Samsung Galaxy SIII TV Ad

The new Samsung Galaxy SIII is not only a huge step in the Android phone market, it also has claimed a place as a memorable ad of the 2012 year. The witty use of showing people waiting in a huge line for their iPhone 5, while Samsung users are walking around with their new Galaxy SIII, which already has all of the technology of the iPhone 5. (I'm summarizing the ad, not claiming to be a legitimate tech critic.) Also, near the end of the ad, a Samsung Galaxy SIII user is saving a spot for his elderly parents, indicating that the iPhone 5 is good for people not caught up with the current technology - brilliant! And at the very end of the ad, there are people watching the Galaxy SIII users talk about all of the features that they have, and one man says "Well we're going to get that, for sure.. Maybe not this time, but next time, right?" It is a hilarious ad that really strikes all of the solid benefits of having a Galaxy SIII over an iPhone 5.

The other components of this ad that I find so fascinating are how risky Samsung is attacking Apple in such an aggressive manner, as well as the length of the ad. Samsung just puts into full light every piece of the new iPhone that isn't up to par with their product. Taking on such an incredible company with a vast amount of market share in terms of cellular devices in incredible. Also, playing their ad not only in a very cut down 30 second version, but also, and quite often, as a 60 second spot on television is just next to unheard of. Furthermore - the full length of this ad (approx. 90 sec.) has also aired on television at certain times. That is a remarkably long ad for the current market - especially as time slots are getting more and more expensive as a result of the upcoming presidential election. I hope to see more from Samsung like this, and applaude their great use of humor and comparison, as well as their risky and extremely aggressive attitude towards Apple - because that's what their going to need.

To watch this ad, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJafiCKliA8

Classic Advertising Can't Go Wrong

Recently I was driving down the highway and encountered a truck similar to the one pictured above. Though there is a great chance that Tootsie Rolls were the farthest thing from the actual contents of the truck, I had to think about Tootsie Rolls. I was thinking, what a wondering advertising technique, it is so simply - and looks like the product as well. With such a rich background and company profile, the classic Tootsie Roll really doesn't have to deal with brand awareness or peopling not knowing what the product is. Instead, they simply need people to remember that they are the classic brand that has always been there for them, and always will be. I think this truck advertisement does a great job of that, by making the drivers around the truck have to stop and think about the classic candy. I immediately started thinking of going to parades in my childhood, and gathering tootsie rolls from the floats and other members of the parade. The fact that so many people have such a connection with the product, is really going to help them continue to build on their brand and stay such a prominent force within the candy market. By not being flashy, and staying true to what they are and always have been, consumers can get a sense of security that their longtime standby candy will always be there. The ad forced me to think they analogy, Coca-Cola is to soda, as Tootsie Rolls is to candy.

OK Go and Chevy Team Up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Op9owJiujY&feature=related

This ad apparently played during the 2012 Super Bowl, however I don't remember seeing it at anytime during the game. When advertisements have seemingly gotten stranger and stranger over time, this one might be among the strangest. Nothing is said about the car, and the vehicle is almost unidentifiable other than being a Chevy, due to all of the equipment mounted on both the outside and inside of the car. I have a feeling that people will get the impression this car is best suited for stunts and trashing, rather than being a legitimate car to purchase and use.

The ad is in sync with a new music video produced by OK Go, a band that has thrived from odd viral videos. To watch the music video, click the provided link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MejbOFk7H6c&noredirect=1 I think that this is an odd partnership over all, and I fail to see what Chevy gets out of this bargain. The music video could have become a sensation, and that would have made it worth while for Chevy, but months after the release, the viewings are only at eighteen million, which is far below other viral sensations, especially other videos by OK Go.

Chevy will have certainly learned a lesson from this, that as abstract as they may want to be in their advertising - the product does need to be addressed, and this is just too much right now. The model of the car was not even mentioned in the ad. I'm not trying to be too harsh, however I do feel this was just a miss all around, and Chevy's wonderful advertising team should have known this. If anything however, perhaps Chevy put very little into this ad - and if that's the case, it may be worth the little buzz allocated towards it.

