#REALLY?, #COMEONNOW

    

      

               Alright, so my post today is mainly a result of disbelief as I was watching the TV on Sunday morning.  I saw an advertisement so blunt, sexual, and honestly just bad, that I couldn’t believe what I was actually watching.  Let me back up some and explain some.

                The commercial is for a new type of speaker called the Beats Pill, a device that looks basically like a giant pill capsule (among other things).  The product isn’t the issue here though; the problem is the commercial that RadioShack and Beats put out for it.  I was astonished while watching a show at 9am (on a Sunday morning of all mornings) to see an ad come across the screen with women wearing plastic clothing with most of their bodies exposed.  Next I see the hashtag, #UWANTIT, come across the screen and I honestly had no clue what it was referring to…Let’s just say the product wasn’t really the first thing that came to mind.  It doesn’t get better though, next it just shows 20 seconds of models playing with a device that looks quite suggestive in poses that are just meant to be provocative.   Not a single attempt was made to show a connection to the product, instead it was all about just getting attention from the audience.  Only in the last 2 seconds of the ad was I able to see the speakers on a close up of the product and realize that it was something designed for playing music. 

What I really I can’t believe here is that this commercial managed to get past every single channel and decision maker without being nixed.  There is no big idea behind this campaign.  There is no creative consumer insight.  There is only the same old approach hoping that sex sells, regardless of the product.  Look sex does sell, but only for the right thing.  Let Victoria’s Secret use sex to sell an item.  After all, their products are closing linked to sex and the connection is an obvious one.  Lingerie and sex share a connection, a strong link that serves to actually reinstate the idea of their commercial…wearing this will make you feel and look sexier.  But this commercial is all about a speaker.  Half naked models have nothing to do with the speaker or the two companies.  I didn’t even know what the product was most the time (and my guesses where not quite so close with this one either…).  The music in the background the whole time just reemphasized the models sexuality, not the quality of the sound from the speakers.

A lack of thought or effort proves my main problem with this advertisement.  Yes it is sexist, but what gets me so annoyed is that the sexism serves no real purpose either.  It’s banal, simple, and completely over does everything.  The combination of the hashtags, the song lyrics, and the visual cues make the whole thing hilariously stupid.  If I were to show an example in class of an advertisement to avoid…this will always win.

Ads...Everywhere!

               This blog is going to be a little different than my others so far.  Instead of focusing on a single ad, I wanted to take some time to talk about something I noticed when I visited LA and Hermosa Beach over my spring break in early March.  Ads were everywhere, on billboards, posters, pretty much anywhere where someone could sell a patch of white space.  This is very different than Virginia and even Washington, D.C.  It was almost like being in an entirely different world.  Entire buildings were designed as advertisements, selling 20 story high posters of movies and games.

                In an earlier post, I talked about an ad in the super bowl this year and how it was a bit of an insight into our society.  The advertisements I saw spread all over the city of Los Angeles were no different.  In fact, to me it’s a great representation of how societal values tend to be not only molded by advertising but how they are reciprocated by them.  In a world where everyone desires perfection and upholds this ideal image of how they should be, billboards everywhere show perfect women selling products simply with the connection that the buyer might be able to feel like the women in the photo once in possession of the product being marketed.  In a world where everyday life can be quite difficult and dissonant, commercials emphasize easy escapes from it.  Whether it is a movie, an amusement park, or just a day of golfing, every ad provides a feeling of relief from the stress of real life.

                Honestly I was kind of conflicted by the whole thing.  I loved the colors, the sights, the vast collection of different marketing approaches and styles in the same place.  Yet at the same time, I would be lying to say it wasn’t at times overwhelming.  Sure it was easy enough to tune out some of the stimuli, especially those that I didn’t recognize.  But when I saw billboard after billboard where I recognized the product (or even the model for that matter), it became quite distracting.  I found it difficult to imagine living in a place where I was constantly bombarded by images not of my choosing.  I can understand now why so many consumers find advertising such a problem…no wonder people don’t trust it.  Some of the advertising was ingenious, marketing a great solution to a consumer need in an ingenious way.  Others just used worn out ideas like half-naked models or celebrity endorsements.  I mean if your Victoria Secret, the model thing probably is a good idea.  For a plumber…yea not so much.

Luckily most of these issues were just in the city instead of the entire area I was visiting.  Laws in the beach cities are much more restrictive than those in the city toward advertisement placing, so there was much less clutter where I spent a good amount of my spring break.   I still could relax when I wanted to, blocking out whatever visuals I wanted to without much thought.  Still, it was an interesting experience that made me think the connection between society and advertising as an industry.

Marketing with a Purpose

         http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/14/business/media/panera-to-advertise-its-social-consciousness-advertising.html?ref=advertisingandmarketing&_r=1&     

               Alright so it’s been awhile since I last blogged.  That’s ok though, because today I’m going to fix that with this post right here.

