Toblerone Social Media Challenge

To engage career-minded and college-graduated city dwellers, we chose Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook as our three main media channels. We wanted to create a challenge in which the audience could purchase Toblerone and use the chocolate as a medium to recreate landmarks and/or popular places in the world (for example, the Eiffel Tower or the Golden Gate Bridge.)

We would choose a landmark each month for everyone to create, and they would submit their creations via photograph on Instagram. On that Instagram post, they would have a keyword to hashtag it with, like #tobleronechallenge. By tagging it with #tobleronechallenge, we (the creators of Toblerone) would be able to have a compilation of photos. We can then feature it on our Facebook. Facebook users can vote by liking and sharing the photos on their wall. Twitter folks will also be able to vote on the photos by retweeting because we will have a separate tweet for all of the photos entered. After a month, the top three favorites will be narrowed down to the top photo by the Toblerone creators. The winner will then have their creation featured on our Facebook banner and/or profile picture!

The advertisement that we will use to promote our challenge is a poster showing an image of, say, the real Eiffel Tower, but it would have bite marks at the top, or metal melting and dripping down the sides, to represent eaten or melting chocolate. On the bottom right (or any of the corners), we will have our Facebook link and/or Twitter hashtag. Because there is no information about our challenge on the poster, this will cause people to be curious and think, "why is the Eiffel Tower missing a piece?"

Interruptive Advertising

I think that interruptive advertising in television is something that most people can easily ignore. Although advertisements occur during their favorite show, they can always flip to another channel when it comes up. However, media is so advanced now; you don't even need a television to watch any shows. (This also means no TV advertisements.)

I have not turned on a television since winter break. This is because there are so many Internet websites that I can find my shows on (for example: Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and even on the TV show's webpage). Because Netflix is a company that offers video streaming, I can watch everything on there without worrying about wasting time watching lame advertisements. Hulu and YouTube may have mandatory advertisements, but there is always a mute or "skip ad" button.

Because companies have realized that people can easily flip to another channel or click "skip ad," music stations like Pandora and Spotify have created their apps to prevent people from closing an ad. Even if you pause an ad on Spotify, it won't go anywhere unless you listen to the whole thing.

While thinking about interruptive advertisement on television, I can't remember any that has kept my attention. The only ones that I think are creative are the ones that are related to the television show that's being played.

While the San Francisco Giants baseball games are on television, I've noticed that some of the commercials are related to, or even feature, the players. Although this is a Toyota Camry commercial, Buster Posey (the catcher for SF Giants) is in it. The people watching the baseball game are probably not interested in the commercials that come between the games, but if the catcher of a baseball game is in the commercial, they probably wouldn't change the channel just yet.

The Waistband Stretcher! (TV & Radio Ad)

Television Advertisement (featured around the holiday season)

Scene 1 - There is an outdoor view of a house. We can see the mom cooking dinner in the kitchen and the kids playing in the living room.

Scene 2 - The camera closes in on just the kitchen. The mom, Linda, is still in her workout clothes and an apron. She is on the phone, her kids are yelling, and she is trying to make dinner all at the same time. (Imagine the stress that Linda is going through right now.)

Scene 3 - The camera moves to Linda in her bedroom. She is trying on all her jeans for the dinner party tonight, but NOTHING fits. (In the commercial, you can see her jeans flying all over the place.) She is doing everything she can to make the pants fit - holding her breath, trying to squeeze into them, and stretching the jeans with her hands. But nothing works. All of her friends are already over at her house and she has no time to go out and purchase a new pair.

Scene 4 - Suddenly, one of Linda's friends, Molly, walks into her bedroom and asks, "what's wrong?" In this clip, we can see Molly wearing her purse with the waistband stretcher in it. Linda explains to Molly what happened. Molly says, "I was going to give this to you earlier, but I think it would be best if you had it now!" Molly hands Linda the waistband stretcher.

Scene 5 - The scene then cuts to Linda, Molly, and all their friends at the dinner party. Linda is wearing her jeans, dancing the night away and flaunting her stuff. She notices Molly across the room and winks (dramatically) at her. Molly is shown with part of the the waistband stretcher sticking out of her purse, giving Linda a thumbs-up!

