Typewriter Nostalgia Campaign

For our advertising plan, we decided to focus on attracting the younger generation by advertising the product at places where our generation like to do their shopping at. Not everyone can shop for designer clothes so we have to do the best with what we got the look the best with what ever item we can find where ever it may be like thrift stores. We can find old clothing and cut them into whatever fashion fits us best and still be proud of what we wear.

Our generation grew up when the computer was first booming so not many of us have used a type writer. Through social media, commercial, and bill boards we can build advertising campaign to attract our generation into being engrossed on the vintage, antique feel of a type writer.

Our social media aspect of our campaign would focus on consumers stories and their type writers. Long are the days where Facebook was only for the young generation and now has become the norm for many people to keep in touch with each other and network. We would ask consumers of old "What their story" is to get the young get more of a feel for what the product is like and how it has helped them on their journey through life and made it easier for them to write papers for class back in their young days. It would bring a nostalgic feeling to adults who reminisce about their days writing papers for class and let the youth know, adults were at one time just like them, care free and just trying to be successful. The younger generation would take interest in type writers just to have one even though it's not a necessity to have a feel for what their adults went through and how even though it's not as typing on a keyboard and printing the paper, their adult counter-parts were able to do it on a type writer that wasn't able to delete.

Our commercial would focus on an adult in his younger days writing on a type writer then finishing his last paper and turning in it to his professor getting a smile, with the professor telling him "Good job, you've not finished you're last college paper, get ready for the real world." It would then jump to his grandson many years later,who was having senoritas, typing a page on his computer and his grandpa coming up telling him the story of his day when type writers were all they had and how easy he's got it with a computer where they do spell checks for him and correct his grammar when he couldn't even delete the last letter without making it look bad. The grandpa would then grab his type writer and give it to his grandson and tell him to try writing his paper on this, where he'd then get a better feel for what his grandpa went through and appreciate the type writer fully, learning to embrace it.

Our third advertising campaign would focus on billboards and benches where people would be able to sit on a type writer itself, so they get the idea in their head and are more exposed to the type writer. It would show them the vintage feeling of it being black and white, and they'd ask themselves since it isn't so expensive, why not have one just in case their laptop or computer wasn't operable.

Harley Davidson

In response to the Harley Davidson questions

Brand communities bring a tighter family style setting for consumers to get more involved and stay loyal to a brand. When not only you but your group of friends or family share interest in the same brand, it demonstrates the bond you have with each other and portrays that you're part of something bigger. Thousands of people rally up with their Harley Davidson bikes each year at events all around the world, showing off their customized bikes or just that they themselves own one and want to show that they too are part of the crowd. It brings consumers who don't know each other together to show everyone has a point of interest, something they can communicate to each other with, and talk in full detail of the thing they love.

The Posse Ride brings creates a society for both men and women to get together and ride through the desert highways, hillsides, or in city areas to just ride among their peers and forget about the outside world for a second, as they ride with each other, they themselves are finding inner peace within themselves above the roaring engines of the many beside them. The Posse Ride lets consumers build a family around their brand, centering themselves around hundreds of thousands who enjoy riding their bikes, building a closer bond with their consumers.

The Harley Davidson brand is already a strong brand among many people and already has a strong hold on many of their consumers, so they'd have to have a bold plan if they were to change the brand. Doing some in moderation so that slowly their loyal consumers can not be scared of the change of resist but rather embrace is and see its not all too bad.

Harley Davidson attracts more of the 30-40 year old generation, so they don't have a very strong foot when it comes to the online social media, not many adults care for the internet and what it has to offer so if they were to grab a young generation into the Harley Davidson family, I feel they need to improve more on their online market, maybe with social medias like Instagram or Twitter, where young adults can show off their bikes and build their own new communities amongst each other. That would then catch the attention of the adults seeing the hip thing to do is take pictures of them and their bikes and post it online for millions of people to see and create an even stronger community.

Besides the 2-3 Harley bikers I'd see every now and then, I did experience one time when a gang member was slain and a gang of Harley Davidson bikers all joined  together and road along the funeral cars. They all revved their engines as loud of they can and road their way to the cemetery o bury their fallen comrade expressing their strong bond with each other and the sorrow they felt through their bikes as they went.

