Rose Petal Cottage remake

In class we watched a commercial about the Rose Petal cottage/playhouse product which is meant for girls only. This advertisement had visible stereotypes about women being just housewives; doing all the stuff around the house such as cooking, cleaning and doing laundry. Me and my group decided to do a remake for this commercial by taking all those stereotypes away.

What the original commercial had:
-Homemaker/housewife stereotype
-Girls doing laundry
- Girls baking/cooking
-Girls taking care of the baby
-"Taking care of my home is like a dream come true" song lyric
-House is colored pink/yellow aka girly colors
-Implies that being a homemaker is easy that even a child can do it
-No boys in ad

What the remake of the commercial has:
-Boys and girl doing stuff together such as laundry/cooking much like a family today
-The playhouse has a small office for a girl
-Normal home with no flowers
-Home has darker colors/neutral colors
-Change the lyrics/take out the girly song
-Presence of a boy and girl doing chores together to show equality

Remake of commercial:
The commercial starts when the door of the playhouse opens and a boy and girl are setting up table for dinner. The boy has a chef hat and is cooking dinner for the family which shows that women are not the only ones that cook. While the boy does that the girl goes to her office to check her email, this shows that women in general do have jobs and not just stay at home cleaning. The boy and girl have a family dinner and after they are done eating both the boy and girl wash dishes together, this shows equality. The commercial ends when the door to the playhouse closes; the house has no girly colors and has no flowers in the front lawn. The playhouse has darker or neutral colors much like a normal house. This playhouse will have no stereotypes of women and will be advertised to both girls and boys.

Bug Vacuum: Television Ad

1. Action/plot: Mom trying to kill fly
Camera Instructions: Zoom-In
Audio: Swishing sounds and buzzing sounds

2. Action/plot: Mom is frustrated because she cannot kill the fly
Camera Instructions: Zoom-Out
Audio: Grunting

3. Action/plot: Mom looks over to neighbors window and sees another mom using the Bug Vacuum
Camera Instructions: Angle View
Audio: Bug Vacuum sounds

4. Action/plot: Mom sees the Bug Vacuum as something magical/holy which is floating in mid-air
Camera Instructions: Still camera pointed at the Bug Vacuum
Audio: Hallelujah theme song

5. Action/plot: Mom screams to the 2nd mom from across the window and she responds back
Camera Instructions: Angle View
Audio: Mom: What is that?
           2nd Mom: BUG VACUUM!!!! BUG VACUUM!!

6. Action/plot: Mom runs as fast as she can to the closest store
Camera Instructions: Angle View
Audio: Panting and running sounds

7. Action/plot: Mom runs to Walmart since it is the closest store
Camera Instructions: Angle View
Audio: Sounds of panting and relief

8. Action/plot:  Mom sees the Bug Vacuum and smiles of success
Camera Instructions: Zoom-In of the Bug Vacuum
Audio: Mom: Yes my bug problems are solved!!!
           VO: When life is flying by you, don't take a swing, vacuum those pests with the bug vacuum

Stereotypes In Movies: Oliver & Company

One of my favorite movies as a child was a movie by the name of "Oliver & Company" which was released in 1988. Now after all these years of not seeing this movie I watched it and realized how it has very strong presence of stereotypes. The main characters that I feel have stereotypes are the chihuahua Ignacio Julio Federico de tito, the Doverman Roscoe, and the Poodle Georgette.

The first stereotype that is obvious in this movie is the one on the chihuahua. In the movie this chihuahua is full of passion, has anger issues, and is very energetic; this character is a stereotype of people from the country of Mexico. When I was little I thought this character was the funniest but now that I am older I see the stereotype involved. Also, there is a part in the movie where this chihuahua introduces himself with a long name and similarly me having a Mexican decent spotted that stereotype. Mexican families often tend to have really long names but not all.

The second stereotype in this movie is the two Doberman Pinschers, Roscoe and DeSoto. The character of Roscoe has a stereotype because he is one of the bad guys and from the way the characters's voice talks it is targeted to people who have an African-American descent. This is very stereotypical because in many animated movies the character who has an African-American voice tends to be a bad guy.

