Advertising is...

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I think companies do misrepresent themselves to make them look better, hoping no one will notice or say anything about. Advertising is not ethical.

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Most people don’t even pay attention to more then half the ads they see each day. They don’t have time to stop and enjoy every single ad. That’s why ads are said to have 5 seconds to engage the viewer before they move onto the next one. I think our attention span is too short for the amount of ads their are in our day.

I think constantly being exposed to ads has decreased our attention span. People are over exposed to ads and have started building up an amenity to them. We can only retain so much information and advertising is setting us overboard. I see why advertisers want to keep creating more and more because they are losing the consumers attention but I think a decrease in the amount of ads would solve the issue. If there was less to take in we would be more sufficient with absorbing our surroundings.  

However this does make the incredible ads stand out amongst the rest. Such as “The Drama Button” ad for TNT which is a drama television channel, has gone viral. The ad posses to be in the square of a town with regular people going up to a button and pushing it which unfolds a short series of events.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=316AzLYfAzw 

This advertisement has clearly stood out, and caught worldwide attention with 47,993,642 views to date. This ad does a good job of engaging the viewers. The video is 1:46mins long, within the first 5 seconds there is a little intro stating that the following happened in a little town in Belgium with very intense and suspenseful music. 

I think brands should reduce their advertising costs by 10 percent, to reduce the amount of ads. This would help consumers to absorb more of less. 

OMG!

Shocking photos are sure to stop you in your tracks. Seeing a photo of someone snorting drugs or with scabs all over their body really makes you cringe. The shock factor only works if the photo is crossing the line of way is socially acceptable. Once again I think there are certain cases where this strategy should and shouldn’t be used.  

This shock factor should only be used with topics and subjects that are harmful to society. For example I think Sisley's fashion ad with the two girls pretending to snort the dress is just pointless and not representing the brand well. I find it is also promoting the use of drugs. This ad does not have a negative tone to it which make it unacceptable.  

I think this works best with social issues. The shocking photo tells the user how to feel about the issue. The magazine ad with the scars about meth clearly has a negative tone. This scares the user into never wanting anything to do with this object. Shocking the user into fear is a smart way to promote stopping doing negative social issues. Bullying, drugs, eating disorder or rape are all issues that could benefit and work very affectively with ads that use the shock factor with disturbing images.    

Go Ahead and Cheat on That Brand

The divorce rate keeps increasing every year. Adultery has become somewhat of a norm in society. In almost every adult tv show, movie or book their is at least one character who is being unfaithful to their loved one or is having thoughts about it. These ads are only following the latest trend amongst adults; adultery.  

 “Life is short so have an affair” “Cheat on your girlfriend, not your workout” These ads are sure to get attention because they are not only telling you to do something but to do something that is usually frowned upon. Though being unfaithful is something that is very popular it is usually an “under the table” topic.    

Since cheating isn’t usually a topic that is talked about openly the ad’s headline really gets your attention. I think the metaphorical act of cheating on your usual brand is very clever. This especially works for company’s that have more of a sexual tone to them, such as perfumes and colognes like the Mavericks billboard. 

If this tactic is used with the right brand it works but when it is by an innocent company like Preztel Crisps I don’t think it appeals to the right target audience. Preztel Chips’ target audience would be people who live clean lifestyles and care about their health. I think these people could find this ad offensive and would switch to another brand that didn't have adultery associated with them. That being said I think using this type of com pain could tarnish a company. For instance if David’s tea, the innocent well-known, organic and family friendly company were to suggest cheating on another brand it would  create a bad tone to the company, making them appear rude and insensitive.  

Using cheating or being unfaithful as a advertising strategy, if used correctly, can appeal and work well for the right product and target audience. There is nothing wrong with mentioning human behaviour and using it as a way to relate to consumers. 

Brain Washing Ads

Subliminal messaging and priming is influencing how someone feels about something subconsciously. The person doesn’t even realize they are being influenced by images because they are don’t realize they are looking at them. I think this is kind of like brain washing. Subliminal advertising is brain washing the viewers into thinking or having certain feelings towards something they want. I think this is a a dirty trick used by advertisers, although they are clever, I don’t think it should be used. It’s much different then being up front and open about what they are trying to promote. This brings the influence of advertising to a whole new level and I think it crosses the line. 

Axe is a shampoo product for men. Most of their ads tend to attract viewers by their sexual appeal. I don’t think their is anything wrong with their ads featuring models being half-unbuttoned and smelling each other provocatively. But one of the bottles actually has the subtle appearance of spelling out the word sex with the misty graphic and at the last to letters of the logo. I think it’s just unnecessary and a little desperate. Adding that subliminal message to try and attract men to buy the shampoo by making them think of sex when they look at it is pure brain washing. The subliminal message is changing how the consumer feels about the product without them even realizing. It is subtle and sneaky.

I feel that subliminal advertisements is the modern form of brainwashing. Even though ads are supposed to attract the consumer and make them want to buy the product I think sub minimal messages and priming cross the line. 

Hahaha

Factual ads and public service announcements tend to be little boring and forgettable. A very popular way to engage viewers is by using humour. The consumer is more likely to remember the ad when they find it humourous. This can also lead to the viewer talking about it to their friends because they thought the ad was funny which then further promotes the company. 

