Archive for February, 2009
Green Apples Marketing… uh, I mean Apple’s Green Marketing :)
Posted by: | CommentsI know a lot of companies are jumping on the “green marketing” band-wagon… good for them! This latest offering from Apple is not unique, or even all that interesting. Isn’t it great an ad that is certainly virtuous is common?
Think this industry is moving in the right direction!
Bank of Obama
Posted by: | CommentsI was checking out mashable.com today and saw something that intrigued me. It was called The Bank of Obama. I clicked on the link and went to the site where you can send your friends a bailout check through the web. I was pretty entertained by this and thought it was really funny, then I thought of how this might not be so funny. Our economy is in a state of crisis and I began to wonder if the citizens of the U.S.A should really be mocking our government. I’ll admit, I did send a fake bailout check to my mom to see how it worked, but I really began to wonder if this was really irresponsible. I feel as if our nation needs to come together now to support each other through this tough time. Even if people didn’t vote for Obama I think that mocking him and his presidential decisions may not be the correct road to go down right now. This is the site:
Do you think that this is okay?
Is this irresponsible of U.. citizens in such a time of crisis?
“Dream in Color” with Target
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Target has come out with a new campaign for Black History Month: “Dream in Color“.* The television ads showcase the personal hardships and accomplishments of now famous and successful African American women. The goal of the campaign is to inspire others to work hard and never give up on pursuing their dreams (similar to the stories about Tyler Perry and Michael Jordan seen in earlier posts on this site). The four amazing women featured in the TV ads include Holly Robinson Peete, Bethann Hardison, Thelma Golden, and India.Arie. These women speak to the issues of Legacy, Beauty, Education, and Community in several short video interviews posted on the site.
In addition to the ads showcasing these four women, Target has partnered with the Smithsonian Institution and Scholastic to provide free Black History Month lesson plans to teachers.
Throughout this campaign Target seeks to celebrate, educate, and inspire others, specifically within the context of diversity. An extension of the “Dream in Color” campaign (which is intended to run for an entire year), also found on the website, includes video interviews with other successful artists, designers, and community leaders including John Legend, Emilio Estefan, and Sami Hayek.
All of the videos in this campaign emphasize ambition, believing in yourself, common ground, determination, encouragement, hard work, hope, inspiration, living your dreams, overcoming, perseverance, strength, etc, etc, etc… through the personal stories of these individuals. Basically, they hit on a lot of the virtues we promote on this site. I think the overarching theme here, and one we so desperately need to hear in these difficult times, is to take personal responsibility and LIVE YOUR DREAMS, a.k.a. “Dream in Color”.
*Unfortunately, I am not able to post the videos directly onto the blog because of Target’s restrictions. However, all videos are available through the link above.
And the Responsible Advertising Award goes to…
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Walmart? When I first saw this I was expecting an agency or some significant commercial, but what the presenters of the award (Hallmark and Parent’s Television Council) were looking for was a little more than just one commercial or even one campaign. Walmart was given the award because they have “committed to a policy of only sponsoring family-friendly programming through their advertising” (parentstv.org). I liked this because they were given an award for sponsoring responsible television. This means that it wasn’t just a narrow election, Walmart was chosen because they encouraged several programs and the commercials inbetween which has much more reach than a campaign. I didn’t know what the Parent’s Television Council was at first, but I found out (according to their website) that they are “the nation’s most influential advocacy organization protecting children against sex, violence and profanity in entertainment.” Hallmark teamed up with PTC and created this award. Walmart recieved the second anual award late last year. Pretty cool that their is a responsible advertising award out there that holds some weight.
It’s good to hear a mammoth like Walmart invests money in promoting socially-conscious programs like scholarships, this family-oriented television, voter registration, affordable perscription drugs, and energy conservation.
If Money Could Buy Happiness
Posted by: | CommentsThis ad from Master Card shows the benefits of life that (ironically) can’t be bought with money. This is a great way for Master Card to display how their card’s perks can positively influence their customers’ emotions. Instead of having to buy things to be happy, Master Card is giving their customers “laughs…hugs…smiles…contented sighs” for simply using their credit card. Who wouldn’t want that? And who wouldn’t want a Master Card?