The third stereotype is on the Poodle Georgette. This character shows a gender stereotype directed to wealthy women. In the movie the Poodle is vain and spoiled. The stereotype in this character is that rich women are stubborn and get what they want.

Interruptive Advertising

Discuss the theme of Interruptive Advertising. Find examples for it and against it. Is TV really the elephant in the room?

1. Interruptive Advertising is known as a derogatory term for the constant advertising, promotion and public relations. It is considered an annoying way to get people to buy your product or service.Various techniques that by which Interruptive Advertising include telemarketing, print advertising, direct mail, E-mail spam and TV/Radio advertisements.

2. One main reason why interruptive advertising suits companies is because it generates quick results which make way for a more scientific way to measure sales. This is possible when a company has sufficient funds and management wants quick results. Constant advertising of something that a consumer does not want might still make that consumer buy the product or service just so they can stop being bothered. This is a main pro that although it is annoying it still produces fast results.

A reason why interruptive advertising doesn't appeal to consumers is because it sometimes annoys them being reminded of a product or service that they simply do not want. Telemarketing for example is known to annoy people because companies want to persuade a person to buy a product or service. Most people click right away, they don't want to hear it. Another example why this type of advertising is annoying is through E-mail spam. No one really likes opening their E-mail account and seeing 50-100 messages daily that have no importance for the consumer. These messages known as spam get deleted all the time so why send them in the first place?

3. The "elephant in the room" is a term used for an issue that everyone is aware of but won't do anything about it. The issue with television is that because of its interruptive advertising more and more people are moving away from television. These people are moving to video streaming websites where television shows, movies, sports and news are able to be seen. Some of these websites include Netflix, where there is absolutely no ads, therefore the consumer doesn't have to be interrupted from their show. Other websites include Hulu where interruptive advertisements are present but for a price of 9.99, a consumer can take them off. Television ads have to adapt to this movement and offer ads that are more compelling to the consumer so they wont click away.

Toblerone Contest

For our creative challenge we came up with a social media campaign so people could try out the new Toblerone Crunchy Salted Almond which features Swiss milk chocolate with salted caramelized almonds, honey and almond nougat. For our social media campaign we will use three different social media sites which include Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. With this this campaign we hope to increase the number of people that will try out this new chocolate bar which will also be featured in a limited edition red and gold box because of the holiday season.

We will create a Facebook like page to get the word out about our Toblerone Contest which will start the day after Thanksgiving also known as "Black Friday" and will end on December 24th or "Christmas Eve". The point of the contest is whoever generates the most likes on their posted photos will win. Anyone in the United States can participate in this contest by posting a photograph of themselves with the new Toblerone bar, this photo can be taken anywhere but here is the catch, it must be a holiday setting since its the end of the year which is the time in the United States that people celebrate. There will be 3 winners of the "Holiday Toblerone Challenge". 1st place winner will get an all expense paid 2 day trip to New York for New Year's Eve which includes 2 plane tickets, hotel reservations, and a limousine ride. The second place winner will get $1,000. The third place winner will win a months worth of the new Toblerone Crunchy Salted Almond.

Althought the main contest will be on the Facebook like page, 2 smaller contests will also be going at the same time on two separate social media sites. The dates for the contest are the same as the Facebook contest. A person can only participate only in one of the 3 contests.

First, there will a contest on Pinterest which will allow users to submit a photo of a creative way to incorporate the Toblerone chocolate. The most creative use of the Swiss chocolate will win be able to win a months worth of the new Toblerone chocolate bar.

There will also be a contest on Instagram for the most likes on their creative use of the Swiss chocolate. Users of Instagram have to post up their pictures and add the tag #Tobleroneredandgold to be able to participate. The prize is the same for the Pinterest contest.

Creative Out-Of-Home Advertising

The best advertisements I believe are the ones that are shown physically, not on television and not on a magazine/newspaper. The reason why I believe this is because on television advertisements usually air during commercials and most people would change the channel to see what else is on. The same goes for newspaper/magazines people can just skim through it and not even pay attention to the advertisements. The best advertisements there is are out-of-home advertisements because they could interact with possible consumers or make them turn their heads around when passing by.

