Typewriter Commercial

• Commercial idea: Typewriters
• Narrator: Cheesy, over hyper, and loud voice

Typewriters are back and are seen countrywide!

(Flash a picture of a typewriter)

Because the allure of nostalgia for old technology is in the air, the typewriter is one comeback to remember!

(Flash a picture of a typewriter)

Typewriters are appearing on display in coffee houses, bars and bookstores from coast to coast!

(Flash a picture of a typewriter)

Early manual typewriters are being snapped up by a new generation of fans who are rediscovering the joys of vintage!

(Flash a picture of a typewriter)

Typewriters are a great piece of history in machine-era technology!

(Flash a picture of a typewriter)

Younger collectors buy the vintage typewriter both for its functionality and its looks. They love to see the typewriter sitting right next to their iPad and iPod!

(Flash a picture of a typewriter)

The old-fashioned typewriter is making a comeback!

  

(Flash a picture of a typewriter)

Last few seconds flash message in bold: Once written off as obsolete, the low-tech machines are experiencing a surge of popularity among writers looking to avoid distraction or drawn by the novelty of seeing their words appear on the page as they type. GET YOURS TODAY!!!

Ads with Clever Print

This week’s lesson was very interesting because we had talked about how text was creative in advertising. Here are a few I found around the web…

 

At first glance the print ad might not be immediately obvious but it’s unique and simple design really captures people eyes and portrays a simple message, “Free Wi-Fi now available.” It let consumers now that Brucciani: Family Craft Bakers & Café that wireless internet was available at their locations.

This ad is also very simple, effective, and funny which makes the print advertising work. The fatal attraction tag line works great with casino and master trap affiliation.

This ad from Quebec automobile insurance society gives a clear message to drive safe. It provokes a strong and lasting impression with an important message.

Women’s sport in advertising can be very tricky and can lead to a disastrous and lousy campaign trail. MasterCard brought clever and cute to Women’s Golf Tournaments!

This creative ad pulls a breakfast into bed….literally!

Dairy Farmers of Canada Cheese Rolling brings in their slogan into their ad and combine it with their cheese.

With many companies moving into the green to save the world this pizza company probably had the most creative idea by designing an ad focusing on their campaign to raise awareness of their eco-friendly packaging and use of organic products.

Pilot, the pen company, took their water resistant pen displayed it in a creative way. The text in the ad is easily identifiable for parents and speaks to a wide range of consumers. Purpose and creativity...

Probably designed after famous painting, this Perrier ad makes it seem that the only way to get out of the heat is to drink their water. The ad melts the surroundings of the bottle while it stays intact. Also it makes the Perrier bottle of water very appealing and wanted by consumers.

An M&M ad that makes a keyboard and lettering look very interesting and tasteful. Takes a unique stand in the who, what, where, when, and why you should eat M&Ms. Personally it makes me think of:

• Who: Office employee
• What: Eat M&Ms
• Where: The Office
• When: Anytime
• Why: Cause they are hungry.

Last ad is a very simple ad that I think sums up the previous class. Text is simple and boring but looking closer at the words the consumer takes a creative journey in their head about light sabers, robots, dinosaurs, rocket, and etc. etc. etc. etc. and more! With this ad Hasbro uses imagination to target their consumer making it seem that buying their products they can doing anything and everything with it.

Nostalgia in Advertising

Using nostalgia as an emotional advertising technique has been seen in numerous trade publications as a highly effective and persuasive advertising tactic. The result is that we see nostalgic themes in many advertising campaigns. Advertisers use words, pictures, music or scenes to connect their brands. Many advertisers use the nostalgic feelings to evoke positive emotions to influence consumers’ attitudes and buying behavior. The use of nostalgia in advertising does arouse attention, is very entertaining, and is a persuasive tactic provoking nostalgic reflections in consumers. Besides the positive emotions, they also induce mental images of former situations and experiences that are also positive in nature. Nostalgic advertising brings out more positive emotions in consumers and more heartwarming images than non-nostalgic advertisements. The combination of the positive emotions and images evoked by the ads generate positive resonance toward both the ad and the product advertised.

