Category Archives: Advertising

Mar 21 2012
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Advertising

Music’s New Form Of Advertising

Have you ever been watching TV when a commercial comes on and grabs your attention with a song that you have never heard but instantly like? Or after seeing the same commercial a couple of times you realize the song starts to get stuck in your head and you want to hear the full version? TV commercials are starting to use new, up and coming music that is not well-known but has potential to be popular. For example, Chevrolet used the song We Are Young by Fun. in their Superbowl Ad:

Now (March 21st, 2012) this song is #1 on iTunes top charts. Music and ads are now working hand-in-hand for each other. A popular, likable song can catch attention, influence viewers, and bring familiarity to the commercial. A commercial that introduces a new song can be seen as “on top of their stuff” since they know good music before it is popular, create recognition of the brand when the song is heard, and increase sales for a music artist. Websites like Squidoo.com can help you find the song name and artist from the commercials. Youtube will sometimes hold the information in the text below the video as well.

As my roommate and I drove to the store together, I showed her a new song I had downloaded. Mid-song she said, “Oh, I know this song. It’s from that Internet Explorer commercial.” I hadn’t seen the commercial yet but I had discovered it off of iTunes top charts list where it was listed as #36. My guess is that the Internet Explorer commercial inspired people to find the song and download it off iTunes, increasing its rankings on the top charts. In this interaction, both the brand and the artist win. It’s weird to see that happen nowadays but hooray! Music makes the world a better place!

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Mar 04 2012
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Advertising, Thoughts

25. One small step for the acrobat, One giant leap for her career

So here it is… my portfolio link. The first baby step into the marathon of my career. Let’s do this.

Photo by: Dan Morrison

Take a leap of faith, depend on others, but most importantly give others reasons to depend on you.

Feb 27 2012
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Advertising

23. Red Bull Wings from the Drink or the Brand?

Brands, brand equity, brands “doing good,” brands screwing up, brands inspiring, brands annoying…

Basically, brands are always doing.

A great example of this is Red Bull and their Launchpad. The project begins with people submitting a 30 second video to the Launchpad site that explains an idea they want to see happen; “Here’s a chance to do what has never been done before. Make it big. Make it bold. Make it before someone else does.” The uploaded video clips will go through voting to see which idea will be brought to life.

The project idea lives up to their motto, “Red Bull Gives You Wings.” Finally Red Bull has left the cartoon campaign of old men with wings flying around the screen chugging the energy drinks. Their new campaign, Launchpad, is more realistic and focuses on inspiring athletes and doing the impossible. With the Launchpad project idea, Red Bull tells you they can make your dream come true whether it’s on a court or something impossible you want to see happen.

Here is one of the Red Bull commercials off their new campaign.

(Song – “Outro” by M83)

The campaign has definitely changed my outlook on their brand for the better.

I may not drink Red Bull but I feel this brand has given me some wings.

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Feb 22 2012
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Advertising

20. Ads of the Past that Would Not Fly Today

(“Pears Soap- now with such a soothing lather, you won’t notice that your baby has gotten into a horrible accident!”)

- Special thanks to RetroComedy.com and Leon Watson, Mail Online.

It’s crazy to think that these ads were acceptable in society at one point. I would love to somehow be a fly on the wall during these time periods and observe society’s reaction to these ads first-hand. Well, at least we learn from our mistakes.

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Feb 20 2012
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Advertising

18. Creativity for Change

In Brazil only 5% of Brazilians speak English. Ogilvy Brazil decided to do something to promote the education of English for kids in Brazil. At an English-language school called Red Balloon, Ogilvy got the kids to creatively use English. Ogilvy asked the kids what they wanted to be when they grow up. Ogilvy helped translate the responses into English and created a personal kids business card for each. The point was to show that all dreams begin with English. The kids were so proud of their colorful and fun cards that they shared them with friends, families and neighbors. It created a “workforce of 12,000 kids.”

