Well…

I’m kind of thinking there’s only so much I can say about advertisements, whether I like them or not. It was all well and good while I was in class and it was an assignment, but I’m thinking I’d much rather focus my energies on my other blog.

KGB

So here we go: the first commercial I’ve discussed that I actually detest.

Call me prude, but I don’t find this funny at all. But before I can talk about all my cute little categories, I suppose I should mention that, like P&G, I had never heard of KGB. Turns out, they sell a service that I tend to think is retarded. No wonder I didn’t know about it.

Target Audience: Clearly not me. I honestly found this commercial so distasteful that I shared it with my boyfriend, for a little reassurance that I am not alone in the world. Much to my chagrin, he and his roommate thought it was hilarious (although he quickly informed me that I was totally right in not liking it). So there you have it; the target audience is young men.

Primary Method: Personifying a trite saying. I actually think this is really clever, as much as I dislike the commercial.  It’s just a really unique way of getting around to illustrating what your product does. And, thankfully, they are trying to tell us something useful about their product: presumably, being able to skip the search engine and go straight to the answer would be a fairly good way to keep your head out of your ass. But only because these people are clearly not as awesome at using Google as I am.

Message: Using KGB will help you keep your head out of your ass. Or, “you’re too stupid to use Google, so we’re happy to deliver the answer to you instead.” Honestly, I would like to see how this works in real life. It’s not like there can possibly be someone on the other end of the text message physically typing in the answer to the question, right? So it must be a computer program of some sort, right?

Wrong. There is physically someone on the other end of the text who receives the question, researches it on Google, and then sends back the answer they find. Really? Really? Please tell me I am not the only one who finds this pathetic. Please.

Anderson Consulting

The class is over, so I’m now able to just post as I please, which leaves me with a couple conundrums. Do I move this over to where my other blog is? Do I move that one over here?

While I debate these things, take a look at a commercial my lovely mother found for me:

http://videosostav.ru/video/d2d2020c1479400b1f106f810d08a457/

You know what this reminds me of?

Seriously.

Target Audience: I suppose it’s just because I have in my head the Finding Nemo clip, but I just can’t imagine how this is aimed at adults. Yet…what child gives a rats about a consulting service? However, if they’re trying to explain how consulting works in overly simplistic terms to people who are afraid of the process, they’re doing a darn good job at that. So there you go; they’re targeting newbies.

Primary Method: Equating working with a consultant to swimming in a school. As the school makes it less likely that a predator catches a particular fish, working with a consultant lowers that risk that you, individually, will get screwed. I mean, this particular commercial isn’t really making any bizarre claims or jumps of logic, they’re basically just telling you the benefits of working with them. Without telling you how much they’re going to charge.

Message: Working with a consultant is smart. Yes, yes it is. And actually, this is probably exaggerated, because if they’re trying to get newbies involved, it’s way smarter to use a consultant than go out on your own. (Not that I actually know anything about anything).

Hmm, I’m thinking about doing a commercial I don‘t like next time. Maybe that will be more fun?

Vick’s

So this is easily one of my favorite commercials on TV:

The Vick’s Sleepers always make me laugh, and I think the main reason is that they’re all so normal. Which brings me to…

Target Audience: Normal people. Now, I have a bit of confusion regarding this, because I think what they think they’re saying is that Vick’s is for all normal people…or maybe what they think we will think is that Vick’s is for all normal people. And I certainly don’t want to argue that they’re not advertising for normal people, but more specifically, I think they’re advertising for normal people in their early 30s and 40s. I’m stating this on no other evidence than the fact that those are the people specifically portrayed in the commercial, but I think they appeal to parents in other commercials, teens in some, and athletes in still others, so I’m hoping you agree that my views are fairly well grounded.

Primary Method: Using normal people. I guess this doesn’t seem like much of a method, but I think it says a lot for a company when they use normal people for their commercials instead of tiny models or celebrities or “professionals”. Companies have to be careful with things like this, though, because everyone is used to the “normal people” infomercials about miracle weight loss creams and lifealert necklaces. To combat this, Vick’s made sure that no one was speaking in the whole commercial. Yet we get it.

