to fit Target, kind of an out there mix of songs that wouldn't go right with just any commercial. I also like how they use some products in the commercial that you wouldn't normally associate with Target, to show that they do have a little bit of everything there. Some of these items include the grill and tools, normally when I think of those items I think of places like Sears, which sells the same types of things as Target, just at a bit of a higher price, which most people would associate with a higher quality, even when that's not always the case . Honestly, until this commercial, I had walked past those items while there, but never thought of them being there. So I think that this commercial also did a good job of informing people that they do sell more than just the basic clothes and games and things while making sure that you don't forget it is a Target commercial.
A third type of ads that I want to discuss has to do with brand imaging and labeling. The company
I think does epically well with this is Apple. Apple started as a computer manufacture, and now makes I-pods, I-macs, I-phones....and all of these items carry its brand logo. This is really good for Apple because as long as they keep associating the logo with all of their items, and they use the letter "I" before all of their products, I feel people will never forget who makes the product. And when talking about the ipod, you can't help but mention all the accessories Apple makes for it. There is the Ipod Hi-Fi, which is a "compact sound system with an integrated Universal Dock for iPod that fills the room with rich, audiophile-quality sound." Then there is the I-dream, a pillow for your Ipod, complete with speakers. But you need more that just places to dock it, you also need accessories when your on the go, such as cases made out of everything from sock material to silicone, so your Ipod can be both stylish, as well as somewhat protected. And the Ipod wouldn't be complete without a place to save and load the music and videos you want on it without Itunes. Then with the Imacs, you now have the I life, which is a software program that consolidates all of your digital media into one easy to access set of files. I think this has done wonders for the Apple company because they were able to take a computer company that had to compete with many others doing the same exact thing, and expand it with one easy to remember letter, that even though is targeted at the young, appeals to most people. And because they did use one basic for for everything, people don't easily confuse Apple products with others made by its competitors. Also by keeping things simple, Apple has been able to expand much further than anyone would have thought possible ten or twenty years ago and attach its name to many types of technologies, allowing them to branch their company and make a much larger profit.
The final ad I'd like to talk about is this Nike ad that was banned in the USA.
I like how it shows the times. This ad was definitely made in the 1980's during the big slasher movie craze, and was unfortunately banned because it apparently played too much on women's fears. I however thought it was a good commercial. I think it reflects the times and what was popular, and what's better for a commercial for a women's running shoes than a situation that would make you have to run? Plus, it obviously pokes a little fun at the big, bad Michael Myers and says that even this supposed devil man can't even keep up. And I think it shows women in a positive light, she's stronger and faster than her adversary, because of this she is able to get away. A good advertiser must know how to capitalize on the time and I feel this one really did. I think it would have appealed to many women, especially those concerned with safety. but i also think it would appeal to the average women runners, who want a shoe that they feel might make them run faster. And even though I personally don't think it should have been banned, I can understand how it might make some women feel less safe, especially if they are easily scared by these movies, or just have a fear of a similar situation happening to them. The commercial was even pointed it out that by having false advertising in it, which is unethical, by saying that you will live longer by wearing Nike shoes. But, like i said before, I think this commercial was harmless and the only people offended would be the ones looking to be offended by it.
The first series of ads that I want to talk about is Starbucks.
Personally, I love this ad. I find it comical that a guy would have his own set of cheering fans and a mascot ready to cheer him on throughout the day. I think Starbucks did a good job with this commercial publicizing its double shot espresso drinks in the can. They speak to a target market of younger people who have a lot to do during the day and may need that extra kick of caffeine to get them through it. Also, everybody in the commercial cheering Hank on through his day, which is a thought that would boost most people's spirits to think that there is at least one person out there who wants them to do well. Plus I also thought it was creative how they changed the "hey" to "Hank" because not many names would have worked too well with that song. But the only thing I don't like about this commercial is it kind of displays vampire creativity, because I remembered the commercial, but until I saw it again, I couldn't remember what the ad was for. This tends to be a big problem with funny commercials, but I think they could have helped people remember it a little bit better by putting the Starbucks' name and logo on more things than just his can, because even when they showed it, it still didn't seem to be a main focus of the commercial.
The next series of ads that I found interesting is Target's. Target has gone through many commercial changes. One of my favorites in terms of creativity is this one:
I love how in this commercial they took normal people doing normal summer things, such as getting a haircut, surfing, and playing volleyball, and turned them into products. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before this one. Also, it is easy to figure out and remember that it is a Target commercial because they consistently use the Target red and white colors for a background, and mix it with music that tends to fit Target, kind of an out there mix of songs that wouldn't go right with just any commercial. I also like how they use some products in the commercial that you wouldn't normally associate with Target, to show that they do have a little bit of everything there. Some of these items include the grill and tools, normally when I think of those items I think of places like Sears, which sells the same types of things as Target, just at a bit of a higher price, which most people would associate with a higher quality, even when that's not always the case . Honestly, until this commercial, I had walked past those items while there, but never thought of them being there. So I think that this commercial also did a good job of informing people that they do sell more than just the basic clothes and games and things while making sure that you don't forget it is a Target commercial.
A third type of ads that I want to discuss has to do with brand imaging and labeling. The company
I think does epically well with this is Apple. Apple started as a computer manufacture, and now makes I-pods, I-macs, I-phones....and all of these items carry its brand logo. This is really good for Apple because as long as they keep associating the logo with all of their items, and they use the letter "I" before all of their products, I feel people will never forget who makes the product. And when talking about the ipod, you can't help but mention all the accessories Apple makes for it. There is the Ipod Hi-Fi, which is a "compact sound system with an integrated Universal Dock for iPod that fills the room with rich, audiophile-quality sound." Then there is the I-dream, a pillow for your Ipod, complete with speakers. But you need more that just places to dock it, you also need accessories when your on the go, such as cases made out of everything from sock material to silicone, so your Ipod can be both stylish, as well as somewhat protected. And the Ipod wouldn't be complete without a place to save and load the music and videos you want on it without Itunes. Then with the Imacs, you now have the I life, which is a software program that consolidates all of your digital media into one easy to access set of files. I think this has done wonders for the Apple company because they were able to take a computer company that had to compete with many others doing the same exact thing, and expand it with one easy to remember letter, that even though is targeted at the young, appeals to most people. And because they did use one basic for for everything, people don't easily confuse Apple products with others made by its competitors. Also by keeping things simple, Apple has been able to expand much further than anyone would have thought possible ten or twenty years ago and attach its name to many types of technologies, allowing them to branch their company and make a much larger profit.The final ad I'd like to talk about is this Nike ad that was banned in the USA.
I like how it shows the times. This ad was definitely made in the 1980's during the big slasher movie craze, and was unfortunately banned because it apparently played too much on women's fears. I however thought it was a good commercial. I think it reflects the times and what was popular, and what's better for a commercial for a women's running shoes than a situation that would make you have to run? Plus, it obviously pokes a little fun at the big, bad Michael Myers and says that even this supposed devil man can't even keep up. And I think it shows women in a positive light, she's stronger and faster than her adversary, because of this she is able to get away. A good advertiser must know how to capitalize on the time and I feel this one really did. I think it would have appealed to many women, especially those concerned with safety. but i also think it would appeal to the average women runners, who want a shoe that they feel might make them run faster. And even though I personally don't think it should have been banned, I can understand how it might make some women feel less safe, especially if they are easily scared by these movies, or just have a fear of a similar situation happening to them. The commercial was even pointed it out that by having false advertising in it, which is unethical, by saying that you will live longer by wearing Nike shoes. But, like i said before, I think this commercial was harmless and the only people offended would be the ones looking to be offended by it.
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