New Coke Zero Ad a Miss

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

I truly hate having to criticize my "lovemark," however, this ad was a real mishap and came off incredibly unclear. After viewing this ad - all I could gather from it is the word "and." Now this could be a good thing depending on the objectives at hand from the Coke advertising committee. Though the ad really left me saying "what??" after it was over - it was not mistaken that Coke Zero is the classic Coca-Cola flavor, and zero calories. I have a feeling that was what Coke was shooting for, and in that regard it did work to their objective.

However, there had to be a better way to convey this message without confusing the audience so much. I observed others watch this commercial and they seemed stunned that such an advertisement came from Coca-Cola. Though the typical audience probably doesn't realize that they are now completely informed about Coke Zero's zero calorie formula - it has raised negative discussion about the brand because of the commercial.

There should be a tradeoff, between negative hype and whether objectives were meant. I feel Coke did what they wanted to get accomplished in this ad, but at the risk of critical remarks and commentary both within viewings by families, or discussion around the water cooler at work. Coke could have cleared this up - or come up with a more concise and clear way to address their point.

New Anti-Smoking Ad Raises Eyebrows

Milwaukee, and other cities across the United States are raising eyebrows yet again with shocking and controversial PSAs in public transit areas and billboards. This ad, advising men to not cut themselves while shaving around their stoma takes people off guard at local bus stops, including some on Marquette University's campus.

This subject has been blogged about before, and is clearly controversial, however I rather like this line of PSAs. It doesn't show a baby with a knife next to it, or sexual abuse victims or even pregnant men. Instead, it shows the brutal realities of what smokers may have to put up with later in life due to the unhealthy habit. It really makes a person look at the ad, and think about the pain involved with having a stoma, and then realize that this is no old man - he is merely 50 years old, very similar to many of the people using Milwaukee's bus system as well as public transit across America.

My only concern with this, is that it might be offensive to those who have stomas. Some people already know they ruined their health from smoking - and I'm afraid seeing this ad will just make them more upset about their health condition and prevent them from being able to forget about it. Though I think if one was to interview people with stomas, they would applaud such ads trying to prevent smoking. I think that they would put up with the brutal images that remind them of their stoma, and make others perhaps judge them for having stomas, knowing that the PSAs will help prevent others to have to go through the same pain and problem.

New Buick Tour Bus Ad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8S52l0_N3g

This ad has a lot going for it. Pandora has turned into a necessity for many young adults, and to inspire younger buyers, Buick is trying to be proactive at making "new necessities" available. Buick is targeting a younger audience with a young woman being the owner of the vehicle and subject of the ad. Also, the "Neon Trees" are not a sound that the older public is going to recognize, another aim towards younger buyers. This makes me wonder if the focus is to reinvent the classic trademark of "a Buick is a great car... for a grandparent."

There is good humor in this ad - I have to chuckle every time I see this and the tour buses are pulling up behind her car. Also, I actually get excited when this ad comes on because I laugh so hard when the monk cantors sing "dry cleaners." The fact that I can recognize this commercial and even get excited for it is great for Buick - especially considering I'm on the younger side of their target audience.

One flaw however, is that this song seems to give a lot of recognition to the Neon Trees, and Pandora - and less to the actual vehicle itself. I had to watch this commercial several times before I realized it was a Buick commercial. I think by spending a little more time on the actual car at the end of the ad could have made a lot of difference for Buick. However, I'm not going to go as far as saying it's a missed opportunity for Buick. Because despite having to see it several times before I recognized the brand, Buick has this playing very often on many stations - so the likelihood of people seeing this commercial a few times, at least, is relatively high.