Message: Normal people use Vick’s. Yup, yup they do. Really this is a pretty dang good message to go for, since normal people is who they’re trying to attract. And what I find really interesting about this commercial is that the target audience (maybe?) the primary method, and the message are all the same.

I mean, on top of that you just have the fact that this is a creative and funny commercial.

[Edit: I just realized, is the message really that normal people use Vick's, or is it that Vick's helps you sleep through the night? I think there's a disconnect between what the commercial says and what it is actually trying to get embedded in people's brains, but I thought I'd bring up my wavering commitment anyway-- that way you can decide on your own!]

Honda

So while trying to come up with a commercial to do (do I go with the Vicks sleepers, even though that commercial is long off the air? Do I find one of those irritating car advertisements where the manufacturer of millions of identical automobiles talks about how unique you are for wanting their car?) So while I was searching for the latter, just to see what’s out there, I discovered probably the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen used as an advertisement.

Now, forgive me if you’ve seen this, but I must have been off in La La land when this commercial aired.

And before you tell me how stupid I am for liking this because it’s obviously completely computer animated, I’d have you take time out of your busy schedule to see this (explanation starts at 1:59):

See? It is real!

Target Audience: Geeks! Also, young people. And probably car enthusiasts. I really think that this commercial is going to appeal to anyone who has ever created 1. A dominoes line 2. A marble factory 3. A chain reaction. In all seriousness, I doubt that there’s very many people to whom that commercial wouldn’t appeal. It’s fascinating, it’s riveting, and the whole time the viewer is trying to figure out how it works.

Primary Method: Attracting attention. I mean, really, there’s not much else this commercial does for viewers except for show off the brilliance of their marketing team. Sure, they show off that their wipers are water-sensitive, but if they wanted to show off how great their car was, they would spend more time showing the car and what it does, and less time showing off that it uses tires. Tires guys! Wow!

Message: And this is what I find hilarious, especially after watching the “how it’s made” video; what Honda is trying to say is their car ‘just works’. Just like this commercial ‘just works’. Just like, after 600 takes, 6 years, and hundreds of failed ideas, this chain reaction ‘just works’. If their car takes 600 tries to get the engine to turn over, I’m afraid I’m not interested in a Honda. However, if I had not watched the “how it’s made” video, I would probably be profoundly effected by this commercial. I mean, they have all these car parts, and they must have gotten some mechanics in there with some artists and some tech guys to figure out how to make it all work and then it does and it’s perfect so if their car works like the two takes they clipped together in the commercial, then I’m game. If it works like reality I might have to take a gander at GM.

But let me tell you something, if more commercials aired with creativity like this, I would be much more stuck to the TV. And then I would never get anything done.

Delta Faucets

This is a little bit of an older commercial, but I really enjoyed it when it was out a few months ago, and I was really happy to see it again.

First of all, I love this commercial because it features one of the most famous TV personalities ever. Name someone who hasn’t heard of Count von Count, really. Otherwise, I think the reason I like it is because I so readily relate to it! I can not name how many times I’ve gotten frustrated because I get clay or cake batter or paint or glue on faucet handles, and here they show examples of reasons to be frustrated, as well as presenting their solution to the common problem.

Target Audience: My first gut instinct on this one was Mothers. Mothers are the ones who stereotypically get stuck with the dishes and therefore use the faucet most. Mothers are the ones that deal which their children’s messes, do the crafts with their children, and are basically stuck with most of the cleaning-up chores. And then I realized; There’s nothing gender-specific about this commercial at all. Any stay-at-home parent would find this attractive. So there you go, I got stuck in a gender role stereotype. Still, if the company is trying to reach the most amount of people, they’re going to generally go for the stereotypical roles. It’s just what the greatest percentage of people do, and what they want to do is reach the greatest percentage of people. I think it’s really great that this particular company found a way to attract both stay-at-home Mothers and Fathers in one commercial.

Primary Method: Presenting a problem that is solved by their product. How dumb am I that I think it is really cool that a company is actually using their product to get customers? Instead of, say, associating an emotion with a product or buying out a charity to look good to consumers. Don’t get me wrong, they’re also putting in a cute kid’s song that some Mothers and Fathers probably recognize and using some really fun imagery, but I would still say that their primary method is showing off their product. How cool are you, Delta?

