Extra Credit: Day in the Life - Stella Artois ad -

1. Gender Split: Male and Female

-both pictured

2. Age: 20-35 years old

-over the legal drinking age but young and hip, trendy, making most money of their lives probably

3. Marital Status: Married, Single, or Married with mistress. 

-shows woman in sexy dress portraying romance. Whether this is a healthy marriage or an unhealthy affair is up for debate. Its advertising to both..

4. Job: Executive, or other High-paying career

-able to travel to exotic destinations, afford high class vacations

5. Car: European Luxury Brands - Mercedes-Benz etc

-Higher class status

6. Urban/Rural: Rural

-Live in a mansion away from middle-class and lower class thus outside the city

7. Grocery Shopping: Expensive grocery store or have someone else do it for them

- Do rich people do their own grocery shopping? If they do, they probably don't go to Walmart

8. Clothing Brands: Gucci, Versace, anything sold on Rodeo Dr.

- Again, brand and status is important here to distinguish their social class

9. Music: Classical, World

- Something worldly to show they're cultured 

10. Movies: Trending new movies; Classics

- Knowledge of current trends in high social circles gives subjects to chat about. 

11. T.V.: None, or World News

12. Alcoholic Drink: Fine whiskey, Martinis, Nothing cheap 

- Fancy drinks in the middle of the day are apparently normal according to the ad

13. Non-Alcoholic Drink: Sparkling water

- To calm their disgruntled stomach after eating the different foods of the places they travel

14. Favorite Type of Eatery: Expensive restaurants with at least one Michelin star

- Somewhere they can show they have money and where the plates are 1/5 of a normal serving and cost 5 times as much

15. Fragrance: Dolce and Gabbana; Other ridiculously expensive perfume

- Again, expensive just to distinguish them from the normal 

16. Sport: Tennis

-Sport of choice for rich, travelling westerners

17. Vacation: Islands

-Tropical spots as seen on ad. Looks like Monaco

18. Dog or Cat: Cat

-They're not home enough to have a meaningful relationship with a dog

19. Kid's Names: William the 4th

20. Mac or PC: Mac

-Strictly for brand stigma

Day in the life of target consumer: 

Wakes up in 5 star hotel. Eats expensive breakfast in hotel restaurant or adjacent eatery. Plays a light game of tennis with fellow business traveler. Puts on nice dress shirt and slacks or depending on activity of the day polo shirt and shorts. Explores new city. Eats somewhere nice. Heads out for night on the town after sun has set. Parties til dawn. Sleep. Rinse. Repeat. 

Honestly, the ad is targeting an upscale market obviously, but the can seems out of place. I don't usually picture an upscale drink being poured from an aluminum can. Glass bottles are the minimum standard for what could pass for a quality alcoholic beverage in most cases. Either way, they pour the beer from the can into a goblet sort of cup which looks and feels fancier than a regular pint glass i suppose. It also looks a bit more feminine. They advertise a smooth beer which fits I suppose with women not wanting a heavy beer, or with prancy men that also prefer a light beer. Stella should be perfect for that type, then. 

Consumer Behavior: New Product Launch

I will review the product launch of the Microsoft Surface series of tablets. Microsoft launched the Surface tablet in late 2012 and since have launched the Surface 2, Surface Pro 2, and Surface Pro 3. The Surface Pro 4 is forthcoming. Say Surface one more time. The Surface tablet had a successful launch. Microsoft targeted consumer emotions which proves to be an efficient way to distinguish a product and thus sell products. They had popular rock bands play at grand opening of retail stores which carried the new product among other products. Bands like Weezer which cater to younger audiences but also whose music holds some nostalic qualities for some young to middle age audiences. This fit in with the companies efforts to align the Surface tablet with college students by including the Office suite on all new tablets. Microsoft also benefited from curiosity of consumers wishing to compare the product to the already established Apple iPad tablet. They built off this curiosity by distinguishing the product with features not found on the iPad such as a built in stand and keyboard. The digital ads are very colorful and aesthetically pleasing and showcase the thin dimensions and real "flexibility" of the Surface tablets. This shows a fun but high-tech product which plays to consumer attitudes that they need the newest, highest technological gadget on the market. They accomplish this while still marketing to younger college-age consumers with the vibrant color options. Bright colors invoke emotions in people. The consumers must be quite motivated to buy their "tablet that can replace your laptop". This is a bold claim playing on the desires of consumers to have an "all-in-one" device that can do everything and do it all efficiently, as fast as possible, and all the while taking up as little physical space as possible i.e. portability.