This television advertisement was meant to be a dramatic way of describing the waistband stretcher. Since the product is a little bit "out there," we wanted to make our advertisement silly.

Radio Advertisement (also featured around the holiday season)

Holiday bells are ringing as it begins.

Son: Thanks for the food, Mom! It looks good!

Family conversation is happening, all while enjoying dinner.

Sound effects: *pop!* (The sound of seams ripping and buttons popping surround the dinner table.)

Mom: Have you guys heard about the waistband stretcher? I just received mine in the mail today! After eating so much, I'm the only one whose pants didn't explode!

Everyone: Wow! So amazing!

Announcer: Introducing the waistband stretcher. Perfect for all those holiday dinners.

Creative Advertising (ft. Escalators)

It gets harder and harder for people to notice advertisements now, so companies have gone to the extreme and thought out of the box. Instead of just having a printed ad on a black canvas, they are now involving the surroundings of where they want their ad to be placed. I think that an escalator is the perfect place to put an ad. If given the choice between walking the stairs or riding the escalator, everyone would choose the escalator (unless they're looking for a good workout.) For this post, I have gathered a bunch of advertisements that were featured on the escalator.

This is such a creative way of advertising Homer Simpson and the Simpsons movie. It is something that people will notice and remember forever. I think that good advertising makes someone either want to take a picture of it or talk about it. This is a good example of that. If I saw this escalator at the Westfield Valley Fair shopping center, I would want to ask people if they've seen it too!

I love this one because it plays with the yellow stripe on the side that alerts people when they're on the escalator. Because it is embedded on the stairs, it never ends, which represents the "long-lasting" power of this yellow highlighter.

I like that this Pantene ad blends in very well. It's not outrageous, but it's still noticeable by anyone going up or down the escalator. To me, this ad says that Pantene will keep your hair silky smooth and long. Although I have never seen this ad in real life, I can see this in a bus station, maybe Bart.

This McDonalds ad is a little different because it's directing those moving up the escalator towards the actual McDonalds. I don't know how well this works, but it certainly reminds you where it is in the mall.

This is a very creative way of advertising Apple apps. It proves that Apple iPhones can hold a lot of information and a lot of different apps! If I was riding this escalator and I saw an app that I didn't have, I would pull out my iPhone and search it up in the App Store. It is in the perfect place because there is nothing else to look at when you're on this escalator. It's eye-catching, especially with all the pretty and bright colors.

Companies are definitely challenged while creating these advertisements. They have to think about many different things, such as why someone would care to look at the advertisement, or how they can capture a viewer's attention.

The Typewriter

Our group's challenge was to make the typewriter desirable to college students. Because college students are into the newest technology, it was hard to think of the "pros" of having a typewriter. However, my group planned to sell the typewriter as inexpensive and simple to use.

1. The typewriter is inexpensive.
With Macbooks costing up to $1,000, it is no wonder that college students are broke. By spending less than $200 on a vintage typewriter, you can guarantee that you'll get your money's worth.

2. The typewriter is efficient and simple to use.
You don't need to hook up your typewriter to a printer; the second you start typing, you'll already have your printed copy. You don't need to worry about choosing Microsoft Word, adjusting the margins, picking the right font, or even purchasing a printer. The only thing you need to know how to do is press the keys.

3. The typewriter can prevent distractions.
Because there is no Internet browser, you won't be able to visit Facebook or Twitter while typing the essay due tomorrow. It can keep a college student on task. This can even result in finishing early so you'll have plenty of time to do other activities.

4. The typewriter can be a trend starter.
Although it was introduced long ago, the normal college student can start a new trend by using the typewriter again. She (or he) would be the first person re-introducing the typewriter again. Just like how many people enjoy using polaroid cameras now, the typewriter could definitely make a comeback.

Nostalgia Marketing (Consumer Behavior)

1. A great thing about nostalgia marketing is being able to remind people of the happiness and good times they had when they were younger, whether it was when they were teenagers or when they were little children. Many people reminisce on things they've done or enjoyed in the past. One of the things that makes me feel nostalgic are Lunchables.