Message: Delta faucets can make your life easier. And really, stay-at-home parents need a way to make their lives easier, and any little thing will do it.  Delta seems to do this a lot; their most recent one (which can be found on their website and is titled “Snake Charmer”) discusses a magnet in the faucet that makes it easier to use, and another (called “Diamond” on the same website) talks about how their diamond coating makes it last longer. They still all use music and they still all have professional, generally beautiful, images, but they’re still promoting what their product does over how they want their product to make you feel.

So in light of how I feel about this commercial, was I too harsh on the Sticky Tires commercial?

P&G

What I really wanted to write about today was those Vicks commercials with the totally normal people sleeping but that commercial seems to no longer exist, so instead I give you a cute-overload. Observe:

The whole time I watched this commercial I couldn’t figure out where they were going with replacing all the Olympic athletes with children, but it was awfully cute, so I went with it and then BAM they hit me with the “You’ll always be your Mommy’s baby” message that I was absolutely not expecting. Adorable.

Before I get into the whole break down, I thought I’d do a little delving into what exactly the company does, since I admit I had never heard of them. Turns out, not only should I know them, I use a variety of their products every day; Such products as Bounty, Crest, Dawn, Downy, Duracell, Gain, Gillette, Ivory, Nice ‘n Easy, Olay, Pantene, Pringles, Puffs, Secret, Tide, and Vicks (to name only a few of their million-dollar-products). So there you go; Vicks is being discussed after all.

So!

Target Audience: I am so excited to talk about one that’s not geared directly toward me! This one is quite obviously geared to the Mommys out there, who they’ve decided are the main purchasers of their product. And what Mother doesn’t put themselves in the same category as Olympic Mothers when they see their son or daughter achieve something wonderful, like creating a perfect Excel Spreadsheet or making the bed in the morning? Of course, by aligning themselves with the Olympics, they’re also appealing to a whole other range of sports fans, Olympic hopefuls, and couch potatoes. But in all honesty, who could avoid their products, even if they tried?

Primary Method: And we’re back to pairing emotions with products. The strange thing is, this is a lot less of a one-to-one ratio as previous commercials I’ve examined. This commercial instead is attempting to put a positive emotion on a whole 21 billion dollar commercial giant. It’s simply not possible to have one commercial wield that much power, so what is the point of a conglomerate of 90 different brands releasing an ad such as this one?

Message: I think, and trust me I’m not an expert, that the point is this; Even a company that makes this many billions and has this far of a reach still cares about their customers. I would claim that we see this in several different places, and P&G is simply the latest to jump on the bandwagon. Dove is doing it with their Campaign for Real Beauty, Disney’s got it going on with their free tickets to volunteers, and McDonalds has been doing it for years with the Ronald McDonald House. On one side, this kind of makes me angry; They are donating, not out of the love in their hearts, but because it’s good for business. On the other side (and I have to talk myself into this side), the money is going to something good, so what do I care where the funds come from? And I know that there are tons of people working there that really love what they do and are happy they can  help.

So what do you think? Am I overreacting about the whole situation?

Google

I am so excited that someone suggested a commercial! So here you go, a reader suggestion!

And honestly, one of the cutest commercials I have ever seen.  I actually did not have the joy of seeing this during the Superbowl (I missed it! So un-American) but I have since watched it several times online, and it makes me smile every time! It has pretty, fun music in the background, and in the span of 52 seconds it is able to tell a story of a college student studying abroad, and meeting someone who convinces him to move to Paris and have a family together. Adorable right?!

Target Audience: I think this one is fairly obvious; it is appealing, as most of the commercials I’ve looked at do, to college students. I would like to claim that it’s specifically appealing to college women who think the idea of going abroad and falling in love is hopelessly romantic and can’t help but tear up at the end (not that I did any such thing) but I worry that I’ll get some backlash from men saying that they, too were affected. I think though, that there’s a case for a practical appeal to just about anyone. We are in an economic slump, and so to be able to “have an adventure” every time you use Google search is pretty attractive.  Also, they’re advertising something that is completely and entirely free. To everyone.

