Best Bizarre Billboards!

As I pack up my stuff today to return to Milwaukee, I am excited to get back to my cold but lovable city. However, the prospect of the familiar 8-hour drive from Buckeye Country (Columbus, Ohio) to Cheesehead Heaven is daunting enough to make me reach for the Nyquil and hope to sleep through the trip as my ever-so understanding father takes the wheel. One thing is keeping me from doing this: the billboards. Ohio is surprisingly absent from these witty advertising marvels, and looking at the various displays as we drive through Illinois and Wisconsin has always been something that I have looked forward to. These billboards (combined with our routine stop at the Mars Cheese Castle) serve as the only forms of consolation during our long trip. Billboards, designed to be able to be looked at quickly and for the consumer to get the message as they're driving, are becoming more innovative by the day. In my opinion, nothings beats a clever billboard in the world of advertising. Here are just a few of the cool ones that advertising execs have come up with:

Silberman's Fitness Center's off-center ad surely outweighs the competition.

The only thing stronger than Formula Toothcare customers' teeth is the attention-grabbing quality of this billboard.

I get a headache just looking at this billboard....maybe I'll go buy some Tylenol.

Friday Flashback

As a new part of my blog, every Friday will now be dedicated to looking back at some of the best advertisements that I have seen over the years, or ones that particularly affected me. While in the world of advertising, it is important to stay current and always to know what is happening right now, I find that there is also an importance in recognizing what advertisements have had particular influence throughout the decades, and why. Who knows, maybe even new companies today can learn something from these great ads of the past!

"$1500 for a leather bustier? I didn't care. It lifts and separates." One of my favorite quotes of all time from a commercial. Embarrassingly enough, I distinctly remember walking around in the seventh grade with all my friends, repeating that line in the valley-girl voice from the commercial, thinking we were so cool. Of course, we were. But not as cool as the CitiBank Identity Theft Ads from the early 2000's. What I neglected to mention when I first repeated the line is that it was said in the voice of a valley-girl, but mouthed by a frumpy old man in a trailer. Hence the appeal of the CitiBank ads....a perfect attention-grabbing way to show how identity theft works, how it can happen to anybody, and how useful their services to prevent it could be. Watch it below and see what I mean.

A Dangerous Ad?

Leave it to New York City to have one of the most provocative advertisements of the past few years at least. The new billboard located in the city's SoHo section is 3 stories high and attempts to serve pro-life interests in a very controversial way. It is an anti-abortion ad, a simple one that contains only a picture of an adorable African American girl, and, just over her head, a message that reads: "The Most Dangerous Place for An African American is the Womb." Wow. That was my first reaction to this. Bold? Yes. Attention getting? Yes. Offensive? In the opinion of most, yes. While the group responsible for this billboard, a pro-life organization called Life Always, claims that they were attempting to draw attention to the fact that services like Planned Parenthood often target minorities, this explanation has not satisfied much of anyone. Public advocates and residents of the area alike have called the ad "racially insensitive" and demanded that it be taken down. What does this ad really say? Whether they meant to or not, the people at Life Always have made themselves to look, frankly, racist. However, I have to give them a little credit. They created an ad that got people talking. People may not have known about the pro-life organization before they saw this billboard, but they definitely do now.

Should We Hold It Against Her?

As I previously mentioned in this blog, Britney Spear’s new music video for her single “Hold It Against Me” was being hyped weeks before it even premiered. However, after its debut on MTV this past Thursday, the discussion surrounding the video has not focused on Britney’s unusually toned post-baby bod, her fighting scene with a look-alike, or even the music itself; what people can’t stop talking about is the major amount of product placement throughout the video.