Political Manifesto

(not my best work but hey, on short notice...)

We are the Happy Paws Party. We advocate for the spaying and neutering of all pets with the aim of reducing homeless offspring and reducing total cases of euthanization.

Slogan:

No Pet Left Behind

Face of the Campaign:

We chose Ellen Degeneres because of her continuous passion to advocate for animals. Not only is she well-known, she’s also loved by many so we think she’d be a good face to have as our spokesperson.

Propaganda:

As part of our propaganda, we will come up with posters and banners to put outside veterinarian clinics and hospitals. These posters and banners will feature pictures of dirty-looking pets that are homeless so that it would not only capture the attention of those passing by, but it would also evoke emotions from them. The posters would also feature Ellen Degeneres asking for a vote for the Happy Paws Party. We’d also have TV spots featuring homeless animals and how pitiful they are when no one wants to adopt or care for them. In the same TV spot, we’d have Ellen Degeneres as a voiceover, pleading to the audience to vote for the Happy Paws Party: “Vote for happiness for all animals”.

Environmental Campaign

In researching companies that utilize digital technologies to promote their environmental campaigns, it becomes apparent that Greenpeace is one of the main protagonists using social media to its advantage. In campaigning for the environment, non-profit companies are inherently the major players in these types of campaigns. Other companies that utilize social media effectively for their respective causes are Amnesty International and Oceana.

Amnesty International apparently send tweets to members of Congress attempting to obtain pledges to support their causes. This can prove quite effective when the 100,000+ followers of Amnesty Int. are essentially reading these tweets and monitoring the then public response from the Congress members. This puts pressure on the member of Congress. Amnesty Int. also utilizes other Social Media channels such as Facebook to gain support and offer resources for those that wish to join their causes.

Oceana focuses more on photo-rich content over social media to spark support for their causes which mainly consist of, you guessed it, ocean-related sustainability and issues. They provide links in photos that when shared multiple times over Facebook generate more hits in a shorter amount of time than a non-digital approach could possibly offer. Photos also play to people's emotions which earns them more support than a plain-text document etc.

Greenpeace uses a similar approach to Amnesty International in using Social Media to call out corporations or antagonists to it's causes. The "Arctic Ready" campaign, calling out Shell over social media by impersonating their PR practitioners, is an effective way to raise awareness for their motives. I also saw this technique used during the huge BP oil spill scandal, when a person that remained anonymous created a fake Twitter account posing as BP and gained exponentially more followers than the authentic BP account!

Gender Stereotyping

Gender Stereotypes are still very much alive in media advertising today. This is a relevant topic because contrary to what some may initially think, advertising has far-reaching implications beyond just selling products.
 "Advertising has the power to manipulate people and turn them into obsessed consumers while they continue to believe that they can never be affected by the advertising messages and can preserve their right to freedom of choice. Even the most unexciting advertising idea can affect us by the hidden power of the image it promotes."
This quote from a Burgas University research study hits the nail on the head regarding the implications advertising has on its viewers.
In this ad by Kia, gender roles are very much stereotypical and depict men and women in their stereotypical roles:

The women are all dressed in scantily clad outfits with high heels and short skirts. They depict objects of men's lust. They come into the "man cave" which is a garage that men stereotypically convert into a space to watch sports and drink beer. The women proceed to redecorate and clean up the man cave. This gives off the feeling of women stereotypically being the housecleaners and decorators and in charge of general household cleanliness. This falls in line with Burgas University study which says, "...women are associated with household chores and shopping...". 