Interruptions, Interruptions!

With the rise of smart phones, tablets, and advancements in internet speed, we as consumers tend to turn our focus elsewhere when a commercial comes on. We like to just switch the channel or do a light task to fill in the time instead of engaging our attention to what people are trying to sell to us. Advertising agencies only focus on getting the product out there, instead of focusing on how the product should be put out there. If they found humorous or more unique ways of putting their advertisements people would actually pay a little bit more attention admiring the advertisement thus paying attention to it like the Super Bowl advertisements, some people watch the Super Bowl just for the advertisements because they know it'd be humorous.

For example, this 2013 Audi commercial didn't just have their car driving through a hillside, it showed them that their cars got class, and you'll feel better about yourself and in the end give you more confident to do whatever you want, and not even matter what the consequence was. It wasn't very serious, it showed the guy with a black eye at the end, smiling, not caring what just happened, but rather proud and laughed about it.

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Is TV the elephant in the room?

No I don't think so, not anymore with the rise of phones and tablets. TV isn't the only distraction anymore like it was back in the day when it was either sit home and watch TV or go outside and play. With the internet, people can watch whatever, whenever they want, without all the commercials. TV has just become another form of entertainment, not the only one.

Sweet and Salty Toblerone

For this week's assignment, we were asked to focus on Toblerone chocolate and *devise an advertisement campaign that would catch the attention of tech savvy young adults from ages 20-30 with the brand Toblerone chocolate.

In our group, we decided to focus on "Toblerone Moments" where we interact with the audience and have them get more grasp on what we're trying to sell

We decided to use Twitter, a popular social media amongst many others to promote Toblerone. The audience would tweet every time they bought a Toblerone chocolate with the hashtag #tobleronemoments and we'd have a raffle at the end of a certain time period and pick out a winner for every so often winning prizes that can range from many things.

Second, Instagram, a newer social media, but raised to popularity very quick would be focused for our advertisements as well. We'd have consumers post pictures of where they're at holding up a new Sweet & Salty Toblerone and decide who can take their photo in the most unique part of the world, from either the great Pyramids of Egypt or the Grand Canyon of Arizona, USA. Like twitter, we'd have consumers use the hashtag #Tobleronemoments so we can choose a winner amongst the many participants.

A third, not as popular social media, but it's intertwined with twitter, Vine, can be used for a way to get consumers to interact and show us how they feel about our product. We'd have consumers send us their 6 seconds to get some feedback from customers of how our new chocolate is doing, we'd then choose amongst consumers to come in and join us at our factory and let them see first hand how our chocolate is made, and of course hand them gifts for helping us get a better product out in the future.

These campaigns we've come up with are very simple, yet can get many customers to engage in a fun, active way in which we can see first hand how our customers enjoy our product and what more needs to be done.

Jeep advertising plan

In it for the long run is the motto of our planned Jeep campaign. Jeep is usually marketed as a car for the adventurous, but we wanted to adjust this angle and put a spin on it. Rather than marketing to only the adventurous at a a youthful age, we want to try to appeal to the adventurous at heart too, at older ages.

To accomplish this task, we want to concentrate on portraying family values through Jeep commercials by also demonstrating its durability. The plan for our commercial is to have grandparents up in a cabin house somewhere snowy, waiting for their children and grandchildren to arrive, with a Jeep parked in the front. The scene we want to portray will depict the grandchildren running to their grandparents, and embracing, excited to get into the Jeep for an adventure.



The cherry on top will be near the end of the brief commercial, where the grandparents open up the trunk to reveal presents stored in the spacious trunk, as well as revealing the impressive cabin space and decked-out interior. In order to make Jeep more suitable towards a larger market, our group chose to do so by marketing to the older range. To make this idea successful, we utilized love and excitement as the driving emotions.

Creativity: Breaking Conventions

 

 

 “Safe, conventional work is a ticket to oblivion.” –George Lois

In order to pave the golden path of success for a product to be adored and remembered by consumers, advertisements must be done in such a way that consumers have never seen. It's easy to be boring, but to be unconventional is to be daring. When I think of some products that use unconventional approaches to stick with a consumer, I think of Wonderful Pistachios and Lays.