Although they offer little to no nutritional value, I love them. It doesn't fill me up as a normal lunch would do, but I can't help but smile whenever I rip open the package and start making my own little pizza. I remember always accompanying my mom to Safeway and begging her to buy me these as a lunch to bring to school. Of course I always ate it the second I got home, but they made my childhood a little happier! Now that I think about it, I would never pay $3 for a package of small treats. The only  thing that would justify those $3 is my happiness.

The only disadvantage I see in nostalgia marketing is if the product wasn't liked in the past. For example, if you're marketing otter pops as the #1 treat of 1999 and many kids stole my otter pops when I was young, there is a big chance that I wouldn't buy those otter pops.

2. Yes, I think there are some products or brands for which nostalgia marketing would not be successful. Very recent technology products, like any of the smart phones that are out now, would not work because it wasn't around "back then." You can't really say, "remember spinning the number dial on telephones in the past? Yeah, you can't do that now with the iPhone." However, I guess you could offer a music app that let you listen to songs of your era ...

Jeep Advertisement

For our Jeep advertisement, our main goal was to make the Jeep desirable for seniors ages 50-70. They are most interested in exploring, low fuel consumption, and safety features. In choosing the type of Jeep, my group and I decided on the Jeep Compass. We chose this because it offers the best mileage, which is what older folks care about.

For our television commercial advertisement, we decided to have three friends, one male and two females ages 50-70, begin in the Jeep Compass. While they are on their way to go hiking in a peaceful area outside of the city, they casually talk and exchange stories. There is music in the background. They're not out of the city yet, but one of them suddenly gets a phone call from their grandson. He's calling and asking his grandma to come pick him up. The driver turns around and the surroundings turn into a safari/jungle adventure. The streetlights become tangly branches, the cars in traffic become rhinos and wildebeest, and puddles turn into white water rapids. (All of these crazy events are seen from the windows of the car; the audience is watching it as if they were in the car.) After the crazy adventure, they end up in front of the grandson's school and all the music and thrilling "chase" stops. The grandma gets out of the car and walks slow-motion toward the school. The camera is focused on grandma walking away from the Jeep, while all the animals and adventure-themed setting is still there.

Through this commercial, viewers will believe that this Jeep can be used for both daily activities (like driving to school) and for exploring (like driving to go hiking or through terrains.)

Harley-Davidson

1. Yes, I definitely believe that brand communities like Harley-Davidson result in greater involvement with the brand. Not only do they sell motorcycles, but they also are creating relationships within those who enjoy using the motorcycle. The consumers are no longer JUST consumers, but are now connected to the brand. Once you build relationships and get people involved by bringing them together, the chances that they move on to another brand are very slim. This can happen with many other products. I find this happening on social media, specifically Twitter. Different nail polish brands will retweet users and even start a conversation with the different users that "follow" them. They will also ask users to help them name a certain color or decide on a prize for them to give away. By doing this, they are making the users feel as if they are part of their family and part of the production process.

2. I think the Posse Ride was created to bring people together, which enhances the meaning of the brand for the riders. Bringing people together will ensure a sense of community, especially if they are doing the things they enjoy and love doing. During the Posse Ride, the article states that riders entertain each other about the adventures that they've taken with their motorcycle. Not only has Harley-Davidson brought people together, but they've also built friendships among those who ride. Harley-Davidson will then be known as a family, and family always stick together. 

3. As a person who is unfamiliar with Harley-Davidson, I have heard a lot about them. If you were to ask me to name a motorcycle brand, Harley-Davidson is the only one I know. With that said, I do not think that Harley-Davidson should get more involved in the ride. Many people are already enjoying them for who they are and what they produce. As we learned in class, the Harley-Davidson brand represents freedom. By getting more involved in the ride, the meaning of freedom will be lost. If Harley-Davidson's brand of freedom is working for them, there is no need to introduce another competing theme.

4. I think something fun that could increase involvement in the brand, if it's legal, is to hold motorcycle races. A lot of people enjoy competition, especially in something they enjoy doing. Their incentive to race could be something that Harley-Davidson gives away as a first place prize, perhaps even a motorcycle. They could have pop polls on their Facebook page asking viewers of the race who they think will win. By doing this, people who don't even own a motorcycle can get involved. Many products have become reliant on social media to spread their brand. For Harley-Davidson, I don't think getting involved with social media would be a bad idea. It would give them a bigger consumer market.

