Stereotypes in Advertsing

In class, we discussed commercials that demonstrated the current fad of “going green.” More and more, we see companies releasing advertisements that appeal to the eco-friendly crowd, with the theme of conserving, recycling, and preserving our environment at the forefront of the movement. This particular Samsung LED 7000 Series commercial portrays itself as eco-friendly with there new Luxia “edge-lit” LCDs. These LCDs, built with mercury free components, reduces power usage by up to 40% in comparison with other LCD televisions. However, when looking further into their other TVs, I found only two others that shared the same characteristics. Of their whole television series, only four had scores that demonstrated “Good” power output scores for their size. Of those four, only three cost under $30 dollars per year to use.

 

Another component of this advertisement that is prevalent in their other commercials is the hummingbird. The hummingbird represents the beauty and uniqueness of nature. The reason why a hummingbird is utilized is because of its speed. The hummingbird is known as an extremely fast bird a quick wing flap (up to 90 flaps per second) and are so the only species of birds that can fly backwards. This translates into the message that Samsung is trying to send their viewers. The Samsung high-definition televisions are able to catch even the fastest of animals.

In the ongoing battle of McDonald’s McCafe versus Starbucks, brought on by the recession and Starbucks’ premium pricing for coffee, McCafe has been quite successful in its campaign. Based on these ads put out by Starbucks, the company seems pretty fearful of losing market share to McDonalds.

All the ads are on a texturized fabric, signifying a more luxury good. The font is greenish/brownish coffee colors, in all different sizes- perhaps showing the wide range of choices and the individually picked cofee beans. It’s interesting that at first, Starbucks tried to offer better deals, and now instead they are simply using scare tactics in order to signal that any other cheaper coffee “comes with a price” and “leaves a really bad aftertaste”. I’d also like to note that Starbucks is not “just coffee” anymore. By making Starbucks its own category of product, it has made it less comparable to McCafe. The first and third ads would probably bother me and seem ineffective, but I do think the second ad has its merits. I know McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts always get my order wrong, and Starbucks does in fact have much classier service. They should definitely play this up more.

This is one of the commercials made for the Dove Campaign for real beauty. It depicts how when it comes to high fashion and modeling, often what we see on the print in the altered original from the editing room. The viewer, ultimately, is challenged to really understand what it means to be beautiful in our society given that we see such a manufactured version of  it on a daily basis.

I think that this commercial is particularly well-crafted and effective. The lack of dialogue causes you to focus solely on image, and this emphasis becomes almost overwheling as the changes in the model’s face become more and more manufactured. I appreciate the tastefulness with which the ad was made because it could have been considerably more scathing or judgemental. Rather, it is just an important and current message the advertiser presents to its consumer.

I think it is so weird to remember this ad back when I first saw it at a younger age and not understand the ramifications of using sex to sell candy to people. I supposed at the time that it didn’t register properly or consciously, but when I reviewed it I was kind of disturbed at the use of sexuality in the ad. Really, it’s pretty tame by today’s standards and is actually kind of cute in a weird way, but the fact of the matter is that M&M’s is a candy that has a lot of connotations with children (odd enough since it was a candy designed for soldiers in WWII). This sexualization of the product conveys to those watching it that candy itself has sexual connotations, and that M&M’s are particularly hot because they’ve just added a bold, sexy new color.

This is one in a campaign of ads by “Truth” that speaks out against tobacco use. It feaatures a man who, dressed as a cowboy, tries to sing a campfire song of sorts and exposes the fact that cigarettes have rendered him inable from using his vocal chords. While he’s singing, the reactions of people (not actors) are filmed right on the street.

I think this campaign has had one of the better strings of luck with shock advertising. to me, shock ads are mostly tasteless and are created for temporary measures, but the people behind “Truth” have managed to make the same topic sound more interesting and shocking everytime they repeat their message. No doubt they use guilt and shame in their campaign to get consumers to immediately understand the message, but I believe they do it in a way and about a particular product that makes this form of publicity more permissable.

This video was one in a series of ads make by The Lonely Island (of which main actor Andy Samberg is a member). The purpose of the ads was to make a commercial for Klondike Bars, and contestants could send in multiple tapes (I don’t really know specifics about the contest aside from that, only also that the winner’s ad got screened on TV).

I feel like many companies are beginning to place their advertising dollars into getting the consumer more invested in making the message of the product. More and more agencies are being shunned for the DIY YouTube alternative; it’s probably cheaper, more fun, and it lets the consumer think they have a hand in determining the message of a product rather than just being told to buy it. It’s an opportunity to show how creative the consumer is, while simultaneously allowing the company to be more in tune with its consumers.

I loved this whole campaign. I though every part of it was totally absurd and really appreciated that they didn’t go directly to stereotypes of Latino travelers/explorers. There is almost no premise, onnly the mythical things the narrarator describes about this man. The man himself is “James Bond”-esque, seen cavorting with different women and embarking on borderline-ridiculous excursions.

There weren’t really any parts of the ad that bothered me outright. I assumed that the man in the ad has a Spanish accent because the beer being marketed is a Mexican lager, so he is meant to represent the product on some literal connection. Still, there was no particular emphasis on his Spanish heritage and there was no exploiting an accent or the manufacturing country. I though it was a well-done (and definitely well recieved) post-modern style ad.

ANTM

I was always one of the closet fans of the reality competition show “America’s Next Top Model”. However, after the class we had on product placement and sponsorship in the industry, I realized that this show was one of the frontrunners in the campaign for TV to get more products involved.Here’s a list of a few of the products that are sponsors of the show and are re-listed as prozes for the winners:

-modeling contract with Ford Modeling Co. (once was Wilhelmina and Elite Mgmt.)

-spokesperson for Cover Girl Cosmetics (once was Revlon)

-spread in Seventeen Magazine (once was Elle and Marie Claire)

In between all that, the show has mini-competitions and photo competitions during which, for each challenge, there is a winner and a prize from a corporate (or independent_ sponsor.

It was just something that I realized I’d been totally unaware of as a consumer. The constant bombardment of the messages that this show sends and its sponsors provide is one that’s unhealthy and unrealistic.

I remember seeing this ad for the first time and not thinking it was funny at all. I believe it’s as non-sequiter as the Quizno’s ads with the creatures designed by the man behind rathergood.com, and I can’t understand the point of it because there is such a lack of correlation that I don’t see the point. It just really seemed like the agency was trying too hard to come up with a post-modern campaign that was not serious and not totally focused on the product.

I really like this series of advertising for Dentyne gum.  They speak to the idea that we have become increasingly consumed by the media, the internet, cell phones, ipods, computers: the technological world.  Dentyne uses the advertising device of “going back to basics” by showing friends and couples  hanging out, hugging, kissing, laughing, essentially interacting with each other without the use of technology.  The writing in the top left ad reads: “power down. log off. unplug. have mercy on your thumbs. browse the world wide something else. send me some not so instant-messages. undo. hit cancel. be together. make face time. “  I think these ads are very cute and they do in a way highlight the importance of cutting yourself off the technological world (even just for a few hours) and living life with the people you love. It also works well as a gum commercial because the idea is that when you are up close with other people, your breathe should smell good.