Primary Method: A story. This is probably my favorite method for commercials, and it is so rarely used because it’s so difficult. In 52 seconds we get a story from this commercial, in such a way that we have an emotional connection to what is happening in this non-existent person’s life. It takes a movie three hours to do this. It took Ayn Rand over a thousand pages. Stories are so vital to the way we live that these commercials appeal to us very directly. What I also find very fascinating is that this commercial is very unlike the other commercials I’ve covered. Instead of trying to tie together random pictures or emotions with a product, Google is actually displaying what their product does. Strange that this is an unusual trait…

Message: Google will change your life. Now, before I go into this, I have a confession to make. As far as marketing goes, I’m all over Google. Google could tell me that the law of gravity was going to switch directions tomorrow, and I would probably believe it. For all my declaring that I hate brands…I love Google. But my faith in the giant only goes so far; I’m fairly skeptical of Google’s ability to change my life. I have faith in Google to give me reliable directions (usually) and to remind me what that store on the corner is called, but I sincerely doubt that a few free searches on Google are going to yield life changing results. However, they do have that really cool display of what Google search can do, such as translations at :15, integrated maps at :22, and definitions at :25. And I do have faith in that!

So as far as effectiveness goes, I guess I’m going to have to say that Google’s marketing is highly effective, at least for me, personally. I have these bizarre times when I accidentally use a different search engine, and I have to tell you, I find it highly irritating. Google is the God of search engines as far as I’m concerned.

Which means that, after all this discussing how much I detest brands and companies and million dollar marketing campaigns, what we have here is me telling you I’ve been hooked. Hoodwinked. Bamboozled.

Which I guess just means that sometimes it’s ok to have some brand loyalty.

American Express

These commercials never fail to make me smile. I’m sure you’ve seen several of these, but here’s one just as a reminder:

So first, they chose a highly recognizable, beautiful song as the background, that has a perfect change half way through the commercial that our mind can slightly relate with an emotion; half “sad” and half “happy”. Second, they’ve done a really clever thing with the faces. Don’t all of you remember seeing faces in everything when you were little kids?

So what we have here is a commercial for a credit card (which I don’t have) appealing directly to me. Luckily, I’ve been able to resist this one, but they’re genius to appeal to college students, because hundreds of others are not so lucky. So lets break this down:

Target Audience: College students (as mentioned). Also, people who travel. And people who, erm, buy things. But mainly college students. If American Express can convince a college student that they need a credit card now, they’ll have them for life (or until the college student breaks under the mounds of debt). When I was younger, I never understood why a company would want to do something for their customers that would essentially be bad for them. For instance, why appeal to the college age group when most of them will screw up and be unable to pay the card company? But really, it’s a fairly good thing to get into. While most college students will have more debt than they know what to do with after college, a very small percentage will actually go bankrupt. Most of them will simply pay interest-only payments for the rest of their lives, and make the card companies bunches and bunches of money. Genius business move, American Express, genius business move. (Evil, but genius.)

Primary Method: Associating an emotion with a product. In the Bridgestone Tires post, one commenter noticed that a lot of commercials were using a series of images to only slightly connect to a product in the last scene, and I would say that’s a very good way to explain this commercial, also. American Express cards are not directly associated with either happy faces or sad faces, but by placing their message exactly at :26 with the word “happily,” the change in the music, and the happy faces instead of the sad faces, we make this jump from the emotion ‘happiness’ and the product “American Express.” It’s totally arbitrary, but what’s the problem with that, I suppose?

Message: American Express will make you happy. This is as opposed to other cards and as opposed to living without a card at all. American Express will make you happy because if something you buy gets damaged within three months from the purchase date, it can get replaced (as long as you are willing to send in the receipt, a copy of the card statement, the damaged item, and their form).