A Day in the Life of Paul (Smart Car Ad)

Paul, below, is a 50-year-old science teacher at a presigious high school in San Francisco who would consider purchasing a smart car. He currently rides the bus to school, but he would rather drive to school because the commute is too long.

(Note: This may not be exactly the same as some of my group mates because we did not discuss his daily activities in detail.)

6:00 am - Paul wakes up to his solar-powered alarm clock.

6:15 am - He takes a shower with his organic shampoo products (bought from Trader Joe's) and makes sure that it's quick so he can save water.

6:30 am - He eats his whole wheat bread and drinks tea while reading the newspaper, then leaves his house to catch the bus.

7:20 am - He arrives to school with ten minutes to spare. He has his teaching plan prepped from last night, ready to go!

7:30 am - His first Environmental Science class begins.

12:30 pm - It's lunch time! Paul takes out his peanut butter and jelly sandwich and eats happily. He also grabs his water bottle (reusable, of course) and fills it up with San Francisco's lovely tap water. He sometimes has students in his classroom because he sponsors the school's Environmental Club.

1:10 pm - Classes start again.

4:00 pm - His work day is over, so he decides to walk over to the farmer's market (it's about a five minute walk.) He picks out his apples, strawberries, and peaches!

5:00 pm - He takes the bus home from the farmer's market.

5:50 pm - He arrives home. He does a little tidying up the house and browsing the Internet for a new car, perhaps the new smart car?

7:00 pm - Time for dinner! He enjoys a nice meal with tofu and greens while grading papers.

9:00 pm - He enjoys a nice book about cooking.

10:00 pm - He gets ready for bed and makes sure that he's done all that he has to for the day.

10:30 pm - Paul goes to sleep. Although it's a little warm at night, he doesn't turn on his air conditioner. Instead, he cracks open a window just slightly so that he won't get cold in the middle of the night.

Consumer Behavior (ft. Netflix)

A product/service that has launched successfully is Netflix, a streaming website with an array of television shows, movies, documentaries, and more. People love this company because they enjoy having the choice of watching any show they want, whenever they want. I'm not sure if it will last very long, but it's been very popular for quite some time now.

Here are four reasons (but there are definitely more) that it has been so successful:

1. Netflix can be accessed with the same account from many different platforms. Not only can you use Netflix with your computer, you can also use it on any gaming console (Playstation, Xbox, Wii) or phone that lets you download the Netflix app.

2. More than one person can use Netflix while being on the same account.

As far as I know, there are five people sharing my brother's Netflix account right now. My mom uses it to watch her detective and mystery shows (Sherlock Holmes), my brother for How I Met Your Mother, his girlfriend for One Tree Hill, my boyfriend for survival shows (Duel Survival), and I for The Vampire Diaries. There has only been one occasion when I couldn't watch my show because too many people were watching at the same time.

3. Netflix is not expensive.

For $7.99 a month, you receive unlimited streaming.

4. There are absolutely no advertisements on Netflix.

You get all 45 minutes of your show, uninterrupted. You can pause whenever you need to and go back to a clip that you missed whenever you want.

Propaganda Campaign (Live. Love. Nap.)

After discussing with my group the pros of sleeping, we decided that there should be a designated nap time from 1-2 pm everyday. Because people are usually grumpy when they don't sleep enough, we have made it mandatory for all electricity to be turned off and stores to be closed.

Our party name is Happy Napping, and our campaign slogan is "Live. Love. Nap."

If you follow the plan of napping everyday from 1-2 pm, you will see results. You will be less stressed, less irritable, and happier! During the middle of the day, you may feel as if there is too much to complete in so little time. If you take a nap, you won't even have to think about it. Less stress means less pimples! When you don't sleep enough, you will make bad decisions. Sometimes that even includes destroying friendships.

Like everyone says, "sleep is the best medicine!"

We will advertise this by creating posters and hanging them up all over the city. We will also have a Twitter and Facebook to always keep you updated.

