False Advertising Perceptions

One common perception I have of advertising is that they are deceiving and lying to us all the time. This perception is also commonly portrayed in movies, such as in Crazy People and The Fighting Temptations. I believe that the public sees advertisers as manipulators that will say anything in order to gain attention and money.

However, it seems as this is not the case. Because advertisers create work that represents a client and presents their work to such a large audience the standards for their work is very high. The ethics and honesty that are required is set at such a high level to meet stringent legal requirements.

This is not saying that advertisers don't on occasion walk a fine line of ethics. Such as branding a kids cereal as healthy that clearly contains significant quantities of sugar and carbohydrates. But in actuality, the options for egregious statements is not possible because of the high potential for serious legal consequences. Maybe we come to gain this perception from movies and TV because we, the public, rarely have a chance to see what advertising looks like behind the scenes. A majority of the mainstream are mostly unaware of the mechanics of making an advertisement, so they must rely on the depiction of them in movies and TV.

The GEICO Octopus is Baffling!

In our class discussion about interpreting advertising I was reminded of a GEICO commercial about renter's insurance.  What is fascinating about the commercial is that it opens with a well-dressed man seated next to an octopus on a table who sings nonsense at you for thirty seconds.  The commercial ends with GEICO saying you can save on renters insurance.

The commercial baffled me but when I was first reminded of it I could not recall what the ad was for, only that it had a singing octopus.  They were able to grab my attention but were unable to relate GEICO to the singing octopus.  I wondered what the commercial was even trying to say to me and how it related to GEICO.  I am still baffled.

It is possible that there is no explicit meaning and that GEICO was merely attempting to shock and confuse it's viewers hoping that this would generate hype about the commercial and the company.  The commercial would become well-known specifically for the fact that is bewildering in its message and content.  It fits into the realm of shock-value and definitely sticks in your memory, which is a goal of advertising.  But the commercial might have failed in defining a definitive relationship to GEICO which is also imperative for any advertisement.


youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIxuP4UJNUM

The McDiner: A Branding Failure

In our discussion of Coca-Cola we learned that their branding techniques helped propel them into one of the most universal and well-established brands in the world.  Following Coke's success, our group discussion attempted to find another company that was as well-known and historic as Coke.  We thought the McDonalds chain held close to the popularity that Coke has achieved.

One aspect that I would like to highlight is that branding techniques do not always work.  With regard to McDonalds, there was one branding technique that was implemented and failed that I was fortunate enough to experience while it lasted.

Starting in 2001 Coke launched a new take on fastfood and introduced the McDonald's Diner: The McDiner.  One of these test restaurants was located in Lafayette, IN; my hometown.  These restaurants included table service, an estensive 'down home cooking' menu, and an order-in telephone located at each booth.  Each Diner also served their regular fast-food menu but mainly focused around the diner aspect of the restaurant.

Only after a couple years these test Diners were discontinued and converted back into the normal McDonalds restaurant.  My question is what were the motivations of these restaurants and why did they fail?

I believe that McDonalds was hoping to appeal to the midwestern culture of 'down home cooking' in an attempt to attract more families and diversify their image.  However, my experience with this Diner was that it seemed superfluous and of low quality.  When people think of McDonalds they think of efficiency, accessibility, and the McDonalds history and culture.  When you factor in the Diner environment those pre-established expectations of McDonalds have changed.  It felt as if the restaurant was mixing two restaurant styles that should remain separate because of the desired demographic and individual expectations associated with each style.  Ultimately, I feel people have come to recognize McDonalds with a specific style and McDonalds has created a strong brand loyalty.  When this concept was changed its customers were not given what they expected and had previously received from the McDonalds chain.  This created a distrust and backlash against this new chain and the resultant conversion of the McDiner's back into the normal restaurants.

http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/eating-drinking-places/4280476-1.html

Coke: The Beginning

In watching the documentary The History of Coca-Cola, I couldn't help but be enraptured its movie-esque beginnings.  The chain of events that have decided Coke's ultimate success follow a dazzling narrative, that is usually seen only on the 'big screen.'  What's also amazing is the role that advertising played in getting Coca-Cola out of the local scene and into the national eye.

Coke's humble beginnings started with John Pemberton in a basement where he diligently attempted to find his one great invention, which is what most of his life had been dedicated to.  And when he finally found the right product he didn't have the resources or time to make it profitable before he died.  In fact, one of the historical experts on Coke, from the documentary, claims that there is a good argument that if the company had stayed in Pemberton's hands the company would not the cultural icon it is today.

The company was later invested in by Asa G. Candler, who was a successful businessman who initially turned down the opportunity to invest in Coke.  But this all changed after having only one glass of it!  "The most important glass of Coke ever served," is how the documentary recalls the historic event.  From here on out it was Candler's vision of Coke and marketing techniques that made Coke known and available to everyone.  One of his first techniques was to place the brand name on things that people used and saw in their everyday lives (e.g. posters, calendars, and notebooks).  And through this path the modern and highly successful brand of Coke made its way into the lives of Americans.

It seems imperative that a majority of the current success of Coca-Cola be given to the ingenious and innovative advertising and marketing techniques used to spread the word of Coke.  One new way of marketing the product was to give out coupons for a free glass of Coke.  This technique had never been used before Coke marketing, but was extraordinarily successful.  It was Candler and his vision that allowed Coke to flourish while pushing the rules of advertising to new heights in order to present Coke to the world.