Wonderful Pistachio utilizes celebrities and trends that are currently well-known, relying on the attention that phase is currently receiving and riding on that wave of publicity. Some figures this brand has utilized include: Honey Badger, Lamar and Khloe Odom, Psy, and Electric Cat. Though the concept idea of following a theme remains the same, the conventional approaches are broken by using well-known figures of the moment to get an idea across, no matter how provocative it may be - as in the case of Lamar and Khloe Odom where sexual references were inferred.

As for Lays,  they utilized their consumers and played at the natural curiosity of humans. They introduced the concept of having consumers create their own flavors and having people trying them out and voting to keep their favorites. This idea is ingenious, getting consumers so voluntarily and willingly involved. Personally, I am super itching to try the Sriracha, Cheesy Garlic Bread, and Chicken and Waffles regardless of my knowledge that I'm getting suckered into their marketing plot...

 

 

A Dedicated Mommy Falls For the TIDE

Some who loves using the Tide detergent brand envisioned in my head would be a dedicated Mother of two young children. Her day would be spread out as such..

She would wake up in the early morning to prepare coffee for her working husband, as well as a warm, inviting breakfast for him and their two children. After kissing her husband goodbye, he runs out the door in his dress shirt and tie with his coffee in one hand, and a newspaper and his briefcase in the other. This loving mother then devotes the remainder of her attention all towards her children, making sure they are dressed appropriately, fed their nutritious breakfast, and all ready for school.

She drives a Toyota Prius and drops them off at their elementary school. Following that, she returns home and starts to prep for dinner a bit. This mother that is envisioned has deep brown eyes, dark brown hair to match, has glasses (when she works or reads), and works from home to devote most of her time to her family. She chooses tide because she gets the most out of her money and Tide keeps her family's clothes clean the most.


The rest of her day would include some of her working form home, picking up her children, catering to their needs by helping them with homework, cleaning their rooms, and etc. She would also serve dinner, give her husband a massage after his long day of work, and finally tucking her children in and reading them a bed time story after checking their homework and helping them brush their teeth after dinner.

Consumers Love Pillow Pets

Consumers have the power to elevate the success and popularity of a product, or to dismiss it entirely. An example of this craze can be illustrated with the example of pillow pets. The thing with a craze is that people go out of their way to search for that product and yank it off all of the shelves because it happens to be the "in" thing.

Even after the "in" phase has dwindled, the popularity of pillow pets has already been established. I believe part of the reason that this product was so successful was due to the fact that it was marketed so appealingly to children. Invents anything that children adore, and their parents will pay anything to keep their children happy. This desire for something so fluffy, lovable, and cute was what made this product successful by having consumers fall in love with it. 

On a recent trip to Disneyland, I had also realized that Disney was following in the footsteps of the pillow pet craze and making their well-known Disney characters into Pillow Pets also. What smarter way to drive sales then to have original Disney characters made into Pillow Pets at the happiest place on earth where parents do not hesitate to spend every penny for magical memories? Thus, fully illustrates the consumer behavior that made this product successful.

Though i'm legally considered to be an adult, I do have to admit that I really do want a Pillow Pet also.. It's only the darn price tag that deters me..

Save the Polar Bears, Save the World

The environmental group I will be focusing on is WWF. WWF stands for World Wildlife Fund and it targets the masses by selling merchandise that benefits animals in need and aids global care. Such animals in need include pandas, fish, and tiger who are either in danger of extinction, or are over targeted; beside animals, WWF also aims to help land (i.e. deforestation) that is being exploited. Overall, WWF is concerned with climates, earth, species, agriculture, and forestation to sum it up.

What is smarter than grouping together cute, fluffy, cuddly looking polar bears with the environmental concern of the diminishing ice mass? This issue relates to the climate issues going on right now. WWF is tugging on the heart strings of animal lovers while attempting to raise awareness for the serious issue of global warming and climate change.


WWF uses print ads, advertisements and campaigns online through social media, and merchandise sales with the use of clothing and apparel.

Rose Petal Cottage

To make a toy more universal and less gender specific, there are several aspects that must be changed about the advertising approach. In the case of the commercial for the Rose Petal Cottage, the components that should be addressed for the advertising include: the actors, the colors, the scene, and the music.