Political Advertising: Surfrider Foundation

The Surfrider Foundation is "dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world's oceans, waves, and beaches." On their website, they have a toolbar at the top of the page that includes categories, one being "campaigns." There is a United States map that allows me to click on California, then "see campaigns." (Listed below is a screenshot of some of the active campaigns in California.)

Because we are researching local campaigns, I clicked on the "Pacific Grove Plastic Bag Ban" campaign. This campaign was created to ban using plastic bags to "reduce and prevent marine pollution." As of now, Monterey has banned single-use plastic bags.

Surfrider Foundation (Monterey Chapter) has created its own website. If people visit the website, they can find out when beach clean up days and meetings are.

One of the biggest things that Surfrider Foundation did was their "3 Second Movie Challenge." One year ago, Surfrider Foundation created a 3 Second Movie Challenge in which participants were to capture what water is in three seconds. This challenge was designed to raise awareness and "inspire change on world water day." The winner of the challenge was given a GoPro camera and other gadgets. I believe they are hosting this challenge every year now! Below is the video that Surfrider Foundation put together of the entries they received.

I think this is one of the biggest things that they've done to raise awareness. Not only is the video entertaining, but it's also educational and impactful.

Rose Petal Cottage (Commercial Remake)

• The first thing we decided was to add a boy in the commercial and the song. Instead of having the girl sing by herself, we thought it would be better to have a boy and girl sing a duet.
• Instead of having pastel colors, adding bolder and solid colors to not only the house, but the whole commercial will make it less centered toward little girls.
• In the original commercial, the little girl is doing laundry by herself. Because we introduced the little boy, we thought it would be fun if they did things together. An example would be to wash the dishes together.
• Add books or something educational to make the house sophisticated and a drawing table for something fun and unrelated to doing chores.
• Instead of Rose Petal Cottage, we would change it to Little Cottage.
• Include a pet dog or cat so a baby is not the only option. A baby for the boy and girl would make it seem as if they were a family.

Gender Stereotyping

I do believe that gender stereotyping still exists today, and will continue existing because it works. If it's selling a certain product, you can be sure that it captivates the certain targeted gender.

In almost all the perfume ads in magazines, there are naked women. If their goal is to sell the scent, how is it even being captured? When these ads are viewed, it somewhat makes the audience believe that women look perfect if they wear that specific perfume. It makes women and men believe that if they use a certain perfume, they will look beautiful. It is always the same type of woman: blonde, light-skinned, and skinny. Even in the black and white photo, the woman is seen as light-skinned because there is a light shining on her.

A stereotype common about nurses is that they are all women, and this is what I found most of the advertisements on Google to show:

As you can see, most of the images are of women. Although men can do just as well at being nurses as women can, society tends to think of a woman when we hear "nurse."

This doesn't only happen with women. There are certain jobs and careers in society that males are "supposed" to have too, like firefighting and working on construction.

Unfortunately, I do not think that advertisers are going to get rid of gender stereotypes because they help sell many products and ideas. Without gender stereotypes, how are men and women going to know what to look like?

Racial and Gender Diversity in the Media

I found the television show "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" to break a lot of the stereotypes that are common in society.

Our society has shaped our minds to believe that people of African descent, as we talked about in class, have depictions related to master/slave relationships, danger, and others that show them in a negative way. This may be because it happened in the past, but it is still being used in the media today.

In The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Mr. Moseby (an African American male, shown above), is the manager of a hotel. He is hardworking and must always keep the hotel nice and organized. As far as the episodes show, there are no African American stereotypes that he portrays. He is not considered dangerous or a thief.

A white male, Arwin, is shown as a clumsy plumber who always messes things up. An Asian female, London, is clueless and not very bright, which breaks the stereotype that all Asians are smart. Another female on the show is Maddie, who is Irish. Her family, as the show portrays, is the total opposite of London's rich family. They do not have a lot of money, so she works at the hotel selling candy.

As you can see, this show breaks many stereotypes, which can be a good thing. It makes me think though - are the producers doing that to bring irony to the show or just playing with different stereotypes to show the audience that anyone can be anything? Because this is a show targeted for a younger generation, I'd like to believe that they are showing all the viewers that there really isn't a certain way that specific races or genders act.

