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.