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.