In this out-of-home advertisement we see a young man sitting at a bench apparently waiting for someone or just simply chilling. The bench he is sitting on is shaped like Kit Kat bar and it is opened. What this advertisement is trying to do is connote the idea of taking a break. Sitting on a bench might be seen as taking a break. This fits perfectly in Kit Kat's slogan of taking a break by eating their chocolate because when people sit down on a bench its usually when they take a break. What better way to link these two things, a chocolate and a bench, than by showing that both have something to do with taking a break.

This billboard is self-explanatory, it is an advertisement for a fitness center. This billboard gets the attention of possible consumers because it is tilted sideways to connote the idea that the man is heavy. The man is in need of going to a fitness center because he is overweight.

A Day In The Life of Heather - Tide

On a typical summer weekend, Heather is woken up by her two five-year-old sons at 9am. She proceeds to the garage to grab her white summer dress from the dryer as she left it there overnight. At 9:30am she starts preparing breakfast for her sons and her husband. By 10am her husband has woken up and her sons have settled down on the table. They are enjoying omelettes with a side of fresh strawberries and kiwis as well as orange juice. At around 11am Heather and her husband start to prepare lunch for the family picnic they will attending with Heather's side of the family. At. 11:30am Heather helps her two sons put on their white polo shirts and shorts while the husband gets the car ready. Heather puts on her white summer dress so as to match her sons and her husband who is also wearing white clothes that were washed using their preferred laundry detergent, Tide. At 12pm Heather, her husband and sons arrive at a park where Heather's side of the family is setting things up for their family picnic. Heather's  family is wearing white clothes as well. Heather and her mom give each other a hug and smell each other taking in the scent of Tide. They both smile. Between 1pm and 3pm the children are running around and all the parents are having conversations with each other. At 3pm the whole family is eating what they prepared and they share with each other. Around 6pm the family starts roasting corn on the cob for dinner. The whole family spends the rest of the afternoon talking and looking at the sunset. By 7pm Heather starts to pack up what they brought. By 7:30pm Heather's husband starts driving home. The two sons fall asleep after having played games and running around all day. At 8pm Heather puts her sons to bed, kisses them goodnight and covers them in their fresh white sheets that she had also taken out from the dryer that day. By 9pm Heather is ending her day laying in bed with her husband watching television waiting to fall asleep.

Pros and Cons of Nostalgia

Question 1:What are some of the major advantages and disadvantages of nostalgia marketing?

Some advantages of nostalgia are the most obvious one such as it is less costly at times of economic uncertainty. One advantage I think that is more important is how a consumer reacts to that nostalgia because when a consumer remembers the past they tend to remember the good moments and therefore they feel young again. Disadvantages of nostalgia marketing is when consumers did not have a good experience with a brand, then there is no point because that is a stump in the road for that brand which affects the rest of the products under that brand, they can't use this strategy to sell more, reinventing of the brand needs to be done.

Question 2: Are there some products or brands for which this strategy may not be successful? Why not?

Nostalgia marketing is a good strategy to use when a company is on a budget and wants to sell more of their products. Although this is true, this strategy does not work for all products and brands. If a consumer had a bad experience with a certain brand, it is certain that they do not like being remembered of that bad experience. An example of a good use of the nostalgia strategy is comic books. Your fathers remember reading Marvel brand comics of superheroes back in their day which was a good experience for them. Now all those comics are being brought back with the use of movies. Spider-man, Captain America, the Hulk are all superheroes that have their own stories and movies have brought those stories to life.

Hello Typewriter, Goodbye Laptop

Middle aged, tech savvy people was our target audience. Most people in this target audience are aged between 40 to 60 years-old and tend to be people who have a job that requires the use of a laptop or a desktop. Our group decided that the best way to use the nostalgia strategy to bring back typewriters was by showing how computers distract people from the work they are doing. Their nostalgia will bring good memories of the times when their parents used to be on their typewriter for hours with full concentration so as to not make a mistake. For example when working on a report or writing an essay, people have a bad habit of getting distracted by the news and social media like Twitter and Facebook. People may even take longer to finish their work. Our mission is to get our target audience to use typewriters as an alternative to computers because they offer less distraction and forces a person to think about what they are writing. For this campaign we will produce the following commercial.