Range Rover British Commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjY4PxqN9WU

This ad, to me, has some good points and some negative points as well. I love how no words are spoken. This will grab the audience's attention with a pleasant break from people yelling their sales pitches through their television sets. With the piano music, and all that is happening on the screen - it does keep the viewer's interest for the full minute commercial, which can sometimes really be a chore for advertisers.

At first I felt a little lost as to where they were going with this, all of the lasers and scientific equipment through me off. However it does come together nicely in the end. I don't know what they're implying with all the statement "positively charged." Does that mean the care is more powerful? Or is it powered in a more positive and eco-friendly manner? I'm still confused about that - and I think the viewer would be too. My only fear with the scientific equipment and such, is that a viewer might lose focus when watching the ad.

The Range Rover has a certain sense of mystery with this ad, and I think Land Rover really capitalizes on it being a silent ad - that component really does jump out of the screen to me. The rest of the ad I'm a little weary on, and I feel they could have covered some of the lose ends I discussed by spending a little more time on this ad - and not try to be too "out there" with their advertising scheme.

Ipad 3 Ad Focuses on the Positive

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAF51B0HgDg

The link above takes you to a Ipad 3 commercial airing this last week after the release of the new Ipad. Though the product failed to impress the tech-savy and many other users in the market, the ad highlighted the positive components of the product. The screen is what this new product really had going for it, and that's why this entire ad is focused on the clearness of the new screen. With HD quality, the screen truly is an improvement and something to behold in the tablet world.

Apple does not mention that though there is an updated screen, by keeping the original screen quality, the new Ipad could have up to 22 hours of battery life. They also don't mention that now that people can download HD videos, the 64-gig storage capacity will soon be inefficient. Though this isn't a critique of the product - it is important to see what information they leave out. Apple also doesn't stress the size, because the new Ipad is thicker and could have been smaller in surface measurement.

They know that the screen is only thing going to maybe excite people with this product so they keep the focus. This works well for them as their ads are traditionally simple and streamline. They did that again with this ad, and easily fooled the un-researched viewer into thinking that this technology is new and much better than the Ipad 2. Apple, unsurprisingly, produced a great ad - despite their arguably overhyped product.

Audi Gets an A+

Audi blew me away with this billboard advertisement. The ad capitalizes on the raw beauty of the vehicle itself, implies some subtle humor and personally targets their audience. I think this scheme is a very unique attempt and sure to get people talking about it.

The ad specifically targets the community of "Lake Forest, Illinois," a very high-end community north of Chicago. No doubt Audi realizes the demographics of the community and are specifically targeted them in order to attract wealthy buyers, those who would be able to afford an R8, which has a base price of over $118,000. I think that people are going to really be talking in the grocery stores, at work and around the community when Audi has a personalized billboard for their community. It isn't them saying, "Oh hey, there is an Audi R8 in Chicago." Instead, they are specifying exactly who they want to target. People can "keep up with the Jones" by buying one too!

Audi did great with this, showcasing how awesome the car is, personalizing to a very select clientele, and bringing it all home by making a person smile a little bit on the road - relieving some stress of driving in the Chicago area. Well done, and right in line with other Audi billboards. I look forward to see more from them.

Doritos Missed the Boat

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


This Super Bowl ad by Doritos was a missed opportunity for one of the leading advertisers during the big game. The ad showcases ingenius comedy and uses great product placement to never leave someone guessing who created it. The ad, only came in the top five in the voted contest on Doritos website.

Recently, the trend of allowing the public pick what Super Bowl ad a company uses has grown. Doritos, created an online contest called "Crush the Super Bowl." In the contest, the public could see the videos being chosen from, and vote which ones they wanted to see during the game. The surprise of which ones would be chosen was the point behind this contest.

Having seen all of the ads that Doritos had to choose from, many people watching the game had already seen the ads, creating less excitement in their response. Also, some viewers were disappointed that the ads they wanted were not picked. Many people on the Internet have been outraged by this ad not being played. It isn't worth the added hype to offend fans of a product, and waste the surprise by extra Internet views.

