Extra Credit- Ethics

The topic of this presentation was ethics in advertising. I was not sure of what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. One speaker began by explaining that neither advertising or ethics is black and white. This was something that I had never considered before. I thought this was a great way to open up the discussion, as it got the audience members to think. Another speaker explained that it is not the ad that is being ethical or unethical, but the person creating the ad. For example, he explained that he had been offered an opportunity to create an ad for a cigarette brand. This went against his moral values, so he turned it down. Is it right to promote something that you do not agree in? Knowing that cigarettes kills people, it seems unethical to create promotional advertisements for it. Although the whole discussion was interesting, it was these two topics that stood out to me most.

Interruptive Advertisements- Pandora, YouTube, and Radio.

The most annoying interruptive advertisement are the ads on Pandora! I can not stand it when I am listening to my favorite songs and an ad that I do not care about comes on. What is even worse is that I do not have the option of skipping the ad. The same goes for YouTube videos. I am a big fan of youtube but I hate it when an advertisement comes on before I can watch my next video. It actually makes me completely uninterested in whatever product or service they are trying to push on me. Radio stations also have interruptive advertising. For example, my boyfriend and I were listening to Slow Jams on our way home from visiting my parents. We were singing along and after two songs, a commercial came on. Literally 10 minutes passed before another song came on. I could not believe that the radio commercials were longer than the actual music. By that point, we were already half way home.

Poop Shy-Toilet Roll Ipod Docking Station

My group decided to use the Toilet Roll Ipod Docking Station. We chose this item because we felt it was a gift that a busy mom would buy as a gag gift for a friend or perhaps child going off to live on their own. This product allows poop shy people the opportunity to poop without the discomfort of others listening in. 

Less Conversation
SFX: Elvis - A Little Less Conversation slowly fades in. Music cuts quickly during toilet flush.

Announcer: (Mr. Moviephone Deep Voice)
Claim your porcelain throne,
Be the King of your Bathroom,
with the Toilet Roll iPod Docking Station.

SFX: Song cuts back in to guitar solo.

Innovative Ads

Everyday we see tons of advertisements, whether it be television, internet, billboards, etc. Half of the time, we do not even realize that we are trying to be sold something. It has gotten to the point where advertisements do not catch my eye unless they are something out of the ordinary. When a consumer comes across something like this, it is likely that they will notice it and remember it. 

I really love this ad! Typically, the witch would be handing a poisonous apple to Snow White. However in this ad, the witch is handing Snow White a pack of cigarettes. This is definitely more eye catching than the typical anti cigarette ads.

I have never seen an ad like this. They used their environment to show case their trimmers. They are using the plants as long nose hairs. This is definitely eye catching! Not only is it eye catching, but amusing as well. I would love to come across an ad like this. 

This last ad is of an oversized LG refrigerator in Spain. An ad like this is NOT something that you can miss. It is creative and innovative!

The Typewriter, Where Brilliance Begins

The typewriter is not something that a lot of young college students can identify with. In order to make it something nostalgic for them, my group and I had to turn it into something they can understand. We decided to promote the typewriter as the starting point for everything they know today: media, literature, films, music, and todays computers/laptops.

Our main forms of advertisement would be radio, internet, and billboards. For radio advertisement, we wanted to focus on pandora. We felt that this would reach our target audience, as Pandora is very popular with College students. Our outdoor advertisements would focus on how the typewriter is the starting point for everything that people know today. For example, one billboard would show how typewriters were the starting point for popular magazines, literature, comic books, etc. Our slogan for this campaign is "where brilliance begins".

Nostalgia-Snow White

Using nostalgia as a marketing tool can be extremely useful. Nostalgia describes a sentimentality for the past, typically for a happier place or time. If a certain product can remind a consumer of a happier place, it is more likely that the consumer will want to purchase the product. For example, if a person spent their childhood summers on a particular type of boat, they would be likely to buy that same brand of boat in the future.

In the past couple of years, a lot of Disney movies have been remade. Alice in Wonderland and Snow White, to name a few. I spent my childhood watching these movies. I can still remember watching these films in my grandmothers den or at my parents house sitting on my pink bean bag chair. These nostalgic moments are memories that I cherish from my childhood.

When I first heard that these movies were going to be remade, I was thrilled. What could be better than an updated version of my favorite films? When I finally saw the movie trailers, I was not impressed. The story lines were altered and the characters were not as I had imagined. There were no singing and the princesses or main characters were not sweet and beautiful. The movies had been completely altered, it was nothing like I had remembered. I was so turned off by the vast differences that I did not watch these movies. This is a perfect example of how nostalgia can be unsuccessful. The advertising for the new films did not draw in viewers from past generations.

It's never been so simple to live the jeep life...

The Jeep we chose for our commercial is the Jeep Cherokee. Our target audience is people age 50-70. Our theme is, "its never been so simple to live the jeep life". Elderly people do not want to feel as if they are aging. We wanted to chose a car and commercial that would make people in this age range feel young, but still be age appropriate. We decided to use Chevy Chase as our spokesperson. We chose him because we felt that he was someone that people in this age group would recognize, and appreciate for his humor. The commercial would be of Chevy Chase exploring mountain ranges, beaches, etc with his friends. He would be showing his passengers how easy it is to use the technology in the jeep,  such as the GPS or turn dial shifter. At the end of the commercial, Chevy would get pulled over by a police officer. He would act like the "typical old man", sweet yet confused. What officer would want to give a cute grandpa a ticket? After avoiding the ticket, Chevy would drive off to his next adventure.