The commercial starts out with a middle aged man in his office trying to start up a speech for his company. He can't seem to start his speech because he is easily distracted by social media. 3 hours have passed and he 

hasn't written anything. He is fed up with all these distractions and in that instant a light-bulb on top of his head lights up, an epiphany. What he does is that he runs to his attic to get his typewriter out which shines gold and this connotes the idea that it is sacred or magical. The man leaves his computer in the attic on purpose and brings down his typewriter. 30 minutes later he has finished his speech. This shows that a typewriter allows a person to really think about their ideas and not get distracted on their computer.

Harley Davidson Case Study

Question 1: Do you believe brand communities like Harley-Davidson result in greater involvement with the brand?
I believe brand communities like Harley-Davidson result in a greater involvement with the brand because many people come together for one reason and that is to ride their motorcycles. It brings together people that follow the same biker culture, these people could be from diverse ethnicities, cities, and even from different countries.

Question 2: What elements of the Posse Ride do you believe enhance the meaning of the brand for the riders?
Riding bikes together with other people is one of the elements of the Posse Ride that I believe enhance the meaning of the brand for riders because riders feel a sense of comfort and a sense of power when they ride their bikes along with a crew. It also enhances the brand because when people see a bunch of riders they can easily recognize that they are all riding Harley-Davidson's and thus shows that they are proud of what they do and the brand thy represent. The riders and the brand become one.

Question 3: Should Harley-Davidson get more involved in the ride or would that dilute the ride’s meaning to the participants?
I believe Harley-Davidson should not get more involved because the whole motto of being a biker is going on adventures by yourself. Just one person and his bike. The whole motto of enjoying your bike. Harley-Davidson should just keep the current involvement in the Posse Ride and leave it at that. Bikers enjoy being around people with the same interest in the bikes and culture but sometimes too much involvement could hurt the whole idea of going on an adventure by yourself.

Question 4: In addition to experiences such as the Posse Ride, what other ways could Harley increase involvement in the brand?
Other ways that Harley could increase involvement in the brand is by hosting concerts because this biker culture connotes the idea that they are into rock and metal music. A tribute concert to the many years of Harley Davidson riders with a whole lineup of rock and metal bands as well as a bike show would be a plus.

Blackberry or Fail-berry?

When Research In Motion (RIM) introduced the original Blackberry, it was a success because of the way the phone was made. It appealed to businesses because of how easy it did the job from delivering emails, sending text messages to making calls.

RIM will release their new Blackberry Z10 phone and it will be available on the AT&T carrier on March 22nd. Consumer behavior shows that there has not been much fuss about this new smartphone because of the advertisements for Samsung. Blackberry Z10 lacked advertisement and because of this, the new smartphone is not very anticipated by consumers who are either for the new proposed Galaxy S 4 or own an iPhone.

Lack of advertisement in the United States is definitely crucial, a country where advertising is ubiquitous and where consumers could be obtained. This is why Samsung has made a good number of ads, which is raising expectations for their new phone.

The Blackberry Z10 has been released in the United Kingdom, Canada and India and consumers have already had negative opinions about this phone. One negative thing about the Z10 is the maps feature because it does not even compare to Google Maps. Other consumers are skeptic of  the new design because it looks nothing like the original Blackberry. Although this phone has not yet been released in the United States consumer behavior shows that this phone will not come close to the smartphones from Samsung and Apple.

Getting Rid of Plastic

We are indeed hurting the environment because of the amount of litter that we humans create which ends up in the ocean. Plastic bags and foam foodware are two types of litter that is often found in the ocean. This type of litter is a danger to marine life because many animals die from eating plastic or getting trapped in it. In order to reduce the amount of debris a proposed ban has been brought up. As a result the South Orange County Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation has created a campaign to ban plastic bags from supermarkets and ban foam foodware from restaurants. The main focus of this environmental campaign is to make our oceans cleaner for sake of animals and the environment. The theme of this campaign is "Rise Above Plastics" This campaign uses social media to advertise their ideas, vision and missions statement. Facebook is a main social media site that this campaign uses.

facebook.com/surfrider  

These are some of the ads on the Surfriders Foundation Facebook page. The first ad promotes the common litter found in the ocean which includes items made up of plastic. The second ad for this campaign promotes the idea that surfers are helping out because they too, care for having cleaner beaches and oceans.