As long as we continue to portray women and men in these stereotypical roles, reality will continue to attempt to follow suit. These ads show men and women it is acceptable in general society to fit these stereotypes in reality. While the ad is clearly marketed towards men, the overall message of the ad can influence men and women alike. As the Burgas University study says, "The media will continue to bombard people with exciting or insipid advertisements featuring sophisticated or blatantly naïve gender stereotypes." As long as these "blatantly naive gender stereotypes" continue to be presented as acceptable, we will continue to see men justifying their objectification of women, conspicuous laziness, and alcoholism, as well as see women attempting to fit the role of housewife, and feel self conscious about themselves if they don't have the physical appearance of a supermodel in a tight dree and high heels etc. 

source: http://research.bfu.bg:8080/jspui/bitstream/123456789/104/1/BFU_2010_T_XXIII_Popova.pdf

Racial Stereotyping

1. Is it ever right to racially stereotype for advertising purposes?

No. Advertising is more than just marketing a product through media. It is through this media that humans learn about societal norms. Considering the fact that "Tv advertising is the top way in which Americans learn about new products and brands" (Ispos, July 2013), it would seem apparent that a huge number of people are viewing these ads. Add to that the fact that "TV ads are trusted by 62%, leading all paid media", and you have a huge number of people trusting what they're watching is authentic and valuable. This is not just relating to the product itself but inherently the messages behind the ad that persuade them to buy it. Portraying racial stereotypes over advertising is relaying the message that society accepts these stereotypes as acceptable and normal. This is why I don't think it is right to advertise these stereotypes.

2. Is racism in advertising a thing of the past?


It would appear not. With a quick google search we see that every single year up to the current year, companies are releasing ads that are offensive enough for the public to outcry for its removal from broadcast.

3. Do advertisers have ethical responsiblities?

Inherently, yes. Back to the point that advertising influences people to what is acceptable to a society. To ignore the influential factor would be unethical. These ads can affect people personally, not to mention that they affect the overall industry and its views on what is and what is not acceptable. It would be ethical to think about the overall implications of an ad before its release. More often than not though, monetary issues are prioritized before anything else.

source: http://www.marketingcharts.com/uncategorized/data-dive-us-tv-ad-spend-and-influence-22524/

Racial and Gender Diversity

I've chosen to study the popular modern television show New Girl. 

1. Does the movie or show you've chosen reflect racial and gender diversity? Why or why not? Explain why this kind of diversity is important in the media.

I think the show New Girl reflects racial and gender diversity in some ways but still is not totally equal in terms of a full range of diversity. The main characters consist of 4-5 guys and only 2-3 girls. While the show is technically centered around one main female character (hence the title of the show), a lot of the plot is based around the male characters. It is close to being equal regarding gender because there isn't a huge disparity in screen time between the male and female characters though. The show does reflect racial diversity in that all of the main characters are of different races. There is one token white guy, a jew, 2 african-americans, an indian, etc.
I would argue that gender-wise the show is LESS diverse than regarding race. While there are 2 female main characters, they usually are engaging in the males style of living, for example they are rarely shown doing common female activities and are mostly shown in context to what the males are doing. Also the main female character is Caucasian looking, fair-skinned etc.
This diversity is important because tv and movie media reach and influence a huge number of people including children. If inequality is put on repeat throughout this media then just by pure repetition, the idea that inequality is ok can be deemed normal and acceptable by all who view this media.

2. Are there any racial or gender stereotypes present in the show or movie you've chosen? If so, identify them and describe how they are stereotypical. If not, describe what elements would prevent the portrayal of a female or ethnic minority characters from being stereotypical.

The show New Girl does present some racial and gender stereotypes. The show presents the Jewish character as a metro, fashion-aware man with a good sense of finance. This presents the stereotype that Jewish people are thrifty with their finances, and metro-sexual - they dress nice and can come off as homosexual sometimes. The Caucasian character is portrayed as lazy, grungy, and generally careless. This is a stereotypical view of Americans. The African-American character is athletic, tall, and is a PE coach at a school. His name is actually "Coach". This is stereotypical in that African-Americans are generally viewed as great at athletic sports and less so at academics. This character plays a teacher, but it is as an athletic teacher versus an academic subject teacher.
Gender stereotypes are actually blurred because the female characters often break stereotypes by engaging with the men in typically male activities like watching sports. The females also are quite independent and self-reliant so the show does a good job of avoiding the housewife stereotype.

Semiotics

1. Print Ad

This print ad by GE for their refrigerator caught my eye for it's clever connotations as well as its appealing aesthetics. It was created by BBDO Canada. 

