Old Spice = Big Muscles and Cute Girls

So you're telling me that if I invest in Old Spice: Champion I will be as strong as an NFL superstar and be able to do pushups with a hot girl riding a jetski on top of me? I think I'll buy it! Now the question--is this puffery or is this deception? I would say it's so absurd that it's puffery but I feel like this is flirting with deception. There might be some people out there that really think that using Old Spice: Champion could cause some of these results. Maybe not being able to pushup a jetski but maybe just make you stronger, but the more important one, is that if I start wearing this scent, I could have a cute girl in a bikini near me?! Why wouldn't I buy this product? As funny as Old Spice made this commercial it can still give people the wrong idea. Personally, I think this is puffery where I know that this doesn't happen. Maybe because I've been around long enough where I know that girls don't just chase you through the woods if I'm wearing Axe body spray or I can bench press a jetski with a cute girl riding it so I think this commercial is great. I think it's very memorable mainly because: 1. there's a cute girl in a bikini but 2. there is also the sport's aspect of it where Pro-bowler Wide Receiver Gregg Jennings is in this commercial. I tend to remember commercials with famous athletes in them so I thought Old Spice did a good job in marketing their product by using both the girl and a professional athlete. After seeing this commercial, I may go out and buy Old Spice: Champion...and a jetski.

Just Chip It Out!

Now this commercial is hilarious to me on all different levels. Being the avid golfer that I am, I have been in both scenarios--the one trying to make an impossible chip shot, and the guy saying "You can't get through there...just chip it out!" This commercial's target market is obviously to golfers, but mainly the inexperienced ones...the ones that may think they're better at golf than they really are. I've had many experiences like this where I thought I could hit a shot and it turns out for the worst; maybe not as bad as getting hit in the crotch but the ball definitely didn't go where I wanted it to go. This is great marketing by Chipshot that makes custom clubs because they are making it out that if the consumer had suitable clubs for him or herself, they'd be able to hit that impossible shot through the trees. I know that when I don't hit a great shot, I immediately blame my club, not myself! I thought this was a very well put together commercial that is very realistic for most golfers to relate with. The funny part about this commercial is that we golfers, still try to take that impossible shot about 98% of the time!

Look! It's Michael Jordan!!

Now this commercial is awesome on so many levels. We never really think about how common a name like Michael Jordan really is. For this guy in the commercial, it must really be terrible for him! Like me, everyone in this commercial thinks of Michael Jordan as the tall, black, basketball player and arguably the best basketball player the world has ever seen. For this poor poor man, he is nowhere close to being that. He's small, white, and nonathletic. You can see on everyone's face that they expect to see THE MICHAEL JORDAN! And their looks of disappointment are always there. ESPN did a great job in selecting their target market which is obviously sports fans because anyone who knows anything about sports will definitely know the name Michael Jordan. This commercial is great because it's so realistic for how we would act if we worked at a restaurant or a hotel or delivered a pizza to a guy named Michael Jordan. I feel that having a commercial that relates to your target market is key because it makes the advertising that much more memorable. The message of this commercial is "It's not crazy, it's sports." which is exactly what this advertisement captures. Fans will be fans and that's just how we are when it comes to sports! If your name is Michael Jordan and you aren't a 6-time NBA champion, I am sorry for you.

Dr. Pepper10: It's Not For Women!

Dr. Pepper10: It's not for women! Let's see...who could this offend? Umm, about 50% of the population! Dr. Pepper literally just offended and specifically called out women for not being able to drink this certain brand of Dr. Pepper because it's a "manly drink". Wow, I thought I had seen it all but when a company is literally telling a certain target market (a huge target market (women)) that it's "not for them", I feel like they are totally taking themselves out of the equation for getting maximum profit out of a product. A few girl friends that I have already told me how they were offended by that commercial and would never buy it now. Great job, Dr. Pepper...you lost at least 3 potential customers. And not only did my friends say they wouldn't buy that specific type of Dr. Pepper, they said they are done with Dr. Pepper...period. Why would Dr. Pepper do this? Maybe because it has some people, like myself, talking about it. Cool, Dr. Pepper got me talking about how this offended a total sex but is it worth it, Dr. Pepper? Is it worth you losing potential customers just so you can get a buzz going around about your potentially offensive commercial? Maybe to you, but to me, I thought this was an extremely stupid move on your part. With all that being said, I'm still drinking Dr. Pepper...thankfully I'm a guy.

Monica Jones: AD2 Roanoke

We had a guest speaker from AD2 come speak to our Advertising class yesterday. Below is my insights and critiques on the company before I met Monica Jones and then I will write what I think about the company after the speaker. From my research, it may not be a current issue AD2 Roanoke is facing but I noticed that they are reaching out to strictly people the age of 32 and younger. As I feel they are trying to stay with the younger and “hip” crowd, I think that they could be limiting themselves from other opportunities out there. I think having a wider target market would help grow their company and people over the age of 32 may be in more of a need to stay “cool” and look towards the future. It’s not just the 32 and younger adults that want to look towards the future. Through further research and recommendations, I’ve noticed that a lot of people had a positive experience through AD2 Roanoke which is good especially because their website says, “we know how to have a good time”. As for consumer perceptions: as mentioned above, most customers are enjoying their time with AD2 Roanoke. I think a large part of that is not only the price ($2/month) but also how convenient they’ve made themselves. For example, they constantly send out tweets or post on Facebook. Since their current target market is adults 32 and younger, this works out because some of the older folks may not be as tech savvy so they’re using their young target market as a competitive advantage by using such websites. I also read that they help companies make personal websites. This is huge because having a presence in the world of Internet is one of the major ways companies make it in the world today. AD2 Roanoke knows how to reach its customers so that they can have a presence in the world at the most competitive level. For example, websites, twitter, and Facebook. __________________________________________________________________________________ Monica was very insightful and helpful when she spoke to the class yesterday. She just reinforced how important a good resume is and how important connections are. After hearing her speak, I got really encouraged because I have already had several internships so my final step is to just lock down a full-time job after graduation. I really liked what Monica said to us and I look forward to the rest of our guest speakers in Adversiting!

Watching the Game, Having a Bud

This is one of the first Superbowl commercials I specifically remember for longer than just a week of the Superbowl. I remember when this commercial came out a few years ago, it was a hit! Everyone I knew would be saying, "wassssupppppp???" Budweiser did a great job in tying in a very funny and memorable commercial to their brand. People may not have thought of Bud immediately but with the popularity of the saying "wasssuppppp" it made people wonder or ask where that came from, and then Budweiser would be brought up. It was a huge way to get their brand recognition out because they debuted the commercial on Superbowl Sunday (the most watched sporting event in America) and specifically known for having hilarious commercials. I love this because of how memorable it was and it was great because they went after the right target market. How many guys are just "watching the game and having a Bud?". It hit home for so many guys and then adding the funny catchphrase of "wassssuppppp" really hit the nail in the coffin. This is still one of my favorite commercials and it came out almost 6 years ago! Now that's how you advertise a product!