  

This campaign also used the social site YouTube to advertise how many animals die because of our litter. 

Women in Advertising

Advertisements portray stereotypes about women, which are usually used to sell products for men. The stereotypes that have been created for women are: the homemaker, the mother, the sex object, subservient femininity and powerless. Stereotypes of women in advertisements still exist and it is changing because now we see ads that portray women positively. Ads today tend to portray women as objects that can obtained if a man is to buy a certain car, cologne or alcoholic beverage.

In this advertisement for Burger King a woman is surprised at the size of the new burger but it clearly shows that a woman is portrayed as a sexual object. This ad definitely tries to show a negative message about women.

Not only have ads created stereotypes about women but they have also showed how women are supposed to look like to be desirable by men. Women in fashion, music, and television are usually thin, tall and blonde. This gives of the stereotype that only good looking women can get a mans attention. Women are portrayed as serving  men or trying to impress men. On the other hand there has been may recent ads that show women having power and independent from men.

In this Nike ad we see a woman who is shown as strong and determined. Most Athletic women  are portrayed as having power because they too can play sports as good as men.

Stereotypes in Advertising

While advertisements are meant to persuade consumers to buy a certain product, not only is the product and a message being portrayed but they make also portray stereotypes in their ads. Stereotypes in ads may include certain characteristics of a race of people.  Stereotypes could be negative or positive but often they are negative characteristics that are portrayed in advertisements. It should never be right to racially stereotype for advertising purposes, Everyone is able to see an advertisement since it is public. If an ad had a racial stereotype the company responsible for making it public will cause many people of that race to be upset and that will be bad for sales of their product, idea or service. Racial stereotyping is not a thing of the past, it's a thing of the future because it will always be present. Just as comedian stand-ups began with jokes about stereotypes, advertising and stereotypes go hand in hand one way or another because it brings humor to people who see it and understand it. Advertisers do have ethical responsibilities but they put them in the back of the heads because what is more important is selling their products or services.

In this Italian advertisement for a detergent the stereotype that is portrayed her in the color of skin. In this case this stereotype is mostly positive because it depicts people with dark skin as muscular. The message in this advertisement is that "once you go black, you never come back"

In this advertisement for Tecate beer, the stereotype in it for this particular beer is that beer is like a woman but more specifically a "Latina" since the beer is imported from Mexico. The stereotype here could be that only Mexican beer could get you a "Latina".

Denotation Vs Connotation

People are easily persuaded by advertisements whether on television, on print, or even in the outdoors. We are surrounded by advertisements but people have not taken the time to analyze them and decode the message. The goal of advertisements is to inform people of their product and why its better than the competition. Not only are advertisements trying to sell more products but a message is usually associated with the product in an advertisement. A semiotic analysis is done in order to understand the message in an advertisement.

In this print advertisement for Burger King we see a suitcase, a bag, and a gym bag. This part of the semiotic analysis is called the denotation or literal/obvious/common sense images in the advertisement. The other part of the semiotic analysis is called the connotation or socio-cultural/personal associations; in other words the message behind the advertisement. Here the suitcase, a bag, and a gym bag represent a hamburger, a bag of fries, and a soda. This advertisement may connote the message of Burger King having restaurants all over for people that are traveling or the message that Burger King has fast service for those who are constantly on the move.

In this television advertisement for Old Spice the denotation is that we see a doctor who is talking about body odor and not being a real doctor. We also see a nurse and doctor showing affection to each other as well as the doctor going to the operation room and putting a stethoscope on a patient's nose. The message that this advertisement is trying to connote is that this deodorant is like a prescription drug for people with body odors except you do not need a prescription for it since its on you if you want to smell good.