It is the emotional response by consumers that advertisers want to hit the nostalgia appeal that generates a positive response on consumers’ attitude toward the ad itself. Nostalgic advertising is believed to have a positive effect on consumers’ attitude toward the product. Consumers’ judgment processes are influenced by nostalgia appeals. Nostalgic ads can stimulate imaginative recreations of the past that can be associated with the advertised product.

Nostalgic imagery cues (instructions) can evoke and enhance nostalgic mental images that are related to the advertised product.

·         Re-live the moment…

·         Remember when…

·         It was a time like no other…

·         Using a specific date from the past

When consumers experience nostalgia in a consumer base aspect, they have a higher purchase likelihood with regard to the advertised products and to especially favor nostalgia-related products. It even shows more persuasive influence on consumers. Nostalgia advertising appeals are especially appropriate for emotional products because the positive response to them can enhance the other positive emotions generated by the product itself.

Harley Community

Brand community is defined as an enduring self-selected group of consumers that share a system of values, standards and representations (a culture) and recognizing bonds of membership with each other and with the whole. Brand communities are characterized in shared consciousness, rituals and traditions, and a sense of moral responsibility. These communities are formed on the basis of attachment to a product or marque. In marketing and advertising brand communities try to connect brands, individual identity and culture. When people take a closer look in consumer behavior, the concept of a brand community focuses on the connections between consumers.

            Harley Davidson is the perfect company that encompasses loyal brand communities. To Harley Davidson their brand community is a business strategy. The brand, itself, had developed as a community-based phenomenon throughout America. The “brotherhood” of riders, united by a shared passion for the bikes, offered Harley the basis for a business strategy as the unique motorcycle manufacturer that understood bikers on their own terms. To reinforce this community position and connection themselves between the company and its customers, Harley staffed all community-outreach events with employees rather than hired hands. For employees, close contact with the consumers they served added meaning to their work that the weekend outreach assignments routinely attracted more volunteers than were needed. Many employees became riders, and many riders joined the company. Executives were required to spend time in the field with customers and bring their insights back to the firm. This close-to-the-customer strategy was codified in Harley-Davidson’s operating philosophy and reinforced during new-employee orientations. Decisions at all levels were grounded in the community perspective, and the company acknowledged the community as the rightful owner of the brand. Consumers now have the mindset “Harley Davidson does not make motorcycles. They make Harleys…”

Coca Cola vs Diet?

Diet Coke was introduced in 1982. To advertise the new product, Coca Cola used an American film production and distribution company Columbia Pictures for product placement, guaranteeing that actors would be chugging Diet Coke for decades to come. Because Diet Coke did so well in the market the company tried to reinvent themselves by introducing other products. There was 2005's Coke Zero, which was the same as Diet Coke. Coke Zero was meant to appeal to men who were too embarrassed to drink a sissy weight loss beverage like all those weight-obsessed ladies out there. But no one bought Coke Zero. Then, in 2007, Diet Coke launched Diet Coke Plus with vitamins and minerals. People didn't want vitamins in their drink. But it did not mean that those campaigns did not work in other areas of the world. It was appropriate that Coca Cola utilized different strategies in Europe and Australia. Since cultures are different around the world some marketing strategies will naturally work better in at some countries then others.

While Diet Coke was created with its own flavor profile and not as a sugar-free version of the original, Coca-Cola Zero aims to taste just like the "real Coke flavor." Despite their polar opposite advertising campaigns, the contents and nutritional information of the two sugar-free colas is nearly identical. To market the product of Coke Zero, Coca cola introduced a fake blog called: The Zero Movement. This website gave a push for the product because it fit the concept of guerilla marketing which was the first anyone had seen from the company. But once the blog was discovered by many that it was 'fake', the success of Coke Zero came to a standstill. Although blogging about Coke Zero was a great marketing strategy for a while, angering the target market by producing a fake blog to, somewhat, manipulates the market was overall not a great strategy.