Tyler Perry has a Dream of Inspirational TV and Inspirational Ads
Posted by: | CommentsI have heard of the show Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, but never seen it. What I did not realize was that this 39 year old was living in his car and now ranks as Forbes’42nd most influential Hollywood celebrity.
I just saw him on an interview on CNN and he shared his dream – to own a cable network. What interested me was when he said, “whether people watch for five minutes or five hours they will be inspired – Through both the programming and the commercials!”
An entire network available for uplifting advertising? I am rooting for you Mr Perry! Go for it.
Corrective Advertising Really a Punishment?
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The FDA and 27 attorney general ordered Bayer to produce a six-month, $20 million corrective advertising campaign for the birth control pill Yaz. The FDA decided that Bayer’s marketing and advertising for Yaz was deceptive and made false claims regarding its efficacy for acne and pms. The company’s corrective campaign started in late Janurary and is scheduled to end July 26.
However, I wonder whether requiring more ads for this pill is really much of a punishment. Consumers most likely will not realize that the campaign they are watching was a corrective ad that Bayer was forced to run. Wouldn’t it be a better punishment and greater deterrent to restrict a company from running ads for a certain period of time? Furthermore, I usually find the promotion of pharmaceuticals questionable in the first place. Maybe ads for birth control aren’t as bad, but campaigns for various drugs often seem odd to me. If you need a certain kind of medication shouldn’t your doctor simply be able to inform you of that, not a television commercial.
Responsibility Matters
Posted by: | CommentsWhat’s missing from this commercial?
The product.
Anheuser-Busch is spending millions of dollars each year running commercials promoting parental involvement. What is most remarkable is that there is no mention of the “product,” and the company isn’t shown until the end of the ads… and that’s only for a few seconds.
This isn’t Anheuser-Busch’s first endeavor at socially responsible advertising. In 1982 (yes, 27 years ago), they launched “Know When to Say When,” a campaign to fight alcohol abuse and underage drinking. Then they took it a step further. The company established a Consumer Awareness and Education Department who’s sole purpose is to develop and implement programs to help stop and prevent underage drinking and alcohol abuse.
To date, this beer company has spent half a billion dollars in advertising and programs aimed at (when you get right down to it) selling less beer. That is what I would consider virtue above profit.
Computer Tan
Posted by: | CommentsI found this commercial on adcritic.com it is advertising a fake product called “computerTan.com” it was made for Skcin (the Karen Clifford Skin Cancer Chairty) and when you go to the website to get your “Free Tan” it is actually a website about this fake product it is not tell you go for your free trial, does it tell you the actual purpose of the site… that UV rays kill and to not be fooled. Once I got to the message of this fake product it was very powerful however, at the same time I felt like it took a little long to get there because I don’t know how many people would have clicked through to get their free trial. Even though the ad was pretty sarcastic and unrealistic to the point where people should understand that it wasn’t a real advertisment you never know and when they go to the website it looks pretty legit telling you about the products. The Overall meaning of the ad was great but I really think that it shouldn’t take so long to figure out the message.
Do you think it took to long to get to the point?
A/X Window Display
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The above image is a red heart made out of about 400 red condoms. This is one of many window displays in A/X Armani Exchange stores around the country. This Valentines Day display was the cause of a lot of controversy and talk among shoppers. Although the heart is in support of the National AIDS Fund, many people were still worried about what kind of values A/X was promoting. Obviously they were getting the message out to practice safe sex, but these were up at shopping malls where families go. Parents were worried about their kids asking what a condom was, and others were worried about the display promoting sex to people who are too young to be engaging in the act. Many malls and shopping centers received complaints about the heart of condoms, but it is the right of A/X to keep it in their window if they so please.
Do you think that this display is appropriate to be up in windows where children can see?
Do you think A/X is promoting the right message and the right values?