Humour doesn’t work for every company. I think humour works best when it is used to advertise products such as beverages, entertainment, alcohol and candy. Companies have to be very careful about deciding wether or not they should us humour for their ad campaigns. Sometimes the jokes are direct at certain groups of people. Advertisers have to be careful to make sure that their jokes don’t offend anyone. This will most likely lead to many complaints and the removal of the ad. This can tarnish the companies reputation. If humour is being used in ads is it crucial to make sure the ad will not offend anyone.

A good example of humour being used to promote a company is Mio, the liquid water enhancer. Mio has used humour to set themselves apart from the leading competitor, Crystal Light. Crystal Light uses the theme of health to advertise their company. As seen in this ad, they keep it simple with images of fruit which gets their point across.  But unlike Mio it doesn’t really stand out from other fruit drink ads. Mio’s commercials interact with the viewer by grabbing their attention with funny visuals and jokes. This is one of Mio’s first commercials: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXG0PACMUOo. It does a very good job to keep the viewer’s attention by changing the imagery and keeping it out of the ordinary. 

I think it is worth it to make a funny campaign. They are more memorable and give people more to talk about. People love to laugh. Humourous ads create a fan out of the viewer. I do think humour promotes consumers to buy their product. Personally I would choose Mio over Crystal Light just because I like their ads.   

Hungry for Some Advertisement

Obesity is a growing problem and I do believe people should be pointing their fingers at advertising. Advertising does an amazing job of attracting consumers. Ads make the product look desirable and appealing which is causing people to crave what they are most exposed to.  

The majority of food advertising on television is made up of fast food commercials. This says a lot. People are exposed to ads about fast food, candy and snacks more than fruit and vegetables. When you are being exposed to something multiple times over time you will eventually retain that information and how you felt while watching the ad wether that be: hunger or attraction. When people are hungry they will most likely think of the advertisements they saw first and want to go eat that food item rather than something that doesn’t come to mind. Fruits and vegetables are almost “out of sight, out of mind” when it comes to commercials and advertising. 

I think the government should create a law to minimize the amount of fast food, candy and snack ads that are shown on television and other medias. They should be limited to a maximum 30% of food ads. The rest should be filled with content having to do with healthy living, and making smart choices. Although consumers do have a responsibility to take care of themselves I think the amount of unhealthy advertisements is what’s influencing them. Consumers need to be lead in the right direction to making smart and healthy choices. I also thinking adding in repulsive and attention grabbing ads (like the one on the right, "Are you pouring on the pounds?") bashing unhealthy choices would help convince people to change their habits.  The more exposure to healthy ads the more the idea of making healthy choices will be put into their brain. 

Photoshopping Ads

Photoshopping is used to alter the appearance of something. Advertising uses photoshop to make their product look more appealing. Sometimes photographs cannot enhance or highlight what is necessary. I think that using photoshop to alter an ad is simply a marketing tool and that there is nothing wrong with it.

The idea for advertising is to draw costumers in to buy the product. Costumers are not going to want the product if it looks unappealing. They want to see the product at it’s absolute best. It shouldn’t be considered lying, because it is simply using a creative tool to show the consumer the product in the best way.

It shouldn’t matter if a model’s body has been changed to better advertise a product. People should already know that models don’t represent the everyday person and shouldn’t look to them as a realistic body image. They are simply a tool to show a product and promote it. If the advertiser wants to go ahead and airbrush the models face it shouldn’t be considered lying to the public. Consumers don’t need protecting from this creative tool, they should know that the product is being promoted at it’s highest quality.   

For example, McDonalds is known for advertising something that costumers never see in person. McDonalds has to alter the appearance of the burger in their ads to make sure all the elements of the burger are showing. With a regular burger that you order in stores all the toppings are centered under the bun and not visible from the outside. If McDonalds advertised the burger on the left of the page costumers wouldn’t be able to tell what is in the burger which makes it look less appetizing. I think it is necessary to photoshop products to show them at their highest quality. 

Photoshopping is a great creative tool that helps a lot of advertising campaigns. It has helped create some of the most famous ads. I believe that without photoshop most ads wouldn't attract customers.  

Mic Mac Mall

The Mic Mac Mall is a one of the most popular malls in Atlantic Canada. It is located in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The mall has  around 160 stores. Suburbia is the agency who created the ads for Mic Mac Mall. With the majority of the malls customers being women I can see why the company, wanted to target the female population. Females usually tend to spend more time in malls and end up spending more money. This campaign was created for the back to school shopping season. The ad campaign features a series of different sentences such as "Mixing patterns- now that's a science!" and "My favourite class? Shop!". Each ad features an image of a female with either clothes, a cellphone or shopping bags in their hands.

I am not surprised that the mall received numerous  complaints about the ads and demanded they be removed. I think these ads are stereotyping women. They state that females care more about shopping than education. For example one of the billboards shown reads, "Social Studies? Does posting my new boots on Facebook count? For all your back to school answers." I can see how Suburbia, the agency who designed the ad, was trying to connect to the public by using a very popular social media comment, but the main focus remains on the stereotypical representation of a female. The ads depict women as being careless towards education and unprofessionalism. 

I do not think the agency did a good job in creating a campaign to promote back to school shopping. In my opinion I think the Mic Mac Mall Back to School Campaign was sexist and demeaning to women. I don’t think the campaign would have received the same about of publicity if it had featured images of men as well. This would have created an ad which was not specifically targeting women.    

I do think this ad campaign reflected poorly on the mall and agency. I think the Mic Mac Mall made a smart decision to make a formal apologize to the public and make the donation. I think companies will now think twice about using Suburbia for their ads.