Documentary of Coke: http://www.youtube.com/user/frakdox#p/c/9AD8E1C4D2D8FDAA/0/cNXTXJM4jLE

The Creativity of Coke

Last class we took a look at a variety of Coke commercials in reference to their creativity.  Coke has created so many memorable commercials and phrases that their brand is a staple of American culture and is known across the world.  "Things go better with Coke," "It's the real thing," "Enjoy," and "The Coke side of life," are just a few of the slogans used throughout Coke's history.  Their increasingly creative commercials and slogans keep Coke among the most well-known and most recognizable brands of all time.

One commercial in particular I would like to focus in on is the "Mean Troy" commercial, featuring Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  This commercial is a remake of the famous 1980 "Mean Joe Greene" commercial who also featured a professional football player.

I believe this commercial is so successful because it appeals to so many different demographics, through it's history and creativity.  For people who saw the "Mean Joe Greene" commercial as children the new "Mean Troy" commercial creates a sense of nostalgia by reminding them of their childhood and the part that Coke played in their lives as children.  This commercial also works strictly for the NFL fans and specifically Steelers fans by showing a franchise player in an environment where they can hear him speak and interact. And finally, the commercial incorporates characters from another Coke campaign, the "Brand Managers," into this commercial.  For those fans of Coke who have enjoyed and can relate to those characters is just another point that draws people into the coke franchise.

It is Coke's creativity and ability to appeal to many different demographics that makes them so universal. They have the ability to invoke an array of emotions from the viewer to grasp their attention and keep them interested in the brand and appreciating the effort that Coke displays through its advertising.

"Mean Joe Greene"- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oaiV8MQH7s&NR=1&feature=fvwp
"Mean Troy" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKFUcEkIbEg

Hegemonic Masculinity in Beer Commercials

The perceived differences in masculinity and femininity are as relevant in social interactional contexts as they are in media and advertising.  The media uses many preconceived and stereotypical means of reinforcing strict rules of masculinity and femininity in society.  One specific concept, hegemonic masculinity, is an historically embedded term that helps define a specific type of masculinity that is superior over all others.  It is characterized by the perception that males must dominate others males and subordinate women.

This hegemonic masculinity is displayed ubiquitously throughout many beer commercials.  One specific commercial that reveals this is for Bavaria Beer.  The commercial shows a man on a beach pulling a Bavaria Beer out of an ice bucket and simultaneously, a scantily clad woman emerges from the water.  All ensuing moves the man makes with his beer bottle, the female mirrors with her actions.  It's as if the beer bottle is acting as a sort of 'voodoo doll' for the woman.  He is, in a sense, controlling her actions.

Viewing this commercial through a larger societal lens reveals deeply embedded norms of masculinity and femininity.  We are told that women should be focused on their physical appearances and that men occupy a dominant role, often subordinating women.  This concept is undermined and belittled through such advertising schemes as beer commercials.  We are told over and over again, no only though beer commercials but from countless other societal facets, that masculinity is defined one way, and that femininity is defined another way.  And if we do not prescribe to these roles and pursue the actions expected of us we are breaking unspoken laws that have serious consequences in soceity.

Bavaria Beer link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9oYYoQlIdE

GEICO: A Multi-Faced Company

Creativity in the advertising world, in contemporary media, has seemingly pulled ahead, in terms of importance, in all facets of the advertising process.  With the vast amounts of advertisements we come into contact with nowadays, so many lacking in creativity or pizazz ultimately lose our attention and fall to the waste side.  It doesn't matter if the product is phenomenal, if the advertising doesn't have that creative edge that we as consumers have come to expect then we simply disregard it.  We have come to associate a well-produced and creatively ingenious commercial with a product that exhibits the same characteristics.

One companies advertising that has flourished creatively is GEICO.  They consistently work with the Martin Agency located in Richmond, Virginia to produce the diverse and creative advertisements.

The Martin Agency has used an advertising technique that is uncommon in today's industry by running multiple campaigns simultaneously.  There are four main ad campaigns that GEICO has the opportunity to run at any given time:  The Gecko, Good News, Testimonials, and The Cavemen.  Each campaign has the same message but varies greatly in the style that is used to reach the potential consumer.  This allows for a greater chance of catching the attention of potential clients.

This technique, in my opinion, has the potential to start an industry trend.  The increased success of GEICO and their ad campaigns can attest to the effectiveness of their technique.  In an age where the consumers attention is fragmented among so many different media forums, in which a seemingly superfluous amount of advertisements bombard us, it would appear that GEICOs approach is simply appealing to this cultural evolution.  Their success is stationed in the fact that they provide the opportunity for the consumer to make decisions about which ad they would like to associate with their company.  We are in an age of media opportunity, where we can make multiple decisions about what to give our attention to, and if your a company who is also providing multiple options, then the consumer is more inclined to choose you over the single-faced competitor.  GEICO has uncovered this golden insight and are reaping the rewards for their clairvoyance.

Examples and link for each campaign:
         The Gecko: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNvo3dR3RIA&NR=1
         Good News: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kb4XIFSwOU
         Testimonials: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJMGS7l0wT8
         The Cavemen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPPfYKbO-1M&NR=1