Taco Bell released these ads early this year, touting that people can lose weight by eating from the Taco Bell Fresca menu. Personally, I think this is irresponsible and almost offensive to the public. I think it is ridiculous that a fast food chain as unhealthy as Taco Bell can skew their advertising to make the public believe that their food will help you lose weight. I think this campaign should be pulled, because it is exactly why advertising gets such a bad reputation. Skewing the truth to sell something. Shame on you Taco Bell, you and your diet tacos.

Havas is the second largest advertising group in France that features global advertising and communications. The CEO of Havas Worldwide is David Jones. He not only oversees creative and marketing services of a network of 12,000 people and 250 offices, but he is dreaming to do something better. He is an entraprenour and the co-founder of One Young World that aims to be the voice of young people 25 and under of critical international issues including the environment, health and education. It consists of 1000 poineers from 100 countries to discuss the issues in this world and to emerge as leaders in the conference they had in London this February. It is great reminder that agencies are not always advertising a product for a profit, but that the employees are also engaged in world issues and also thinking creatively to enhance our future and view.

1969 IHOP commercial

I came upon this 1969 IHOP commercial and thought I would post it.  While on the subject of virtuous advertising, this commercial seems to embody traditional family values, happiness and innocence (i.e. the balloons??) and seems to attempt to position IHOP as a place where you can go to enjoy the simple pleasures of life.  I know that advertising was MUCH different in the 60’s then it is now but its important to note that what is considered acceptable advertising now days would be considered pornographic, crude and downright inappropriate by many consumers of the 1960’s.  Although virtuous advertising is important I thought that this IHOP ad was sort of funny because, though virtuous, its downright unsophisticated and seemingly random.  I am a firm believer in virtuous advertising but this ad makes me wonder if advertising has gotten more racy because our society as a whole is just more racy then they were back then.  Does advertising follow the standards of society or set them?  Sort of a nature vs. nurture question but in my opinion it is a bit of both.

Ellen DeGeneres’ show is very successful and creates an image for her that is funny and chipper. Every episode is packed with good vibes, messages, performances and stories and she gets outstanding reviews. Something that sets her apart is that she is gay and married to her wife Portia de Rossi. Late last year, Ellen turned her attention to a more serious side. She posted a PSA video against the gay marriage ban on her website. She writes underneath, “I believe in fairness. I believe in compassion”. It is interesting to me that with all the controversy over gay marriage, that regardless, Ellen still has very true followers. Quite impressive that even people with such strong feelings against gay marriage still participate, engage, and love her show, and have different values.

Tim McGraw is now doing celebrity endorsements for Outback Steakhouse, but it’s for a great cause. In an effort to raise awareness and donate money for the troops, Outback is starting a program called Operation Homefront. They will offer a “special” menu that customers can order from if they would like and all of the money from those menu items will go straight to the troops. Their goal is to raise 1 million dollars. So far, Outback has had a history of serving meals to 150,000 troops. I t hink this is a great idea from Outback and having Tim McGraw strum his guitar along doesn’t hurt them either. Outback is using Tim in other ways too, however, such as with their rewards program. Customers can join this loyalty program and have the chance to win Tim McGraw merchandise. Outback’s website focuses on the fact that both Tim and Outback represent community stewardship. He’s also kicking off his Southern Voice Tour which Outback is helping to promote. I just hope that if Outback continues this, they remember the main goal of what they are doing which is helping the troops. I can imagine that it is easy to get caught up in the fame and buzz of Tim McGraw.

Diet Coke is set to launch their new campaign called “Stay Extraordinary” during the Academy Awards. I’m pretty excited about it because I am addicted to Diet Coke and supposedly these new commercials feature the “young” generation of Diet Coke drinkers talking about their accomplishments. I am guessing that Diet Coke will up their brand image with these commercials because they will probably feature sad/emotional stories a bout children’s lives while incorporating inspirations/achievements/successes for that perfect ending to their commercials. I look forward to seeing these new commercials soon especially since Diet Coke does not typically do a great deal of TV advertisements.

PETA has great intentions, however, their campaigns are overdone and extravagant. “I’d rather go naked than wear fur” is a newer campaign to gain attention. Khloe Kardashian is captured nude in a photo for billboards. It is important that she is finding an organization that she can identify with. But to be this campaign is somewhat more propaganda than an advertising to promote the cause. Just because Khloe is pictured nude in the campaign also doesn’t necessarily say that she is against wearing fur, or that she is trying to actively convince others of this campaign. The anti-fur campaign was also a part of an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians on E!. The problem was that she felt uncomfortable shedding her clothes for the campaign. Although risky, it makes me wonder if she really cares about PETA. Overall, I don’t think that this exploitation is the best way to promote a virtuous campaign.

MTV goes on a limb to promote a campaign against digital abuse. Their headline is about ’sexting’ in America, “when privates go public”. This is quite a touchy subject, but MTV usually does a great job promoting to the right audience. Cyberbullying and online harassment is being to be a great concern with our cultures extreme use of technology. Pop culture is including seductive and explicit “sexts” that could be forwarded and eventually regretted. A recent MTV and AP study said that 3 of 10 young people have sent or recieved these nude kinds of “sext” messages and that digital abuse is a serious problem for people of their ages. Beyond the issue is that problem that most do not realize the potential legal consequences or that the “sexts” will come back to haunt them. MTV’s campaign is called a thin line and it is a big concern to them especially because it’s happening to teens (under 18). On the website, www.athinline.org, there are interactive quizzes, stories to share, and a $10 K challenge.

My first reaction to this SlimFast ad is that it is hilarious.  It is simple, in fact it doesn’t even needs words, the image does it justice enough.  I also think that, ran in the right magazines, it is extremely effective.  It’s clever, short, and even kind of humorous.  Yet, when I gave it more thought I realized, once again, it is placing a lot of emphasis on the way women look.  If someone who was having a wedding soon saw this ad in a bridal magazine they are likely to stop and think about their weight, even if no previous insecurity or concern about their weight for their wedding existed.  In a way it’s another example of advertising creating needs and desires where they did not previously exist.  Yet, one could also make the argument that losing weight before your wedding is a prevalent enough desire in our society that the ad is only a response to a need that is already there.

GoDaddy.com advertisement
This was a godaddy.com Superbowl ad this year. Godaddy.com is known for having racy ads during the Superbowl. What I find interesting about it is that when I saw this ad this year I had no idea what on earth Godaddy.com was in the first place, and the ad certainly did not do much to explain it. It was this mystery factor that compelled me to get online and figure out what Godaddy.com was all about. For all I knew it was some kind of internet pornography making site. Godaddy.com commercials, although racy, certainly elicit a response. It especially helps that throughout the year Godaddy.com does not do much advertising so when Superbowl runs around and these hot girls are in your face talking about godaddy.com and then they start taking their clothes off only to stop at “see more now at godaddy.com” Superbowl viewers are wanting to know what is up. The CEO of godaddy.com, Bob Parsons, comments on godaddy.com’s racy ads by saying “most ads are like a fat guy: not offensive, everybody likes him, but he gets no action [...] our ads, though maybe a little offensive, a little in your face, work.” To me it is people like this that give the advertising industry a bad rep. This is just another example of tasteless advertising that is effective, and in this particular instance I believe Parsons thinks he is being witty by going against the “norm” and doing what he needs to do to elicit a response. In my opinion this isn’t wit or cleverness, it is just plain cheap.