Denotations: 

• stormy weather
• antarctic setting with ice and glaciers
• emperor penguin standing up blowing fire from it's open mouth
• blue and white color prevalent
• product image small in bottom left of image
• text describing product next to product image
• brand small in bottom left of image

Connotations:

• storm connotes powerful, strong, natural forces
• ice connotes coldness, freezing temperatures, solidness, strength
• penguin connotes resolve; ability to withstand, warmth in cold places, insulation
• blue connotes calmness, sexiness, freshness, water, natural, mystery,
• white connotes classicness, simplicity
• fire connotes power, boastfulness, extreme hot temperature, danger, passion
• penguin looking upward connotes boasting, pride, confidence

Myth/Meaning:

• Antarctic storm setting is saying the fridge holds an extremely cold temperature, this fridge can uphold antarctic temperatures - a fridges primary purpose
• Ice is saying the above while also implying the fridge is solid like a glacier, hard to break, reliable
• The penguin blowing fire into the air is saying the fridge can not only withstand upholding these extremely cold temperatures but can also deliver extremely hot water when called upon also. 
• The fire blowing from the penguins mouth is significant because it is displaying the penguin "showing off" or boasting about its fire breathing ability. This implies the fridge is ever-powerful, not only doing both hot and cold water but doing both extremely well and with pride. 

2. T.V Ad

I like this ad because I love motorbikes, but also because it has some obvious connotations. The ad is pretty cool as well with the graphics pretty innovative and creative. These particular bikes are made by Bajaj in India for that market. 

Denotations:

• road pavement street setting
• all black motorbikes
• ridden by apparently male figures in full gear (helmet, gloves, jacket, boots etc)
• doing stunt-riding ie. nose wheelies / "stoppies", wheelies, hooligan riding, tricks etc
• graphics show bikes to be "growing" a new skin and changing from black to color ie. red, blue etc
• graphics show bikes "growing" new vinyl graphics 
• bike with man pilot and woman co-pilot launches off ramp and flies over 2 other bikers 
• bikers jacket color changes color just like bike changes color

Connotations:

• road / street setting connote regular, everyday setting, normalcy, average, common
• black connotes mystery, absolute power, masculinity, blankness, abyss, 
• riders in full protective gear connotes: safety, illusion of invincibility, responsible
• stunt-riding/ wheelies connote: rebelliousness, adventure, danger, risk, fun, playing/playfulness, 
• bikes "growing" new skin connotes: change, evolution, growth, upgrading, new / novelty
• launching bike off ramp connotes: danger, adventure, risk
• girl on back of bike connotes: social aspect, attractiveness, 

Myth/Meaning:

• Street setting shows these bikes are for everyday riders, markets for biggest market possible
• All black bikes and protective gear imply a blank slate, devoid of any ornament or decoration, rather plain and boring
• The bikes "growing" new skin shows these bikes are NOT just plain boring bikes but rather have brand new, attractive looks and colors. It mimics evolution of animals who shed old skin for new. 
• Even though the bike may not be different in regards to technical specs like engine size, horsepower, etc.. they are marketing the bike as "new" with simply different graphics and paint schemes
• Riding these bikes will instantly make the rider able to do wheelies and stunts and launch off ramps (unrealistic)
• These bikes attract women as they will want to ride on the back 

3. Outdoor Ad

This billboard ad by Formula Toothpaste is pretty clever and different but also simple enough for someone to understand in the few seconds they pass by in a car or train or what have you.

Denotations:

• man: dark short hair, young-ish - mid-age or younger, average looking
• only mans head and 2 hands visible
• white upper teeth showing
• white background
• man biting what appears to be corner of image itself and pulling it off the billboard tower itself
• biting not just image but also pulling metal off tower 
• product image bottom left

Connotations:

• man connotes: masculine, strong, manly, 
• basic haircut and sweater connotes: normalcy, common, average
• white connotes: simplicity, blankness, normal, void, cleanliness, freshness, pureness, innocence
• biting connotes: aggressiveness, hunger, savageness, 
• metal connotes: strength, inflexibility, unwielding, rigidness, 

Myth/Meaning:

• This toothpaste will not only make your teeth white but will strengthen them in an extraordinary way
• This product will make your teeth strong enough to essentially bend metal itself
• This product will make the average man have extra strength and extraordinary teeth
• He will become more manly by using this toothpaste
• He will be more aggressive by using this toothpaste