This is undoubtedly one of the most obvious product-placement jobs in the history of ever. Throughout the four and a half minute video, close-up shots are taken that feature the Make Up Forever brand of eye shadow, Spears’ own Radiance fragrance, the online dating site Plenty of Fish, and, most notably, numerous Sony Products (not surprising considering that Spears is signed to Sony Music). While movies often use product placement, the relative brevity of the music video makes the form of advertising more than a little conspicuous. Apparently, though, it worked. Even though I personally was turned off by the whole thing and can’t imagine how this is an effective form of advertising, other fans do not feel the same way. The website Plenty of Fish reportedly saw a 20% increase in user traffic just a day after the premiere. In addition, the other companies have been benefitting quite nicely from their association with the songstress. 

Ok, so the insane product placements served their intended purpose and helped their respective companies, but what about the pop princess? Did she benefit from this? Well, Spears reportedly earned upwards of $500,000 for including the products in her new video (not that she really needs it, but I guess that does buy quite a few pairs of Uggs and cans of Red Bull). Musically-speaking though, doesn’t she lose a little street cred for allowing corporations to completely dominate what should otherwise be an artistic work? Being a fan myself, I was surprised at how obvious and completely unrelated to the song the ads were. However, I was not surprised in a disappointed kind of way. Sadly, in this day and age, artists truly are commodities that can be used for the sole purpose of promoting products, whether those be their own or someone else’s. I guess you really can’t blame Britney for just jumping on the bandwagon. I have a feeling that we will be seeing a lot more of this type of obvious advertising in the future. Gone are the days of bands like the Beatles smiling for the camera while actually singing (shock!) their song as their music video.

The moral of the story? Product placement, even of the most blatant variety, works. Oh, and I’ll always love Britney Spears. 

Warming the Hearts of Customers

If there's one thing my limited life experience has taught me, it's this: Wisconsin is cold. Very, very cold. And from what my roommate tells me of her home state, Minnesota can be even worse. Cue Caribou's ad campaign for their new hot breakfast sandwiches. As seen in the picture below, Caribou, with the aide of advertising agency Colle+McVoy, has transformed bus shelters into ovens that both display their new product and release actual heat. This is undoubtedly one of the coolest bus stop advertisements ever. If you're forced to take the bus and wait around in the Minnesota cold, you're probably not very happy about it, which means that something as small as a little heat and a cool idea can brighten your mood. These ads must have drawn the appreciation of many a bus-goer, which was hopefully transformed into dedication to their products, or at least intrigue enough to get them to their nearest Caribou. What made this advertisement even more brilliant was that it was able to reach the precise kind of audience that the coffee chain should be targeting: people who, while not wealthy, have just a little bit of disposable income and sometimes allow themselves to indulge in the little luxuries of life, such as a hot breakfast sandwich. This innovation is what good advertising is all about.

Can You Hear Me Now? Good

So as I made the obligatory phone call to my parents on a Wednesday afternoon, I paced through the lounge on the 10th floor common room in Straz Residence Tower. For some inexplicable reason, the connection in Straz has always been terrible and that, combined with my father's less-than-desirable hearing, was making for an annoyingly difficult conversation. As the sound of wrinkled candy wrappers continuously came in and out over the phone, this question became necessary: "Can you hear me now?"
Luckily, my dad answered affirmatively and before I knew it, I responded almost automatically: "Good."

Immediately, my mind was taken back to the popular Verizon Wireless "Test Man" commercials premiering in 2002. After this, I couldn't help but think what a fantastic advertising campaign that was and how undoubtedly effective it had been.....9 years later, and I could still recite the famous lines of those commercials. These lines conveyed the simple message of Verizon's far-reaching connection in a short and entertaining way. Most advertisements today are hoping that consumers will remember their product just minutes after they have viewed a commercial....I would say 9 years is pretty impressive. Oh, and the fact that I was using a Verizon phone when I talked to my parents? Proof in the pudding.

Clever or Crazy?