I saw this ad while stumbling through The Ads of the World and it reminded me of the advice from Carson York in my Creative Strategy class. Carson explained the importance of companies doing good for the world and how it’s not about covering up mistakes but about building brand equity and leverage ahead of time in case mistakes happen. Carson says you must back up the company’s mission statement with action that benefits many people, more than just the initial parties involved.  Ogilvy changed the lives and goals of many children in Brazil by providing a base to start dreaming about their future with the influence of the English-language.

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Feb 12 2012
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Advertising

17. “Cultivate a Better World”

Chipotle’s “Back to The Start” short film aired during this years 2012 Grammy Award show. The advertising agency was CAA with the help of Chipotle. The production company behind the brilliance was Nexus Productions. Willie Nelson’s version of Cold Play’s “The Scientist” complimented the ad perfectly.

It’s about time that food brands start to promote a sustainable future. Way to lead by example, Chipotle!

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Feb 12 2012
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Advertising

16. Ad War: Google Chrome vs. Bing

Google Chrome‘s tear-jerker commercials have been hitting hearts for almost a year now. “Make It Happen” is their most recent ad on television.  While watching the Grammy‘s, this ad grabbed my attention above all the other expensive commercials. This ad is the definition of connecting to the culture of its target audience; which includes anyone with internet. The ad was made with clips of viral videos, Google searches, and common actions on the Internet, like planning trips, emails and homework. The ad gives viewers a special feeling of connection to the content. When viewers see a viral video that they have personally seen on their own, it makes them feel as if they were “in” on an “inside joke.” The viewers can then laugh with the ad and feel as if they are up-to-date with the Internets treasures.

Google Chrome’s ad also brings in the famous action of “google it.” The words typed in to the search bar in the commercial was “be a better dad.” With the technology of Google, we can “google” practically anything and get a related result. The key to this ad is how well all the clips relate to the viewers. This humanizes the company and allows the viewer to feel comfortable with the brand.

Another great one by Google Chrome is Dear Sophie.

Bing is the competing search engine with Google. Since Google Chrome has been coming out with inspirational and story-telling ads, Bing felt the need to bring in their own style of narrative ads. Inputting the “ing” in the same type as Bing was creative but I don’t feel it supplies the viewers with an understanding of what Bing can really do, compared to the Google Chrome ads.

I feel Google Chrome is winning the war. Suit up Bing, this war is never-ending.

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Feb 12 2012
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Advertising

15. Spike and Wacca Present: Microchipping

Here is a public service announcement that I created for my Journalism class.

Don’t forget to microchip your pets!

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Feb 12 2012
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Advertising Image

14. Safety and Fashion Combined, GOOD! Idea

These clever bike helmets were created by the advertising agency, Good! Good! is located in Kazakhstan and does work in PR, marketing, advertising, creativity and design. The helmet designs earned the award, Best of the Best 2011 by reddot design.

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Feb 11 2012
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Advertising

13. Shazam! – Taking Ads to the Next Level

Shazam! And no, not like the comic. Shazam is an app for smartphones and iPads. The app allows you to discover and buy music, tag songs, and view the song lyrics instantly.  The app works simply by holding the phone close to the speaker as the phone identifies the playing song.

              

This app has become extremely popular with smartphone users, however the app is now being used for more than just music. Advertisers have already jumped on board with the app by putting ads on the screen that shows the identified song. But now Shazam has made a bigger step into the advertising world. Commercials are adding the Shazam symbol to the bottom corner of their ads. Shazam calls it “Shazam for TV.”

This allows viewers to Shazam the ad and learn more information about their company, product(s), and/or coupons. This is highly beneficial for advertisers because it allows the Shazamers to see more about the campaign, or whatever the company desires, without having to leave the couch. The one-touch Shazam button on the hand-held iPhone allows a targeted audience and a win-win for all parties involved. If the viewer wants to learn more, she can; easily with Shazam. If the viewer is uninterested, she is not forced more information.

I think this is a great way to enhance advertising to make it more interactive and easy to access more information. Yay for smartphones and smart people!

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