In this outdoor advertisement for McDonald's the denotation is that we see two advertisements next to each other, both have the McDonald's logo on it. One ad has an arrow with 200m while the other has 197m. The message this advertisement is trying to connote is that a McDonald's restaurant is just up ahead in a few meters. It can also connote the message of McDonald's being a common restaurant, therefore there is always one around.

Brands, Brands Everywhere.

Brands and Logos are different. Logos represent a product but brands are represented by the people who wear them. Brands have taken over our lives because we always have to get clothes and shoes with specific brands or else we are a nobody and have no style. Every time I go to the mall for example I always go look for specific brands. This is true for most people, brands make up their image. If you are into rap music you will most likely wear brands such as Rocawear, Jordan and New Era. If you like skating you'll most likely wear brands like Vans, Obey, and Mitchell and Ness. If someone looks at what brands a person is wearing you can instantly see what they are into. Brands also include food for example McDonalds, a person will most likely go eat there than a random burger place because most people eat at the most popular restaurant. The more talk there is on a certain brand the more it gets popular.

A brand that makes my image are the Levis 511 skinny jeans. I've never bought any other jean brand because this brand make up my image of being a skater. Here is a commercial for these jeans.

Dietmar Dahmen's Presentation

Dietmar Dahmen's presentation was very intriguing from how technology has changed advertising to how a virtual urbanization is occurring now and will continue to escalate in the near future. He talked about how mobile phones with a web access have caused advertising to be abundant because not only does advertising reach everyone through billboards,  television, radio, internet but now they reach people on their mobile phone or smartphone. According to Dietmar there is 6 billion mobile phones as of February 2011 and that is a lot of people to be advertised to.

Another component of his presentation that I thought was interesting was how connectivity is the idea of now. Connectivity of devices such as your phone, your laptop, even your television allows people to get information. One example of connectivity is Google because once you create an account you can use Google Drive which is similar to Dropbox. This allows documents on your computer to be synced and uploaded instantly to your account and be accessed through a mobile phone. There is also Google Wallet in which you can allow your phone to be your source of paying instead of using a credit card or cash. Connectivity of devices opens a door to connectivity of ideas because now people can instantly share information though blogs, re-posts, Facebook, Twitter, different means of acquiring information also known as the virtual urbanization. One of the most interesting comparisons that Dietmar did was that the industrial revolution was all about "muscle" while the digital revolution was about "brain". This I feel is true because technology has helped us acquire knowledge and information on numerous topics.

Here is a commercial for Google Drive and their connectivity of devices and information.

This one is for Google Wallet, connecting your credit, debit, and rewards cards on your phone for easy access.

Why Advertising?

My name is Adrian and I am a public relations major. This will be my third year at San Jose State University and this Spring semester I am taking the last of my prerequisites for my PR major which includes MCOM 63 and PR 99. I had space in my schedule so I decided to take an elective course from the Journalism and Mass Communications department, but why take an advertising course?
We live in a high tech world and advertising has gone to a whole new level in the past years because of social media. This is a reason why advertising excites me because it is ubiquitous on the internet from Facebook ads as well as ads at the beginning of YouTube videos. People may believe that they are not affected by advertisements but they are constantly being advertised to on a daily basis. Another component of advertising that moves me is how some advertisements have subliminal messages or are erotic and how they are targeted predominately at men. Products such as colognes, alcohol and clothes have ads in which they show that if men purchase those products then they will have any woman they want. What disgusts me about advertising is people fall for them, they end up buying the product or service that they see on an ad. I feel people do not think about an advertisement when they see one, they just react emotionally. Overall, I am exited to see what I will learn in this class. There is more than meets the eye about advertisements.


One advertisement that I saw on last years Super Bowl was about Budweiser and I thought it was genius. The reason for the ad being so good is how they used a historic period known as prohibition in which alcoholic beverages were illegal in the United States. In this ad, prohibition is abolished and the first available beer is Budweiser. Well played Budweiser.

 

This ad for a cologne is self explanatory for men. If they buy this cologne they will get what the photo shows. This is a powerful way of making men buy products like these.