Author Archive
Where will it end?
Posted by: | CommentsI have to say that I feel so behind on all of this social media stuff. Even though I have been learning so much about social media I still feel as if I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface. Keeping up with social media is a full time job; especially if you want to create a successful campaign within it. I feel that it is really important to be involved in social media because it is the future. Heck it’s not even the future it’s now. We all know that it is a much better way to reach people but even when you think you’ve got it all figured out it changes. It took me a long time to jump on the facebook bandwagon. My friends had to beg me to join and so I finally did and still am not aware of all of its capabilities. But as soon as facebook becomes the norm a new social network, twitter, arrives and it’s the hot new thing with endless possibilities and you have to adjust to something new all over again. I feel as if it will never end. It will constantly keep evolving and changing and we will never be able to keep up. The other problem with social media marketing is that as quickly as it is evolving it takes time to reach people within these networks so by the time you have built a steady presence in one social medium there is a new one that you need to become a part of. I am all for social media but where will it end? We talk all the time about the adclutter in traditional advertising but what about the clutter in social media? Companies may use social media to stand out yet how will they stand out in social media?
Can one be expected to be Virtuous all the time?
Posted by: | CommentsI have been struggling with something lately regarding being virtuous and socially responsible in advertising and that is can we be expected to be socially responsible all the time? This is something that has been discussed many times in ethics classes. We can sit here and say that we want to change the industry and only produce work we can be proud of but at the end of the day we are getting paid to do a job. I am in no way saying that we shouldn’t strive to always be virtuous and produce good work but as we have seen by all of the non-virtuous advertising out there it is not always easy to produce virtuous work. It takes more of an effort to create the kinds of ads that we have promoted on this blog and I do not think it is realistic to believe that we can be expected to produce this kind of work all of the time, especially when we are first starting out in the industry and questioning someone’s creative work and going against the group could put us in a bad position. I realize that I am being controversial here because the point of this blog is to promote virtuous advertising and try and change the image of the industry but I want to hear from ya’ll. So can we be virtuous all the time? Where do we draw the line between being virtuous and making a living?
Target Rocks!
Posted by: | CommentsO.K. I am posting another target ad because I love these and they are an awesome example of virtuous advertising.
Enjoy.
Target promotes a new way of life
Posted by: | CommentsI know a lot of things that we have posted have been related to the economy but unfortunately it is top of mind right now and as I have stated in a previous post advertising is reflecting that.
Target never ceases to amaze me. I have always loved their commercials because they are clever and visually appealing. Not that target needs to do anything to get me in there because I am in there at least once or twice a week but I still enjoy watching.
This recent target ad is so clever and very reflective of the times.
The message it presents is since we are all hard pressed for money we reinvent the way we do things. We should come up with cheaper alternatives that are just as great. We do not have to feel down because we cannot do all of the things we used to do.
The ad presents a great message and promotes it’s cheaper alternative products for a new lifestyle and a new time.
Genius!
Pepsi inspires
Posted by: | CommentsIn keeping with the theme of my earlier post about the shift in advertising messages I want to address Pepsi’s new campaign for every generation refreshes the world.
I have been discussing in my advertising classes how we are seeing a change in advertising campaigns. Due to the economic recession advertisers are having to reach people in a different way. I have definitely seen more positive and uplifting advertising then I remember seeing in years past. I think companies are trying to keep things light and positive and that is exactly what Pepsi has done with their recent campaign.
I think this commercial has such a positive message behind it and it makes me smile every time I see it and proud of my generation because every generation is unique and “refreshes the world”
I think with all of the negative things going on it is nice to see an ad that can be inspiring and make people happy. Way to go Pepsi! (I always liked Pepsi better than coke anyway 
)
Is the recession leading to more socially responsible advertising?
Posted by: | Comments*the word “article” is a link to the article I read that was discussing this topic. I wanted to make sure you all saw that because the blue is kind of faint and it is a really interesting article.
I recently read this article that was addressing the tough times that advertisers are having due to the current economic recession. This is a difficult time for advertisers because they are advertising to consumers that aren’t buying. So what do they do? They have to address people in a whole new way, in a way that encourages smarter spending and less consumption but includes the product they are trying to sell.
One of the examples used in the article is Allstate insurance. In their recent ad campaign they are encouraging people to get back to basics and that in these hard times people begin to focus on the small things in life and they tie in their product by saying that those things need to be protected which is where Allstate comes in. I have to admit this commercial made me feel very warm and fuzzy inside.
Exxon Mobil Doing Good
Posted by: | CommentsIn regards to our discussion yesterday about Exxon Mobil I decided to do a little research about the company. By exploring their website I discovered that Exxon is doing a lot of great things. They have created many programs including a program that they do during the summer in which they recruit 65 interns and send them to work at local non-profit organizations in the Houston area. They also support the Global Climate and Energy Project which combines pre-commercial basic research with the practical know-how of major corporations, in hopes of accelerating the development and use of low greenhouse gas-emission energy technologies. The research focuses on developing solutions— through breakthroughs in fundamental science and engineering science— that will help meet society’s objectives for abundant energy, high efficiency, clean air, and substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
I also found this great ad which shows Exxon’s support of helping people in Africa with Malaria:
I think this ad is a great thing for Exxon Mobil, I think it shows some of the positive things that the company is doing to help out. It would be so easy and beneficial for Exxon to put more of these kinds of things out on the web. I have never seen this commercial and I never knew about all of the positive things that Exxon is doing. Of course, I have never looked but I think it would be great for Exxon to promote some of these positive ventures more and they could easily combat some of the negative presence they have in social media.
State Farm Promotes Safe Teen Driving
Posted by: | Comments*This is a re-post because I did not know how to properly use word press when I added this post.
I really like State Farm’s insurance campaign promoting safe teen driving, not only are the ads entertaining but it is promoting a positive message. Unlike most advertising that can be viewed as promoting unnecessary consumption State Farm is promoting their product with a positive message behind it. Not only are they promoting safe teen driving but they are also taking efforts to reduce the number of accidents among teen drivers by supporting tougher laws and leading research efforts.