Milwaukee's Shocking Ads

Residents of Milwaukee have seen these ads for some time, as the city continues to shock the public with PSA's using the most radical tactics possible. However, do these ads actually help the people living in the city think about these subjects, or instead do the ads only insult people, or make them generally uneasy?

I feel that the ads are great in terms of being shocking. When a person waits at a bus stop (which many of the ads are targeted at a younger, urban crowd who might be more likely to use buses) or driving down the interstate seeing one a billboard, they have to notice it. I think that in terms of getting the attention of the public, and certainly getting the busy of the public they are more than effective. However, I feel that the buzz is for all the wrong reasons, and that the ads really do little to help think about the topics at hand.

I know that studies suggest the ads help - however I'm not convinced. I've spent a good amount of time in downtown Milwaukee, and every time I see an ad like this with others, we aren't talking about how moms shouldn't sleep with their babies, or how pregnant teens need to be helped and reduced in Milwaukee. Instead, we're discussing how outrageous the ad is, and wondering how the city get's away using government money in order to publish them.

So I challenge those in Milwaukee - next time when you see an ad of this nature, ask yourself, do you even know what issue is the concern with the ad? And does the ad make you think about that topic any more than you were before. From my experience and observations, the target audience, young people, don't get anything out of them.

Go Daddy, or No Daddy?

Go Daddy did it again! Another year of poor Super Bowl advertisement that seems to do a better job confusing viewers that entice amateur web developers to use their company's services and hosting. With an unnecessary amount of "sex appeal," even men seemed to be turned off by this year's ad campaign. Body painting on models, and then realizing the painters didn't remember the "m" in "com"? I'm not sure what that even means, and I feel no one else did either.

Here is my "male perspective" beef on this ad. When trying to entice a strong amount of sex appeal in an ad, I find it rather unflattering when in HD quality, the model being body painted in the commercial has a large amount of bleached belly hair that clearly shows. I'm not trying to make a shallow point, I just think that detail should have been noticed before spending such a crazy amount of money on publishing the ad. And, it was just gross to be quite honest.

Back to more serious marketing however, I feel that Go Daddy has a huge branding problem. Rather than being recognized by the public as the leading Internet domain marketer, they have a better reputation of being those responsible for raunchy Super Bowl ads, and an obvious advertising/marketing problem. Go Daddy needs to get this figured out - or just stop all of the Super Bowl advertising in general, because too much money is simply being thrown away with this failed advertisement scheme.

Honda's Super Bowl = Super Mistake

Honda launched their "Ferris Beuller" themed commercial a week early of the Super Bowl, attempting to first make their ad viral to an Internet audience and to younger fans of the movie. However, I have two main problems with this advertisement. I feel the release of this ad was not handled appropriately, and I feel that the content of the advertisement was a truly missed opportunity by Honda.

Making a Super Bowl commercial a viral sensation is nothing new in the modern age of television commercial advertisement. Many companies have successfully accrued widespread interest in their ad days before the Super Bowl and made great success of the situation. Honda however, released their entire commercial, even a "full" or "expanded" version on the web, ruining any chance of surprise for viewers watching the Super Bowl programming. The suspense is what people should be talking about - not the actual commercial that people have already seen. I think they made a large mishap with that decision unless they somehow change what has already been released and surprise us at the Super Bowl.

The content of the ad, I thought to be a missed opportunity. Not only were the references to the movie only mostly funny - but they could have done a much better job choosing what scenes to recreate and what jokes to redo. Also, I felt that the ending, asking the viewer "what are you waiting for?" was a bit unusually, and may hit the viewer the wrong way. I know that Honda thought they had a slam dunk with this ad, but for me it was a bit to sloppily thrown together, and without enough thought on the content. Also, I'm not sure who the target audience is, though I'm assuming it was those born in the 1970-1990s. The jokes and references could have been more funny and more surprising.

Though these are only my two cents, I feel that Honda had a great idea, just didn't create the product of advertisement they could have - and really leave the viewer wishing they had.