If you threw away the receipt on day 87, tough for you (I personally throw away receipts on day 1). If the item was stolen, you need a police report and a copy of your insurance policy (they’re not about to pay you if you’re already getting paid).  They will not replace “travelers checks, tickets of any kind, negotiable instruments…cash or its equivalent; animals or living plants; rare stamps or coins; consumable or perishable items with limited life spans…; antique or previously owned items; motorized vehicles and watercraft, aircraft, and motorcycles or their motors, equipment, parts or accessories; stolen or damaged property consisting of articles in a pair or set” so God forbid you lose one shoe. If your item got ruined in a war, riot, or natural disaster, they are not going to help you. So, American Express makes you happy as long as you lose the right item in the right way, in the right time frame. Thanks, American Express! You make me happy.

Thankfully, their commercial did make me happy– although it did not make me sign up for a credit card. What did it do for you?

I am home with the flu, but maybe all of you are lucky enough to be out and about! Have a fabulous week, and thanks, as usual, for reading!

Bridgestone Tires

Moving on from jeans to tires! I actually only saw this commercial once, and I was with my boyfriend, my brother, and my two cousins. We were in the middle of a conversation and we all actually stopped talking to watch this commercial.

Sadly, I can’t embed this one, so follow the link and click on “Sticky“

Now, when the commercial first came on we were really enraptured by it. It is a really cool montage with some seriously sticky substances, all building up to the last scene where the tire is sticking to the road. When I saw that last tire scene, I was thoroughly disappointed. In fact, I think all of us sitting there gave a simultaneous sigh of annoyance.

Nevertheless, it got my attention. So why was I, a 20-year-old who typically calls Daddy when anything car-related comes up, interested in the slightest in tires?

Target Audience: This is what I find most fascinating about this commercial. How can I possibly be the target audience for this commercial? I don’t care about tires, stick on the ones on sale, for goodness sake. They’re all the same, right? My two cousins, 13 and 15-year-old girls, couldn’t care less about tires. I would even bet that my boyfriend and my brother, 20 and 21, also don’t care about tires. Men, sure, but what 20-year-old actually thinks about the tires on his car, as long as they allow him to drive fast? However, I can think of some people who may be interested in the commercial: Parents. Especially because the one time I did see this commercial, LA was having its worst rain in the past year, and I’m fairly certain that everyone in the county hydroplaned at least once. But if parents were the target of this ad, why the quick montage? Maybe they’re targeting the parents of very young children, who have the same sensory-overload habits of the college age group? Honestly, that’s all I can figure. If someone has a better idea, please clue me in!

Primary Method: I think with their montage of all the sticky things they’re trying to appeal to people who are so immersed in technology that they think at that kind of pace. What with texting and internet and internet on phones and netbooks and all the younger half of the American population being constantly linked in to everything in the world all the time, we just think differently. It’s not the linear, methodical thinking of our great-grandparents world, that’s for sure.  So with that montage, they’re pulling our thoughts through all these associations, most of the fairly positive (bubble gum, as a bubble or on the ground, reminds us of kid days; baseball is a pretty positive thought; pizza is good; caramel apples are better; and mud is glorious…if you’re a boy) and then linking these positive emotions from these images to their tires. I’m a little incredulous about the sound the tires seem to be making against the snow, but since it associates so well, I suppose I’ll leave it be.

Message: Bridgestone tires are safer than the tires on your car. If your car’s tires don’t sound like Silly Putty pulling off expensive carpet (not that I would know what that sounds like) you’re in bad shape. Bridgestone is willing to correct your silly, silly mistake. In this way, they’re definitely appealing to the young mother who hydroplanes with her son in the back seat and has a mini-panic attack.

What I find interesting is how this relates to the Levi’s analysis. Instead of showing a luxury car with expensive tires, Bridgestone is presenting the issue of safety to viewers. While young families aren’t willing to blow the cash for high-performance tires just to brag that they’re high performance (does anyone do this? Please say no) they are willing to blow it to keep their family safe. Smart move, Bridgestone, smart move.

Have any of you seen this one aired? Were you as surprised at what it was advertising as I was? I’m hoping I’m not the only one that thought it was cool!

Now that the rain’s over in LA we’re not slipping everywhere on the road, but I hope everyone else out there is staying safe! Thanks, so very much, for stopping by