In the middle of all of the flashy and grab-your-attention type of commercials out there, I absolutely loved this PSA done by the American Heart Association. It certainly stands out for how simple it is, as well as the beauty of the hand movements with the classical music in the background. As the person signs in the PSA, hands can do amazing things, and this was certainly the perfect way to show it.
I’ve also become quite interested in the follow-up advertising of commercials, specifically the websites that companies suggest that you go to. In this case, the American Heart Association’s website (Hands Only CPR) definitely enhances the message, especially by making the site interactive. Not only do they include this video and repeat the steps for hands-only CPR, but they also encourage visitors to “Create your own Hands Symphony,” which can be done to dance, hip-hop, OR latin music! This is a great example of advertising: the PSA grabs your attention, and the website includes activities to further promote their message. Hands can do amazing things, and so can the minds of smart advertisers.
Getting a tonsillectomy during spring break was not the brightest idea I have ever had. However, I have been able to cope with the fact that I am stuck in a bed, while my peers frolic on beaches and make generally bad decisions, by consoling myself with a few key items: Buckeye Blitz ice cream (if you’ve never heard of it, go buy some!), my adorable puggle Jack, trashy reality television, and an unlimited supply of magazines.
Yes, magazines. The perfect reading items to flip through when killing time or wishing to read something that doesn’t require too much effort. Oh, and the advertisements-with their glossy photos and occasionally sweet-smelling scratch-and-sniffs- are even fun to look at. Recently, in between reading about Charlie Sheen’s latest antics and learning how to perfect a poof like Snookie’s, I came upon an interesting advertisement in a magazine....for magazines.
The ad caused me to look up just who was behind it. Starting last year, the leaders of 5 major magazines (including Cathie Black from Hearst Magazines and Jack Griffin from Meredith Corporation) joined together to promote a campaign entitled: “Magazines: The Power of Print.”
While they created a video to introduce this project, the campaign has mainly consisted of page ads like the one that I saw in People. The purpose? To give consumers, and advertisers, faith in the power of magazines and dispel the myth that it is a dying medium. The ads do this not only through engaging language, but through actual statistics, such as that the average readers spends 43 minutes reading a magazine. This kind of information is undoubtedly intriguing for advertisers who may wonder if the investment in print advertising is still worth it. “The Power of Print” campaign proves that it is, while getting readers excited about their product. The prominent magazine publishers have followed a great rule: Stick to what you do best. By keeping the campaign in their medium, they prove just how strong magazines can be.
As I sat on the tenth floor of Straz during the week of midterms, huddled in one of the common room chairs with my daunting amount of homework and assignments spread before me, I longingly looked outside and down at Wisconsin Avenue. Suddenly, something caught my eye. A truck shaped like a billboard, sticking out in red, drove past the building. It’s shape was different than other vehicles driving down the street, however it was more the message printed on the truck that caught my attention. An electronic counter with the number “2008” was clearly displayed, and underneath it the text read: “Americans Murdered With Guns Since Tucson,” and below that a link for the cause: “FixGunChecks.Org.”
As my laptop was conveniently sitting in front of me, I immediately logged on to the website address on the truck. It turns out, the advertising campaign is being run by “Mayors Against Illegal Guns,” a group dedicated to “Keeping Guns Out of the Hands of Dangerous People,” and thus preventing senseless shootings. As soon as you log onto the website (Fix Gun Checks), you are able to “Read the Latest Updates from The Road,” including articles from wherever the truck was last (it plans on driving through 25 states) and the attempts being made by politicians in that particular location to fight the cause. With a continuous electronic counter, a petition for supporters to sign, a link to “Donate Now,” interactive videos, and more, I found this to be an innovative and awesome advertising campaign for a very important issue, especially in America today.
Some might question whether or not Mayors Against Illegal Guns is exploiting the terrible tragedy that occurred in Arizona just a few months ago. However, I would have to disagree with these people: this coalition is merely highlighting an event that all Americans remember and relate to in order to help stop the forces that caused such a tragedy in the first place. As I watched the truck drive by, I realized that it was a perfect example of how smart advertising can support a good cause and draw attention to the things that really matter.