In the business world there are many product success and product failures. Ben-Gay Aspirin is one product that is a great example of product failure. Having such a big and recognizable name behind a new product does not always guarantee success. As a product, Ben-Gay is known for its distinct smelling, pain-relieving balm with a warm sensation when it hits the skin. But trying to combine the name on Ben-Gay and aspirin did not sit well with consumers. To them Ben-Gay is known as s pain relieving balm not an oral pill. The product is too well as a product for pain relief, people just couldn't get a taste for swallowing something made a brand they associated with a burning sensation. Ben-Gay made the fatal mistake of attaching a recognizable brand name to something totally out of character.

Obama 2012

During the presidential elections of 2008 I was seventeen and was not able to exercise my right to vote. It made me angry I was not old enough to vote because I believe in Obama so much. By now you know that I am a democrat and most of my family is as well. What I had believed in the most from what Obama promised in 2008 was that he advocated universal health care. But throughout these first four years Barack Obama has been in office I have become frustrated because the Bill that was passed was not anything close to what was promised to us originally. Some other ‘accomplishments’ that President Obama promised the citizens of America also came a bit short in my opinion. The DREAM Act didn't even come close to what I originally thought it was going to be! All I saw was the Bush era tax cuts that we have seen before being renewed and put into place. That basically insulted the middle class that, ultimately, gave him the presidency. Guantanamo Bay was still operational, equal marriage was still not spoken for; so many short comings have been done I thought I was done supporting Barack Obama and vote for Ron Paul so Marijuana can be legalized and I could become a hippy and not care about politics!

But with elections coming up I had to rethink to myself…

It has always been said that democrats and progressives always tend to have a ‘glass-half-empty’ mentality and knowing myself I always do that. I, like most democrats, have dwelled so much on the little disappointments Obama has given us rather than celebrate the major accomplishments. We forgot what Obama had to face when taking over the presidency…Two Wars and a near Great Depression! Even the god of all presidents Bill Clinton probably could not get us out of this mess if he was president. He even admitted it at the Democratic National Convention 2012!

 

 “No president, no president — not me or any of my predecessors, no one, could have repaired all the damage he found in just four years. But he has laid the foundation for a new, modern, successful economy, of shared prosperity, and if you renew the President’s contract you will feel it. You will feel it.” – Bill Clinton

Here are the three main reasons I will vote for Obama in 2012:

1. Obama has accomplished a whole lot more than we liberals give him credit for.

• In 2010 in  an interview with Rolling Stone, President Obama noted, "I keep in my pocket a checklist of the promises I made during the campaign, and here I am, halfway through my first term, and we've probably accomplished 70 percent of the things that we said we were going to do … So I think that it is very important for Democrats to take pride in what we've accomplished."

2. Since President Obama took office is that the state of the economy and the state of Washington were even worse than we knew in 2008.

• It's easy to give up on Obama because he was supposed to change Washington. But that view places all the blame on Obama, but not on Congress and the Republicans. The delays, cloture votes, and obstruction that has taken place in the Senate has been ridiculous. Mitch McConnell (Republican, Kentucky) famously openly stated that Republicans' priority is to defeat President Obama, rather than to legislate. Against these odds, President Obama's accomplishments should be more notable!

3. President Obama quite simply has a better long-term vision for the country than Romney or Paul.

• President Obama’s domestic policy goals: infrastructure spending, green energy initiatives, investing in education, a new energy policy that doesn't rely on fossil fuels, regulation of the financial industry, laws to protect workers, and taxes to boost the middle class.

 Vote Obama 2012! 