Girls are the only ones shown for this commercial, therefore it limits the targeting audience. It also makes it seem like this toy is only exclusive for girls and guys would be made fun of if they wanted to play with this cottage. The activities that are portrayed by the girls such as the baking and other "homemaker-type" actions also exclude boys. The prominently pink color and girly scenes also make it girl specific. The music also playing in the background promote the feminine feel of the commercial.

In order to make this product more gender friendly towards a boy audience, the commercial could have included a group of kids (including boys) playing with the cottage instead of having just little girls running around it. More dominant colors such as blue, green, or black could also be utilized in the commercial to reduce the feminine feel. Besides playing house and doing the typical "homemaker" activities, hide and seek would have been a more efficient activity to illustrate the fun that can be associated with the toy cottage.

Stereotypes/Racism Prevalent in Movies and TV

Stereotypes of course still exist in this judging world of ours. Though traditional roles are being challenged, judging will always exist. An example of a stereotyping traditional role that has been challenged throughout the years is the role of women as a stay-at-home mother/wife and homemaker. Women now have been given more rights and freedom, and dare to act and behave just like their male counterparts.

Advertising is not necessarily solely responsible for stereotyping and racism, as people always will have judgements about others, but it does contribute. It feeds on the notions that are already present in people's minds.

An example of a movie where stereotyping occurs is "White Chicks" because there is an assumption that blondes are not smart.      

  

An example of a tv show where racism occurs would be BET's "The Game" where "typical" characterizations of whites and blacks are prevalent.

 

Racist Stereotyping, Tactful Upperhand or Just Plain Wrong?

I believe that we as the masses have just learned to accept the stereotyping that advertising has utilized throughout the decades. Because we do not give the stereotyping much thought or analysis, we accept it as the norm. Only upon further examination and a second look do we realize that what is occurring may not be ethical, but even a wrongful discrimination that we willingly accept in our daily lives.

I personally feel a little strange when it is put into the terms of "racially stereotyping", but as an advertising major, it will be what my job depends on. When put into black and white terms as such, it elicits unfavorable feelings but advertising has used racial stereotyping for many decades now. I think it is okay to racially stereotype for advertising purposes as long as those racial characterizations are not abused or made fun of. Such an example would be targeting good food/good cooking with Italians, as that is not an offensive race characterization in terms of advertising.







                                                                                                                                                                                                             
 Racism as whole without the intent of reaching out to a particular group is definitely not a thing of the past. Though the segregated restaurants, separated seatings, and separate fountains have long since disappeared, the feelings that fueled such action still persist. Advertising is okay and accepted without much thought because it aims to reach a wider audience without malicious intent but rather hopes of broadening a product's market, whereas racism alone targets hate towards a group of people because of their appearance or beliefs/race characterizations.

I believe that advertisers do have an ethical responsibility to make sure that the ads that they run and the people they attempt to target never feel awkward or uneasy in the way their particular race is portrayed. Sometimes people may feel racially targeted, but as I think it is okay as long as there are no negative aspects.

For example, the 2013 Superbowl Volkswagen Commercial conveys the message that Jamaicans are always happy.

Reading the Signs - Semiotics

Semiotics: the study of signs and sign processes (semiosis), indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication - definition courtesy of Wikipedia.

Though Semiotics can be defined, I feel like it is an extremely broad concept to understand and to fully cover. What it means to me, is what brand I instantly think of when I hear of a particular product, or what brand I associate with specific images or places. Semiotics to me means relativity to a product, synonymy with a brand or lifestyle.


 One example of such symbolism is Disneyland representing childhood and happiness. Invent something that children adore and their parents will happily pay you a fortune. The entire Disney brand is synonymous with children, innocence, and bliss.

Another example of symbolism is perfume with romance. Apparently if you smell like Ralph Lauren, you will have a handsome man frolicking with you in a field. This relation with smelling good leading to a romantic relationship is an example of semiotics in the works,  convincing the masses that smelling good = landing a stud.

 This video commercial is an example of Smirnoff being the alcohol of choice in representing the party lifestyle. Smirnoff indicates a good time, women, and being the life of the party.

Product Distinction or Marketing Scheme?

"Women dress for other women, and undress for men."