NOTE: At the time of this posting, 2183 was the amount of Americans murdered with guns since Tucson.
Considering my policy of openness and honesty even regarding the more embarrassing aspects of my life in this blog so far, I must make another disclosure: I am addicted to Perez Hilton. Having given up Facebook in order to stop procrastinating, I decided to start browsing Perez Hilton every day in order to start procrastinating. However, people can say what they want about the flamboyant blogger who draws inappropriate images in white paint on celebrity’s faces. The fact is, the “Queen of all Media” is quickly becoming the “Queen of all Advertising.”
This has hit me over the past couple weeks, as Perez continues to feature more television shows, movies, clothing lines, and a variety of other things each day on his website. Go to the site’s “Advertising” section and Perez not only includes a section about himself, but depictions of his massive audience by age, gender, and education level. More importantly, for future customers, “display opportunities,” “video opportunities,” and “mobile opportunities” are listed. And with Perez’s growing popularity, it’s not surprising that many advertisers seem to be jumping at these chances.
Take today’s feature, for example. TLC’s show “Sister Wives,” premiering this Sunday at 9/8 central, has a “skin” in the background of the page, featuring the logo for the show, as well as pictures of the Nevada polygamist and his four spouses. If clicked on, this skin links to the show’s website. In addition, one can click on a “Meet the Family” text to learn more about each member. The header reads “Sister Wives on TLC” and in between posts about celebrities is a chat-room forum where you can tweet what you think what the best part of having a sister wife would be. Scrolling down Perez’s page slowly and reading each story, as his visitors do when they come to his site, it is impossible not to have the television show or whatever else has paid to advertise engrained in your mind. In addition, his audience is clearly defined, and the young people who enjoy fashion and celebrity lifestyles are primary targets for many advertisers.
Perez Hilton has made an empire founded on his bluntness and love of celebrity culture. While his main venture continues to be the site bearing his name, he has also sprung from this sites about such things as fashion (Coco Perez), health (Fit Perez) and even his dog (Teddy Perez). No matter how many of my favorite celebrities he bashes (leave Amy Winehouse alone!), I have to admit that he definitely deserves the title of the “Queen of All Advertising.” Wear your crown proudly, bb.
If you’re like me, you’re starting to get pretty tired of celebrity advertisements, particularly television commercials for beauty products starring the likes of Jessica Biel, or Halle Berry, or Eva Longoria. Ok, I get it, you’re impossibly beautiful, with smoldering eyes that intense close-ups only make even more smoldering, and flawless skin that manipulative lighting portrays as covered with some sort of angel dust. And I don’t care how many $15 mascaras or lip glosses with names like “Seductive Rose” I buy, there’s no way I’m going to look like that, and these commercials do nothing to convince me of this. Ok, enough with the rant. The point is, most celebrities endorse only products that increase their image of glamour and beauty. That’s why it was so refreshing to see Whoopi Goldberg’s new commercial for the product Poise, adult diapers made by Kimberly-Clark.
In the interest of full disclosure, I must make it clear that this is not a product that I yet require. I repeat: I do not wear diapers. However, the embarrassing fact for many older women today is that they do. Putting myself in their shoes, or in their diapers (sorry, bad joke), I’m sure it’s pretty uncomfortable to see any sort of advertisement that deals with bladder control. However, by using Whoopi Goldberg, a prominent celebrity, and, more importantly, her humor, Poise effectively put out an advertising campaign that made the problem that their product relieves just a little less uncomfortable. A funny and relatable commercial, Whoopi Goldberg’s advertising just made adding Poise diapers to their shopping carts just a little less embarrassing for the many women who will buy them.
If there was ever a campaign that challenged this idea, it’s the recent PR stunt by the game developer THQ and the storefront GameStop which, as Fox News put it, “had California’s greenest seeing red--literally.” The company, attempting to publicize its forthcoming video game Homefront, released thousands of red balloons into the air in California. In the video game, the United States is invaded by troops from North Korea, and the release of the balloons was meant to stimulate a method used by South Korea to send messages of hope to North Korea. It was directly preceded by a staged mock lunchtime rally at Yerba Buena Gardens where the game’s supporters were encouraged by the company to “take to the streets to demonstrate against the North Korean regime and the treatment of its citizens.” An interactive rally combined with the amazing visual of 10,000 red balloons being released into the California sky all at once? Not a bad bid for publicity right?
