Sexism in Advertising

     When advertising, one usually has a particular target audience. I came across a couple ads that caught my attention because they were directed at the female population in a very evident way. I believe that these advertisements get the job done because I feel in a way special. I am a young female and felt a connection to the products being advertised because I did get a sense that they were made for me. I don't see the fact that these ads are concentrated for one gender a bad thing, sexism can be good or bad. In this case it was good. Sexism does sell or capture attention in my opinion.

Targeted Advertising

     Wal-Mart is universal. It's practically impossible to find someone in the United States that has not purchased something from a Wal-Mart. When we purchase something we get a receipt, have you ever taken a close look at that receipt? I did recently and was quite astounded to see another universally popular product logo, Facebook. That easily recognizable blue "F" caught my attention towards the bottom of my receipt.

     The time has come for social networks to be advertised and promoted on receipts. I see this as targeted advertising because Facebook knows exactly the kind of people they will be advertising to and reaching out to. This type of advertising will be very successful because Facebook and Wal-Mart have united forces and since they are both so popular they make the perfect pair. Essentially they will both reach a wide expanse of people which will only strengthen their brands.

Eye-Catching Advertising

     When browsing through my mail, this particular flyer caught my attention immediately. Definitely the delicious looking food caught my attention, but also the words on it. "Free" is always a word that can catch my attention. This flyer was advertising Ruby Tuesday and they did a great job. Not only do they provide a picture of what their food is like but they threw in a great coupon deal that can get consumers a free meal. On the backside of the flyer they provide more pictures of food and then offer consumers another deal which can provide them with more deals as long as they sign up at rubytuesday.com.. This type of advertisement is exactly what got discussed in chapter 11 of our readings. As long as an advertisement can catch the attention of the consumer it is very well done.

Advertisments WIth Statistics

     When it comes to creative advertising there are many approaches someone can take to successfully selling a product. One approach we covered in class was incorporating statistics and numerical information in the ad itself. I didn't realize how much this technique was used until I was browsing through a magazine and saw many examples of it.

     I think the main goal with this approach is to make an impression with the numbers presented. The ad in the magazine that really caught my attention was the Great Lash mascara ad. In the ad it states that a tube of this mascara is sold every 1.7 seconds. I was impressed with this information. Just hearing that bit of info I became interested. Incorporating statistics was well done in that ad. The next ad I came across was a Paul Mitchell hair product that just provided me with tons of info that enticed me to maybe try it out. The purpose of these ads was to capture the audience and sell their product by impressing consumers with powerful statistics, both these ads did a good job.

Got Milk? - Got Success?

     One method of advertising a product/service is to include someone famous or well known like a celebrity. I see this strategy as great because of the influence celebrities can have on consumers. The "Got Milk?" ad campaign is a perfect example of how to correctly and successfully incorporate a celebrity.

     In this particular example it has been very successful and has been able to be used repeatedly. I also don't see this campaign going away any time soon because of its immense success. The "Got Milk?" ads are what other ad campaigns should strive to emulate. They rely on the influence of the celebrity to promote the consumption of milk. Along with the celebrity presence, this campaign incorporates a short portion of information that reinforces why milk is good to drink. Overall, this campaign was greatly done. Who doesn't got milk now?

Outdoor Advertising Done Right

     Successfully selling a product or service to someone who is sitting behind a vehicle's wheel going 75 miles an hour is tough to do. However, not impossible. As stated in our assigned readings, outdoor advertising and transit ads are a "true test of creativity".

     This billboard ad is a great example of how outdoor advertising should be done. The product being advertised is obvious (a fitness center) and at the same time a strong visual aid is given to reiterate the product's purpose. I see this ad as being humorous as well as very creative. A well known fact is that humor makes an impression and is a great way to advertise a brand. Well done Silberman's Fitness Center.

Simple, Funny Ad Series

Kodak Rechargeable Batteries

     Kodak launched a series of ads to advertise their rechargeable batteries product, and these ads reminded me of how simple an ad can be but still get its purpose across. There are ads that seem cluttered to me or have to much going on. Ads are a perfect chance to bring out ones' creativity and although the following ads are simple I believe it took a creative mind to spur them on.

     It is quite obvious to me that Kodak is trying to say that these batteries always come back and can not die. The tiger biting into the dog when it's assumed to be dead since it's a rug, the chicken being stripped to the skin yet still alive, I thought these ads were very easy to understand. And not too mention humorous. Some may say they were a bit morbid, and I do not argue that a sense of humor is necessary to absorb these ads. The series was very simple, it contained a picture, the Kodak logo, and the slogan attached to this campaign. This ad series got the point across and had a great analogy to relate to the batteries purpose. Thumbs up to Kodak.