2015 Superbowl Ads

Superbowl ads are notorious every year for being the most innovative, entertaining, or outright controversial commercials found throughout television each year. This year I was a bit underwhelmed by the collective efforts but still there were a few that were well done. Superbowl ads are important as an advertising medium as they reach out to a large number of viewers and within that large number, there are a few different markets. There is the macho, American football watching, mans-man: this consumer is usually very pro-American, prideful, working man, drives a truck, has a family etc. This is probably the majority that the advertisers are reaching out to. Thus, they target their ads to be very "American" by nature, or in Weathertech's ad they emphasize that the product is "made in America, by Americans" etc. I noticed many of the ads also had a father role in the script. The ad for the Toyota Camry showed an american fathering his daughter as she grew up through different stages of her life, then he cried proudly as she was leaving to join the armed forces. This ad is aimed squarely at the market of American fathers that Toyota understood would be watching the Superbowl as they are the main consumer of the Superbowl. This ad was aimed for the prideful hearts of American fathers as it related to their special relationships with their daughters and even threw in pride in the American Armed Forces with the daughter character leaving home to be in the forces. This is a clever ad for a Japanese company! Obviously their U.S. division of marketing understands the Superbowl is an opportune time to market these family figures.
Anyways, the superbowl is an important medium because it gives the companies that exposure throughout most of the United States, as the superbowl is widely viewed across the whole nation. Likewise, they can target specific markets and reach them over several different states with one ad that spreads a unified pro-American message.
I thought the ad by Dodge entitled: "Here's to the next 100 years" was well done. It had sentiments about how to live fully by people over 100 years old. This was insightful. I also enjoyed that it showed one old man doing a burnout in a new dodge at the end of the ad. Dodge communicates their brand story by relating these life insights to the brand being in business for 100 years. They then say "Here's to the next 100 years" showing their desire to be a strong, wise brand for the forseeable future.
The Loctite glue commercial was interesting as well as it just had a bunch of awkward people doing awkward stuff, but they had loctite fanny packs so it was made to be an ad for glue. The content was bizarre which caught my eye though and was awkward enough to be somewhat humorous. A welcome change from the attempted heart-string pulling from most of the other advertisers. They related the ad content to the Loctite Glue brand by a couple saying that Loctite glue saved their marriage. This plays on the stickiness factor of glue in keeping things together literally. Nice save guys.

Favorite Ad Agency

I've been looking at the work of different ad agencies and researched some local Silicon Valley agencies. Liquid Agency appears to be the biggest or one of the biggest in the area, and is headquartered down the street from San Jose State University on Market St. downtown. Their work is top notch quality and I enjoyed the thorough explanations of some of their processes in creating their designs. I like the work they have done as they are very wise in their design sense. For example, they don't stray from a traditional solution if it makes sense. Likewise, they have a good understanding of how to keep important traditional aspects of a design or logo, or whatever it is they are working on, and still be able to refresh the work and innovate it to bring it into the future and create a modern, relevant new piece. I enjoyed poring over their past works and getting that insight into how and why they came up with the solutions they did for the companies and brands that hired them.

Clicky

Mekanism Creative Ad Agency was also good work in my opinion. This is more TV spots and such but I recognized alot of their work on their website which is saying alot for me as I don't have a television so I don't watch a lot of television at all. I've still seen these ads out and about and thought they were quite good. The video work is excellent and they have a great ability to add in some emotional aspects of what the company 'stands for" or their general branding strategy. Good work by them and it looks like they have an interesting culture as a company judging by their own style of branding and web design etc. 

Clicky

Intro to Advertising

My main interests in Advertising lay in the distribution of information or insights into hobbies or topics I'm personally interested in. Like others probably, an ad about something irrelevant to myself is considered intrusive and I just want to skip it or get through it to get to my intended information or media. A proper job done by the advertiser would be to somehow spark my interest quickly in the ad even though the product they are advertising may not have been of direct interest to me initially. This is the tough job then, of an ad creator.
Summarizing, I dislike ads that are boring, generic, product placement ads about your basic Proctor and Gamble etc. offering. These are irrelevant to my lifestyle, and don't entertain me, inform me, or otherwise create any sort of reaction from me. I can enjoy a humorous ad or creative ad even if the product does not attract me. These ads at least show some effort and spark a reaction, whether that be a smile or admiration for a creative concept thoughtfully executed. Im not a big fan of the lame, awkward, cheesy humor ads though... c'mon people, save those for the midwest or something.
I don't really have a favorite ad but I thought these were rather good: