This ad has been out for a year or so, but they have started showing it on TV again and I really like it. I’m a Wells Fargo customer, but this ad is inspiring and shares the right message at the right time by a bank. I think its inspirational and just makes the character of BoA seem virtuous.

In the world of aviation travel, commercials are all about the cheapest prices and the most benefits for its frequent flyers. However, Southwest Airlines have concentrated on the most important thing over the past couple of years: customer service. This concentration has made them one of the most successful airlines in recent history. As someone who rarely flys Southwest (they don’t fly to Atlanta), this ad really makes the potential customer feel empowered. I think its very unique in that it says very little about the airline, no mention of prices or benefits, only the sheer excitement of traveling. It emphasizes one of the most negative parts of flying (the anxiety before deplaning) and turns that negativity into excitement and joy. I think it is an innovative ad that continues to set itself apart from the competition with honesty and a clear concentration on the customers experience.

I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of hearing every, single news reporter and politician (including our President) bemoan the state of the U.S. economy. They ring their hands and pat us on the head as they suggest the ONLY solution is for the government to jump in and save us. Yeah… whatever. Last I checked, we’re Americans–we have a long and distinguished heritage of saving ourselves.

What happened to leaders who inspire… who understand that we are the most resourceful and productive society in human history?? Where are their words of inspiration?

Guess Southwest Airlines, like me, got tired as waiting…

Thank you, Southwest Airlines, for reminding us who we are.

We have featured several commercials from Mastercard’s “Priceless” campaign on AdVirtues. In fact, the campaign was featured on the Getting It Right page as an example of a consistently virtuous, heart-warming, and inspiring campaign. However, one of my favorite “Priceless” spots has not yet been mentioned and taking another look at the ad brought up some interesting questions for me, namely can virtues, or more specifically virtuous advertising, translate across cultures?

Take a look at Mastercard’s “My Favorite Things,” and below I will consider some of the implications in the relationship between international or multicultural and virtuous advertising.

In my opinion, virtuous advertising could present itself as either one of the most problematic forms of advertising, in terms of translation into international or ethnic markets, or as one of the greatest opportunities for advertisers to gain a true understanding and connect with those markets.

Reviewing the above commercial, I realized something striking…it is all about the individual.  Coming from one of the most individualistic societies on the planet according to Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions, the commercial resonates deeply with Americans.  The romantic idea of “getting the most out of life” by traveling the world alone, experiencing new things and places, or going on a personal journey is not a foreign (no pun intended) concept for Americans today.  From a young age, Americans are taught to be independent, to set personal goals, and Americans’ identities are by and large rooted in the individual as opposed to the collective.  We live by the conviction that one of the main purposes in this life is to live your dreams and discover yourself.  The importance placed on the personal journey is shared by many cultures, mainly western European.  Look at the number of self-discovery stories/movies we consume, the perception of college as a time focused more on “finding yourself” than academic learning, and the cliche backpacking trip across Europe in search of YOU, the individual.  In fact, as a society, we believe so strongly in the importance of self-actualization that ”living your dreams” is one of the 52 virtues identified by The Foundation for a Better Life and touted on AdVirtues.   The above ad speaks to American virtues of “ambition”, “believing in yourself”, and “living your dreams” that is why we can all relate to and enjoy this commercial, right?  That is why it is effective among the American target.

One problem, most cultures are collective, not individualistic.  This means they place more importance on the collective identity of the group, whether that be as focused as the biological family or as broad as the entire nation as community. 

Would the above ad translate beyond our borders?  Would any virtuous advertising? 

 This highlights the existing and well-known challenges of international advertising.  However, virtuous advertising seems to problematize cross-cultural advertising exponentially.  Not only do words need to be translated, images modified, and ideas reshaped, but virtues need to be examined to ensure they are relevant or even understandable in the other culture.  In highly collective cultures such as China or Mexico, the above ad would seem very odd.  For them getting the most out of life wouldn’t include traveling alone or maybe even fulfilling personal goals, but more likely building relationships with others and connecting to one’s community. 

This illustrates that virtues may prove to be one of the most difficult things to translate or apply outside of a certain cultural context. 

What does this mean for virtuous advertising?  Can those of one culture make virtuous ads that will be successful in other markets?  Would placing a “virtuous” ad in an international setting be more difficult than a more traditional ad that does not appeal to beliefs and values?  How can virtuous advertising serve to actually enhance the effectiveness of international advertising?  Can it?  Have an example of an international campaign that successfully employed the values and beliefs of the intended audience’s culture?  I want to hear from you!

This is a really neat billboard ad from the Foundation for a Better Life. It shows surfer Bethany Hamilton “rising above” an obstacle to continue pursuing her passion for surfing. Not only is this ad inspiring, but it also symbolizes the values of hope, dedication, courage, and ambition.

While looking for another VISA ad, I came across this one. I remember seeing this commercial during the Olympics last summer and really felt it captured the spirit of The Games… celebrating what we all have in common rather than allowing our differences to divide us. I loved this message! I remember rewinding it for my kids and expounding on it. (Of course, I wasn’t nearly as eloquent as Morgan Freeman. )

Although The Games are over, the message is still important… and this ad still gives me chills!

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.

I was just recently researching De Beers and learning about their history in advertising. What they have done is very impressive. Diamonds, back before the late 1930’s, were not seen as the utter symbol of love. In fact, stones like topaz, rubies, and sapphires were seen as much more luxurious. De Beers needed to create a demand since diamonds were taken out of the safes during the Depression to be sold. This destroyed the diamond market which already wasn’t nearly as successful as it is now-a-days.

De Beers created a very intelligent marketing plan. They had to eliminate the after-market. The company turned the diamond image into something given as a gift, meaning it would not be sold as often later on. Once this was established, they identified their real target market: men. They implemented a ‘pull’ strategy by showering Hollywood stars like Marilyn Monroe in diamonds and created them as, “a girls best friend.” De Beers was on the map. Women would see the De Beers ads with lines of honeymoon poetry flowing around the perfect, sparkling rock and be entranced by the ‘idea’ De Beers was selling. Diamonds became a must for marriage and the ultimate show of affection. Men were educated by the two months salary and by 1960 nearly 80% of married women had a diamond on their finger, a massive increase from nearly no brides having one.

The diamond monolith had created a brand image that has not changed much since 1938. Responsible advertising? Probably not, but extremely impressive advertising. I blog about it because this campaign of “A Diamond is Forever” has changed the whole way we view marriage and altered a whole social aspect of Americans. They’ve cemented themselves into millions of romantic lives and monopolized the entire materialistic aspect of love.