Lady Gaga is known for her out-there outfits. Through her relatively short career, she has donned one of the most eccentric wardrobes in Hollywood (which, let's be honest, is saying a lot). However, Lady Gaga's latest "dress" at the Grammy's this past Sunday surely outdid anything she's ever done before. Gaga arrived in what appeared to be an egg, being carried by four nearly-naked men and accompanied by a woman wearing similar nude-clothing. Crazy? Yes. Clever? That too. Gaga's bizarre entrance ensured an enormous amount of attention on the red carpet. To be sure, moments after she got there Twitter was loaded with comments on her outfit and every television station was scrambling to get a shot of the pop legend. Not only did she capture everyone's eyes, but Gaga cleverly tied in her entrance to her latest single that was just released, the song "Born this Way." Coming out of the egg during her performance, it was as if she was being re-born. While I don't think she will be making any best-dressed lists any time soon, this unique form of self-promotion and advertising was truly eggs-ellent.

Tease Me Baby One More Time

So if you've been alive for the past couple of weeks, you have probably heard SOMETHING about Britney Spears' upcoming release of the music video for her newest single, "Hold It Against Me." As a self-professed "pop tart," I have always been one to indulge in the guilty pleasures of N'Sync (never Backstreet Boys), Christina Aguilera, and even (gasp) Hanson. Admittedly, I have always loved Britney Spears, even through her Cheetos and barefoot-walking through gas stations days. But to be honest, I really had no interest whatsoever in the debut of her music video. That is, until I saw the teasers that her team has been leaking on to the internet. The link to the first one is given below:

Hold It Against Me Teaser #1

These 5 to 10 second clips of Britney's music video have been released every single day for the past couple of weeks, each one ending with the number of days "to go" until we will get to see Britney in all her gyrating, scantily-clad glory. The incredible brevity of the clips, combined with the countdown at the end, make for an unbelievably intriguing ad-campaign. To be sure, Britney's newest releases are the epitome of good advertising: making people care, and even get excited by, something that they previously had no interest in. As the ads have been featured on MTV and popular culture blogs such as Perezhilton.com, it is almost impossible that they have not been seen by the key demographics that Britney hopes to reach. 

Chances that this music video will be much different than any of the pop superstar's previous ones? Slim. However, her teasers have successfully ensured that I will be tuned in to MTV on Thursday night, right before I take in my weekly dose of Jersey Shore. 

Making the Most of Each Day With Groupon

Besides the obvious fact that I love coupons (who doesn’t?), there are many other reasons why Groupon is undoubtedly the brand that most clearly fits me. Groupon, a relatively new business venture, is just starting to grow as a company, just as I am as a person. However, one of the main characteristics that Groupon has developed is the idea of being fun and spontaneous, while being practical at the same time. With a new deal every day, consumers are encouraged to make impulse purchases, driving them to go eat places or do things that they might normally not. However, these new “adventures” are based in wise economical decisions that appeal to the sense of the consumer. I have always been one who loves to take chances and try new things, while still being responsible and making sure that I am making smart decisions. Groupon as a brand appeals to both of these sides of me. 

As one might not learn until they have actually utilized Groupon, it’s deals are not just limited to restaurants. The “deal of the day” in each city ranges from discounts on food to art exhibitions to sporting events to language classes. For example, just today Groupon’s Milwaukee deal offered a discount price on a game of ping pong. This diverse array of coupons mirrors the many interests that I hold in my life, from playing sports to performing in musicals to writing poetry. In my life, I hope to be as multi-dimensional as this brand has developed itself to be. 

Of course, I would be remiss if I neglected to mention the recent controversy over Groupon’s  commercials during the Superbowl (one of them can be viewed below). Admittedly, I can see how one could find the ads to be insulting, or even disrespectful. While “offensive” is surely not an adjective that I would use to describe myself, these ads are undeniably bold, just like me. I have always been kind of “out there” (surely one who played the sousaphone in their high school’s marching band while dressed up as the mascot could be described as such). The fact that I like to take risks and am not afraid to speak my mind coincides with Groupon’s daring new ads.

As Groupon continues to grow with its loyal followers, I myself continue to grow in my life here at Marquette and beyond. For both of us, no one knows just exactly what the future holds. However, until then, we'll be making the most of each day.