Racial Stereotypes in Advertising

Stereotypes is “…a fixed, over generalized belief about a particular group or class of people.” Stereotypes have been found to exist in many different races, cultures or ethnic groups. Advertising agencies uses stereotyping to reach out to their target audiences. Although using other stereotypes (demographic, gender, age, etc.) is socially accepted by society, racial stereotyping walks the borderline in advertising. In the past, advertising was extremely racist and was almost accepted by society, but in modern times, that attitude has changed. There are still traces of this outdated mindset that focuses on clichés and stereotypes. Even though conditions have improved and people are more likely to criticize racism, inappropriate marketing strategies still have found their way into the public eye.

There are many racial stereotypes that society follows and advertisers use those stereotypes to develop a shorthand method of defining characters in ways that are easy for people to identify and categorize in their ads. What these stereotypes all have in common is that they reduce to a one-sided view of a group of people.

Here are some examples:

·         White People Don’t Have Rhythm

·         African Americans Are Good at Sports

·         All Asians Eat Rice

·         Hispanics Don’t Speak English Very Well or Not at All

·         Middle Easterners Hate America

·         White People Are All Racist

These stereotypes are judgments that assign negative qualities to other groups. But because society thinks some are funny these stereotypes tend to repeat and become normal. Repetition tends to normalize stereotypes, because repeating stereotypes validates and perpetuates them. Because stereotypes often contain a somewhat the truth (they may be characteristic of some or many members of a group) they are widely accepted as the truth.

Advertising today is more sensitive to issues of culture and gender than it once was, but the creation and common misconceptions about groups of people continues. Oversimplified and inaccurate portrayals have affected how we perceive one another, how we relate to one another and how we value ourselves.

Nike and Gender

Gender advertisement refers to the images in advertising that look at stereotypical gender roles. Throughout the years of advertising, gender displays have always been the battle between masculinity versus femininity, and it has not changed one bit. Gender displays are used heavily in advertising in order to establish the role of one gender in relation with the other, and some argue that advertisers are obsessed with gender. It is this relationship that advertisers focus on, because people define themselves by gender, and gender can be “communicated at a glance,” making it easy for advertisers to use this theme in their work.

“Women are depicted in quite a different way than men not because feminine is different from masculine, but because the ideal spectator is always assumed to be male and the image of the woman is designed to flatter him.” – John Berger

Nike ad campaigns are some of the most successful in the world because they concentrate their ads on the view through the male eyes.

Nike advertisements portray men as powerful, dominant and overtly masculine. The male athlete is engaged in activity. This gives him a kind of anonymity that allows his strength to be applied to anyone who buys Nike’s products.

Women, however, are portrayed very differently because Nike displays them in advertising as overly sexualized and objectified. The ads that feature women bombard the viewer with images of good looking women. They are often shown in ways that accentuate their features and appeal to men. The commercials and ads that Nike run for women suggests that a woman who buys Nike products is sexy just like the women who appear in the ads.

Nike exploits female gender stereotypes to capture the attention of viewers of both sexes. Today, Nike has a huge amount of power and influence in the advertising world and takes advantage of strengthening these stereotypes that they portray to their audiences.

“Men act and women appear; men look at women and women watch themselves being looked at.” –John Berger

Swedish House Mafia and Visual Understanding

Swedish House Mafia is a Swedish electronic dance music trio consisting of three very popular DJs and music producers of Axwell, Steve Angello, and Sebastian Ingrosso. As solo artist, each of the three DJs have been very successful all hitting under #30 in the Top 100 DJ Poll 2011 by DJ Magazine. As a group Swedish House Music is responsible for house music exploding in the United States in the past two years. The group has headlined festivals from Coachella to Electric Daisy Carnival and has even sold out Madison Square Garden. Together since 2005, the three DJs formed the group Swedish House Mafia to bring their fans great music and a chance to witness collaboration never before seen in the electronic dance music culture. But they did not want to influence their fans with their individual household names or their past works but by the music they make as a group. The way the group does that is by using Visual Understanding and Semiotics to reach out to their fans through unique graphic and video art.

