Warning! Advertisements..

I just thought this was funny.. "Warning" in English is "Advertencia" in espanol.. how close that sounds to advertise.

Commercials: Past and Present

This is a link to a YouTube video of an old feminine hygiene commercial. Advertisers were very careful at what they said on tv. Things have changed in these days as you watch a more recent commercial- that is the second link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avPx_ZcxgTY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgsZXwIL_-s


Have advertisers crossed the line or are they pushing the envelope just far enough? Are we more informed? Is it appropriate? What do you think?

Misleading Ads- Avoid them!

Recently my dad sent me the link below with an interesting article about "detecting misleading ads." The article gives hints on how to figure out if the product is legit or whether they are trying to lead you into believing they are more healthy, safe or "green" then they truly are. All the info below is taken from the article:

Here are some ways to determine if advertising claims are fact or fiction...

Words matter. Look for specific rather than general claims. The following words are essentially meaningless because they are too vague and/or there aren't any standard definitions for them:

• Natural
• Hypoallergenic
• Nontoxic
• Fragrance-free or unscented
• Free range
• Hormone-free
• Antibiotic-free
• Eco-friendly, environmentally preferable, or eco-safe
• Green

The article says to look for specifics, such as:

• Made from post-consumer recycled paper
• Formaldehyde-free
• No additives
• No animal byproducts
• No parabens
• Phosphate-free

The article also give links to multiple websites of experts who check the credibility of products.

Check it out.

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/the_conscious_consumer/79/how-to-detect-misleading-ads.html

This got me thinking though, how many of us really check for these things-- and if the item isn't "green" we'll put it back on the shelf? What is more important to you, environmental safety or price? Do you check to see how healthy, or unhealthy, and item is before purchasing it? Or do you just know, hey cookies might not be the best thing for me but they're good. I don't know, you tell me but in my case I don't check to see if my make up or moisturizer is checked on animals-- so call me a bad person.

Hooked

I know, here I go again. But I just signed into pandora and up pops an advertisement.. with no way of escaping. Yep there wasn't a minimize or exit button, nor could I move the box from the middle of my screen.

Weren't we just talking about this is class? Interesting. Pandora got us all hooked-- great personalized music with no commercials and then BAM. ha I didn't really mind though, it lasted maybe 10 seconds.

Has anyone else recently found pandora to have more advertisements creepin' in? Comment!

Visualize

The black and white silhouette says: "Obesity finds it hardest to catch up with those who are running" It is an ad for a gym.

Not only are advertisers using commercials, billboards or pages in magazines, but on the sidewalk, on shopping bags, and on public transportation. This is like what DeShelle said earlier, no place is off-limits.

LMAO syndrome.. Creative Ads

Advertisements are becoming more and more creative, and I think NBC wins the best Super Bowl commercial. Let's talk about why this advertisement is a success. Now I don't want
to ruin the hilarity of the commercial, so you should probably watch it first. Ok, now first off, the ad uses LMAO- a modern texting or online short cut explaining an action or a feeling-- finding
something very funny. So already by seeing the name of the commercial, viewers-- if they are up-to-date in their modern slang-- see the LMAO trigger and know something funny is coming up.

What else? The ad actually takes LMAO and turns it into a literal sense. Also funny- then, just oh so subtly, they throw in why the viewers are LTAO-- because of hit NBC shows like The Office, My
Name is Earl and 30 Rock.

Funny.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTQaWIt4ij0

5 Dollars

Because of the recession that is hitting our country, consumers are re-evaluating how they want to spend their disposable income. Businesses are taking note of this and doing everything to get consumers to come to their business and spend money. What is a comfortable amount of money that consumers will spend without thinking too much about it? From the advertisements I have seen, I would say they found the magic amount of 5 dollars.

5 Dollar Footlongs from Subway
5 Dollar sandwiches from Quiznos
5 Dollar Ready made pizzas from Little Caesar's
6 Dollar Burgers from Carl's Jr for about 5 Bucks.

I know it is working because I have visited every one of these businesses specifically for the 5 dollar specials. I can spare 5 bucks. That doesn't hit the wallet too much. More and more consumers are looking for the deal. 5 dollars seems to be that deal.

Wish I could be.. "Ad-free"

At work the other day I received one of many junk "visit my site" "buy my product" emails and this one caught my eye because the leading paragraph offered an "ad-free" webhosting account from a business called AIT. What does that even mean? It's a webhost that allows businesses or individuals to set up a "free website for life at their own domain name to enhance the visibility of its core products and services."

My favorite part is "to enhance the visibility" of products... which if read backwards then relays to me that "they" the people, the writer, the public or just we know that advertisements (especially on websites) detract from the core product.

Now this might just be me finding what I want to in what I read, but really I just get annoyed sometimes when I get on a website and ads are crawling all over the screen, creeping up on the sides and once in a while popping up and no matter where I click on it trying to escape it'll bring me to another page. So, what I'm saying, is this AIT business sounds like they've got the right idea, I just don't know how it'll work. Good luck.

Anyways, you might be wondering, how does AIT intend to break even then?

“A lot of criticism simply misses that the “free” business model isn’t just about giving stuff away and hoping for a miracle. It’s about leveraging the free stuff to sell complementary goods in a way that benefits both buyer and seller,” said Sean McCoy, Senior VP of Sales and Marketing at AIT. McCoy pointed out that their new, free customers like it enough to purchase additional services from the web host and domain registrar.

The VP for Sales and Marketing of AIT said they launched this free webhost because of the bad economy.

http://www.ait.com/free-web-hosting

Stadium of Fire Advertising

I remember attending the Stadium of Fire in Provo way back in 1992 when the Beach Boys came to play. I sat down on the stadium field so the seats must have been cheap since I was a college student at the time and didn't have much money. I attended the Stadium of Fire again this last weekend and had a more expensive experience. We sat up in the nose bleed seats and still paid an arm and a leg for the tickets. For the purpose of this blog I paid particular attention to the advertising that was being done by the corporate sponsors. It has been a while since 1992 but I don't remember sitting through 15 minutes of "commercials" from the sponsors. We were a captive audience of over 30,000 people ready to hear about the great companies that were sponsoring the show. None of the sponsors blatantly peddled their products but they sure played on our emotions to make an impression with us that I am sure they are hoping will result in later transactions. The main sponsor of the show was Maakoa. I am not sure what product they sell but I know I wanted to learn more about them after I watched them give away a Harley Davidson Motorcycle to one of the fans in the audience. It left an impression on me as I cheered for this unsuspecting winner. Maybe others felt the same way too. If they did, then this could be a profitable sponsorship for Maakoa. Smart advertising.

Billboard of the week

On my mission to delve into the advertisement world this week I've discovered the number one billboard of the month. No, do not be fooled it isn't just an "Office" joke.. there really is a Rabies Awareness organization and there is a billboard on I-15 somewhere between Provo and Pleasant Grove promoting it. For your viewing pleasure just drive by. Also, after a little research, I've found that Sept. 8 is World Rabies Day-- so please remember to celebrate in whatever way suits you. See advertising does affect me, look at the time I've spent online rabies websites all because of a rabid raccoon billboard.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/370352/world_rabies_day_on_sept_8_meant_to.html?cat=5