                I was checking out an interesting article in the New York Times online titled “Selling Products by Selling Shared Values” (link is attached) that discusses the growing importance of purpose marketing.  The idea of purpose marketing is for using advertising to help not only the company but also the consumer as well.  In other words, every company wants to position itself as a meaningful brand that provides a sense of social good and responsibility along with its product or service.  The thought behind this new positioning strategy is that customers respond quite positively to companies they feel are doing social good in the world.  To highlight this new wave of purpose marketing, the article describes Panera’s new slogan of “Live Consciously, Eat Deliciously”.  In order to differentiate between their competition, Panera has utilized its advertising to focus on their role in helping the community by using local, natural ingredients and donating their left over bread to those in need.  As a result, they have set themselves up as a bar above the rest.

                So it would appear the purpose marketing is a new wave in advertising that’s here to stay.  Is this a good thing? I say most definitely yes.  First just think of all the positive consequences it can have for our society.  Companies that use resources responsibly and think about the long term will benefit everyone.  I would gladly pay a little more if it’s going to a company trying to make a difference in a cause it closely associates itself with.  Second, think about how much this will help advertising.  Purpose marketing will give a company a unique and unifying idea behind its strategy.  Everything from the message to the creative aspects of advertising will focus on one overall statement, something that will provide clarity to not only those advertising but those receiving them as well.  Overall, the concept of purpose marketing is one that should be embraced by companies as they continue to realize its growing importance in the marketplace.

Red Bull: Producing Inspiration

        

              For the past couple of weeks, I have seen this Red Bull commercial played over and over again on channels all over the television networks.  On sports channels, news channels, even comedy channels, it seems like everywhere I go I see this commercial playing.  The more I see it though, the more I love it.  Let me explain why.

             First off, let me just be honest and say that I’m not a huge fan of energy drinks.  Red Bull is decent but I wouldn’t call myself a repeat customer by any means.  But what I love about this advertisement is not the product (which isn’t even mentioned) but the message.  Instead of advertising Red Bull’s energy drink, the company has dedicated its advertisements as a way to reinforce the type of lifestyle of those who use the drink.  A life filled with excitement and wonder, a world where impossible is not even a thought.  The music, the imagery, the poetic narration…it all just works beautifully together here. 

They use the athletes they sponsor brilliantly in this commercial.  The focus isn’t on the individual person or sport but rather the ability to dream inherent in every person.  These are the best athletes in their prospective sports, but do they focus on the athlete? No.  Do they use them directly as a spokesperson? No.  They show them doing what they do best, turning the impossible into the remarkable.  We are drawn into the commercial in such a way were we become the athlete.  We sail over the alpine forest, surf across the blue ocean, and ski down the highest mountain peaks.  They are remarkable not because of their abilities but rather because of the attitude instilled in them.  In a world filled with majestic beauty, we too can be just as amazing by following our passions.  Suddenly our whole world opens up more.  We can accomplish anything with the right mindset.  The very end of the message portrayed sums this theme up perfectly, “The only limit is the one you set yourself”. It serves as a call to action for every individual watching the commercial.  Be amazing, do the impossible.  Red Bull transcends itself from an energy drink producer to a company focused on achieving the impossible. Who could possibly argue against that?

A New Kind of Research in Advertising

               http://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/13/business/media-business-advertising-research-methods-are-being-developed-help-advertisers.html

                For this post I wanted to discuss an interesting article I found in the New York Times.  Although it’s from April 13^th, 2000, the topic is still very much relevant to some of the issues associated with advertising research today.

                So to start off, I would like to quickly explain what’s going on in the article.  One of the most heavily relied on research methods for the advertising for decades has been the focus group; a group of target consumers interviewed to give their opinion and experiences with a certain product or brand.  While these do provide insights into customers’ thoughts, they have a major problem.  All you learn is what the person tells you directly.  This becomes an issue when consumers tend to tell you one thing and believe something else.  Maybe they are afraid of being judged, maybe they are just trying to go along with the rest of the crowd; point is, it can be hard to actually know whether the responses you get are the truth or a version constructed by the focus group member.  To fix these issues, marketers are developing new initiatives to gain consumer insight.  New techniques such as tracking responses in the skin to stimuli, monitoring brain wave activity, and even picture scales representing different emotions have been created to better access consumer thinking.  Still, there tends to be a heavy reliance on the old focus group method.

                Now, what is the significance of all this? It goes to show that advertising research is nowhere near as reliable as many of us would hope.  Sure focus groups can give us some basic insight, but even if a consumer can tell us what they choose very often they have trouble articulating the “why” behind it.  Even people expertly trained in running such groups can have a hard time getting the information out of the participants that they are searching for in the group.  This technique has become a crutch, relied upon far too heavily. 

As advertising becomes more complex and insightful, so too much our research.  The new methods of neurological research will become an invaluable tool in the future as we slowly work toward a more accurate picture of the consumer decision making process.  These techniques can show consumer involvement with commercials, hidden feelings toward ads, and even desires for products not articulated by consumers.  We can study the deeper emotions experienced by participants and gain a truer understanding of not the “what’ but they “why” behind the decisions they make. 

The truth is none of these individual research methods can uncover 100% of the information advertisers need.  Nothing by itself can provide all the information required, whether it be research for a advertising firm or just a simple school project.  The best strategy will be to continue to use our old methods but add in these new practices as well.  Following this strategy will allow us a full picture of the puzzle, not just awareness of a piece or two.  And once we can see the big picture, we can finally communicate to the consumer the true value to them inherent in the good, service, or idea being marketed.