Their name of Swedish House Mafia does not mention or even point to anything other than their nationality, but through visual understanding fans are able to see that three iconic DJs as one group. By using simple art like three spray paint dots or stars fans immediately recognize Swedish House Mafia. When looking at the three sprays or stars many notices that they are not connected in any way but are standing side by side, not one shape is a different size or shape and does not take significant over one another. That is because Swedish House Mafia did not want fans to think anyone DJ is the leader of the group but are all equal partners within it. Same in their visual art within their music videos that the release to the public. In normal band music videos usually the league singer is the main character or has a main role throughout the production. Swedish House Mafia does not do that. What is interesting is that they are barely featured in their music videos but is concept around their message of unity as a group of three.

These simple art forms are very powerful to the culture because it represents the code in which every raver lives by; Peace Unity Love Respect or in other words PLUR. Swedish House Mafia represents that acronym to its highest because the group did not do it for the fame or the fortune but for the love of the music. Forming a group in that ways shows that peace, unity, love, and respect can be found in one place and at one time. These three huge and widely popular DJs can unite with one another, peacefully, and respect each other’s views and opinions enough to make great music together.

It is very interesting to see how Swedish House Mafia has put deep meaning in their artistic style of music. Their music has inspired a movement throughout America and does not seem to slow down. Although the band is taking a break after their next tour all three DJs still live to what they preach promoting peace, love, unity and respect. On 24 June 2012, it was announced via the group's website that the final leg of their 2012 tour would be their last: "Today we want to share with you, that the tour we are about to go on will be our last. We want to thank every single one of you that came with us on this journey. We came, we raved, we loved." 

DJ Artists Are Brands?

DJ Artists Are Brands?

            When you look at the title you must think this isn’t true. But before you starting doubting me and exiting out of this page and move on, hear me out (or in this case read). Yes, musical artist are and can be established as brands even though they are not a tangible product. In today’s Northern American society electronic house music is becoming an epidemic, spreading across the nation, like a wildfire. But this type of music has been around for some time now and these DJs associated with the music have been building up their names as brands. These DJs names alone attract millions of consumers just like a successful brand would. Brands are products that provide functional benefits and added values that consumers value enough to buy. But instead of a product, it is a lifestyle that is being sold. These DJs represent a culture that is about music and making millions doing it.

            In a business stand point these DJs work exactly like how brands would operate. These DJs have the ability to mass produce a product out to high demanding customers and their top selling product is their music. Their sound is what makes their type of branding unique because they are, essentially, still selling a product that brings value to their audiences. By doing this their fans also buy products that are associated with them. These products are a vast majority of items like brand clothing, accessories, and other items.

            As a brand these DJs have their own individual identities where their fans can distinguish themselves from one another. Although they are all from the same, generic genre of music they all standout from one another because of their specific variety of traits like, their unique style in their music to how they mix when they perform on stage. Each DJ has their loyal fan base and, most important, customers. Having that much of a loyal fan base gives DJs the drive to keep making music and bringing great music to their fans. Without loyalty from their fans these DJs would not be the icons that they are today. Their identity to their fans makes them a one of a kind product and brand that cannot be duplicated by any other.

            Having these fans and customers they can control their pricing from when they perform to the products they sell. Their fans will spend the money to see them perform and buy their products no matter what the costs are. This is so because of the value they bring to their customers. These DJs are capable to bring a unique kind of value because they sell both tangible and intangible products. These tangible products are the items that they sell that are attached to their names but what is most interesting is that they can sell their music. Music can only be heard and felt but cannot be held. Some say it is hard to sell an intangible item but these DJs are doing a pretty good job doing that. DJs most valuable product is their music live where they set the price high. Music festivals, also called raves, are priced high because of the value that they bring to their fans.

            These DJs promise is to bring a great experience to their each and every one of their fans though the sound of their music. They do that by consistently interacting with their fans through concerts and events, releasing new music, and selling brand products. Without that promise between the DJs and their fans their music would never strive.

            So if any time you hear or see one of these DJs perform don’t think their just artist playing music because they are so much more than that. They represent a culture that many love, they represent the evolution of music, they represent peace, unity, love, and respect, they represent a brand.