Well, in theory, it was a very good idea. That is, until wind and rain caused all of the balloons to land in the San Francisco Bay, just blocks away from the launch, angering environmentalists and causing a rush of criticism for the game developer. Enraged environmentalists took to social media sites like Twitter and Facebook to rip the stunt apart and demand an apology. How did Homefront handle this?
Well, the Gamestop company immediately released a statement claiming that the balloons “were made from a 100% organic product and are 100% biodegradable.” While adamantly stating that the release would cause no harm to the environment, they nonetheless informed the angry public that they would be hiring a clean-up crew just in case. Not a bad reaction from the company. In my opinion, a wonderful example of PR. But was the damage already done?
While others may not agree with me, “no publicity is bad publicity” truly does apply here. I, for one, would never have heard of Homefront if not for this public debacle. Although I am not the target demographic (spending hours huddled in a dark room while chugging down pop and eating some Cocoa Puffs is not exactly my thing), I’m sure this reached some buyers of video games who wouldn’t have heard of it otherwise. And let’s be honest, video game users are probably not the most environmentally conscious. I know my little brother probably cares more about his level in Donkey Kong than possible balloon pollution in the ocean. Plus, the visual of thousands of red balloons in the San Francisco Bay is pretty darn cool.
Well, the inevitable has happened. The Golden Arches of glory have finally been defeated by none other than the.....Five Dollar Foot Long? Well, okay, so maybe Subway doesn’t have the same kind of iconic symbol, but nonetheless the sandwich chain has just surpassed McDonald’s for the number of restaurants it has opened around the world. The difference between the two restaurant chains is hardly staggering: Subway has 33,749 locations in 95 countries, compared to McDonald’s 32,737 outposts worldwide. However, McDonald’s has been the dominant fastfood chain almost since it began in 1940, prompting us to ask what exactly led to its demise (okay, so maybe “demise” is a little melodramatic of a term, considering its still a billion dollar company, but for the purposes of making this blog post a little more exciting, I’ll keep it). In my opinion, Subway was able to beat out this giant through one thing only: superb advertising.
Let’s face it, America’s waistline has expanded in the past couple decades....considerably. And from my own experience, it’s hard to buy that double cheeseburger and experience the same kind of satisfaction when I’ve just come back from a shopping disaster involving multiple fights with my mom about what’s “too tight” and maybe even a few tears. That’s where Subway comes in. Adopting an “eat fresh” slogan, Subway began to fill the niche of “healthy” fast food, or at least cheap food that makes us feel like we’re cutting calories. Cue the lovable Jared, extolling the benefits of “the Subway diet” and showing off an impressive weight loss, and healthy-seeking Americans were hooked.
And then there are the “Five Dollar Foot Long” commercials, with their catchy and yet almost annoyingly simple jingle. Impossible to forget, often impossible to get out of your head for at least a couple hours after hearing it, Subway’s ads were able to spread the message of the sandwich’s cheapness. Combined with its brand image of health and freshness, Subway was bound to grow to its current level of power and status. In truth, eating a footlong meatball sub with ranch dressing and plenty of cheese, plus a few other toppings, is probably not much better than having that Big Mac. But Subway has so strongly created an image of being the healthy fast food chain that it can make us feel like no matter what we order, it’s better than what we could have gotten anywhere else, including McDonald’s.
In the days of increasing obesity and people searching for any solution to make their kids, and themselves, a little healthier, Subway has successfully carved out its niche through brilliant advertising. I have to admit, it makes me a little sad. I remember the days when a million cars would be in line at a McDonald’s drive-through, as the kids in the car (including my brothers and I) waited impatiently in the car for our Happy Meals and, most importantly, the tiny Beanie Babies that came with them. I’ve even spent a birthday party or two racing through the colorful playgrounds and pelting plastic balls back and forth at my brothers (inevitably ending in a fight). However, when I’m next hoping to fit into a certain formal dress, you can count on the fact that you’ll be much more likely to find me in the Subway drive-through, and not under the classic Golden Arches.