Honestly,  I think men can't even differentiate what's different on a woman half of the time (i.e. hair, nail color, perfume, outfit), they just know the golden rules - that women are complicated/moody creatures and to never ask how much they weigh.

 

So why do women care so much about clothes and looking good? Why are we so willing to shell out an extra $50 of our hard-earned cash on something name brand vs. a generic brand?

Well men's judgements aside, I think it's because we use fashion and appearance in attempts to make a statement of what kind of person we may be and our personality without having to state a single word. This is the gold that marketing is driven by, the desire to have the product speak on behalf of its owner in a favorable light. My "best-friends" in terms of name brands are all "best-friends" I can't afford, but merely dream of until I am no longer a broke college student - or if I don't eat (and blow it all on clothes, and SHOES).

When I think of elegance and class, I think of Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Louboutins - and all the other brands that cost almost as much as a semester's tuition. Though I do acknowledge the fact that I fall prey to the glitz and glamour that these brands perceive to bring, I question if it's really the lfiestyle I'm attaining to seek or rather the quality it promises. Deep down, I know I lust because it's the lifestyle that's so alluring, if I cared more about quality, brand names wouldn't be a concern at all.



   

Though my main example of brands serving more as a marketing tactic to attract attention rather than being a product distinction is focused on women (and ridicule of my illogical, lustful ways) and our crazy beauty rituals (beauty=pain I was taught at a young age), our time-consuming inability to decide the outfit for the day, and the desire to indulge on all things fabulous and trendy - the lesson of brand name preference can be applied to the masses and in all domain of products.

Dietmar Dahmen

"It does not matter what car a man may drive, but rather what drives the man."

The task of sitting through a speaker is one I've grown quite accustomed to. Sit and listen and feel inspired for a moment, then just feel the life drain out of me once again in a day or two... but this speaker was different. Dahmen's ability to completely captivate the attention of an entire room had me in awe. His enthusiasm towards advertising definitely reaffirmed the fact that this industry was something he believed in, something he utterly loved and was good at. The passion that radiates off him is what I hope to one day find in my own career, so that I utterly love what I do - so that I will never feel like I am working a day in my life. I hope to find what drives me to succeed. The subjects he had brought about about the future of advertising had me wondering what would come next in this ever changing field.



The two points Dahmen touched on that I found rather interesting were the unwillingness of people to change and adapt, and the brand serving as selling more of a lifestyle than a product.

For example, when he mentioned that no one in the ice industry had gone into the refrigeration industry, which was rather shocking because ice and freezer go hand in hand today. It struck me as the sense of stubbornness which caused the demise and end to many companies. Growing up, I also remember Kodak and uploading my memories/photos onto Photobucket and ordering prints of pictures and so forth, but those days no longer exist in a fast-paced lifestyle and the ever-so convenient iPhone camera roll. Things that fail to reinvent and adapt are the ones that people will most likely tend to forget.

The second point I definitely had to agree with was the brand power and capability, like with the example of a Harley-Davidson. We purchase for the freedom, the bold and daring statement about the individual on the motorcyle-more than we do for performance. Often times, it's often both we confuse. Certain brands become synonymous with a perceived state of quality and a certain desire of lifestyle.

 

Prior to his speech, I was rather hesitant towards my decision to pursue Advertising as a career, but now I'm certain I chose correctly. The excitement that radiates off him is what I hope to one day find in my own career, the thrill and prospect of excitement is what I crave.

What captures me about Advertising

I think as human beings, we are naturally awestruck and inclined towards beautiful things. That is exactly what excites me so much about advertising! It is still fascinating to me; advertisements are able to capture the essence of beauty, timeless elegance, and appeal just through the use of images and words.

To play on the human curiosity and desires, the images portray a certain lifestyle that the consumer wishes to have. This fantasy world is what drives sales, is what pushes consumers to keep wanting more.

    

    

Without advertising and branding, products would just be products. There would be no need to pay 3000+ for a Chanel hand bag when you could use any old satchel. It's the portrayed lifestyles that intrigue me, the indulgence.

Though some people may argue that advertising is propaganda for negative things such as tobacco or alcohol, I believe that this capability for such products to be transformed into a flattering and intriguing perspective is rather impressive. It's all how it is presented and perceived.