A clip of Mr. Moseby teaching London how to drive

While I was younger, I would watch this show and hear the people around me in school talk about how funny the show was. The interesting thing is, they thought it was funny because it was uncommon to see a "dumb" Asian in contrast to a "smart" white girl. In a way, this show reinforces the common stereotypes - only in a different way that we normally see it.

Racial Stereotyping

Unfortunately, racial stereotypes are used greatly for advertising purposes in today's world - and it works. However, I don't think that makes it right. Although it seemed to be more obvious in the past, there are many instances in which advertisers slip it in without us really noticing. A lot of advertisers play with racial stereotyping to attract certain audiences, knowing that they will "fall" for it.

Here is an advertisement for "build[ing] a resume that makes a lasting impression." This plays on the racial stereotype that all Asians are smart and is great with technology. Although these may be stereotypes that are considered "positive", it is not true with every Asian.

This is an advertisement for whitening cream that Vaseline posted on their Facebook in 2010, which clearly implies to all of society that it is better to have lighter skin. While it says this, it also says that having dark skin is not something that people want. I think it is a shame that advertisers are molding our minds to think that having lighter skin is considered "better." This proves that racism in advertising is not just a thing in the past. It is still being used - in this case, to make us believe that there are certain skin colors that are more superior.

Here is another advertisement with the same idea as Vaseline. Not only does the whole idea of "lighter skin is better" pertain to Americans, but it has also become something universal.

I do believe that advertisers have ethical responsibilities. However, their goal is to make the thing they're advertising known (and known in a positive light), so they do with what they can get away with. I think racial stereotypes have become so common that it seems as if it's alright to "play along" with it. I honestly don't think that advertisers are using racial stereotypes to offend anyone on purpose; they are only just trying to promote their products in ways that they can get the most exposure.

Semiotics

Semiotics: the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation.

Although we may not have known exactly what semiotics meant before studying it in class, we apply it everyday without even noticing.

In this print ad, we see that it clearly states, "Volume that won't wilt." On the bottom left corner, there are a couple of products by "Bumble and bumble," the brand. We also see a woman on the right side with a flower in place of her hair. The size of the flower is about five times as big as her head. For those who are familiar with Bumble and Bumble (a hair products brand), we know that this advertisement is connoting that by using these products, your hair will have as much volume as this woman's "hair."The word "wilt" is used to describe and relate to the flower. The relationship between flowers and wilting (getting limp/droopy in hot temperatures) can be used as an analogy with voluminous hair and "wilting" as well. Voluminous hair will also "wilt" in hot temperatures, but since Bumble and bumble products do not require any sort of heat, it shows that using them will keep the volume in anyone's hair.

In this television ad for the perfume "Lovestruck" by Vera Wang, we see a woman on an escape route outside of an apartment in a lovely dress. There is a man holding flowers, running, and climbing on the ladder to (what looks like) get to her. He eventually reaches her and hugs her while she throws the flowers that he gives her away. Because this is a perfume ad, we can connote that whoever uses this perfume will draw men towards them. The woman is also in a very pretty dress, which could mean that wearing "Lovestruck" will make you smell elegant and sophisticated.

In this outdoors McDonalds ad, we see the word "HUNGER" in furry block letters behind bars. There is a sign that says "Please feed!" and the infamous McDonalds logo right next to it. We can connote, from this ad, that the advertisers wants us to feed our hunger at McDonalds! We might also get a little hungry from seeing the word and the color red. This connotation is easy to recognize - one second is all we need. This was most likely the goal of McDonalds. Because people are traveling and not walking slowly like they would in an art museum, advertisers must get their point across as quickly as they can.

Brands

I believe that the reason why people love brands so much is because it shows us our status in society. We want to make ourselves look good, and what better way to do it than to buy the brands we know are well-loved?

There are certain brands that have made a name for themselves, like Apple and Nike, who have taken over the world. So many people recognize these brands and their products; they notice them without having to even mention the words "Apple" and "Nike". People automatically know that you're holding an iPhone based on the shape or wearing Free Runs because of Nike's famous checkmark logo.

The thing that I have noticed about brands is that we use them to define others. If someone has a Louis Vuitton bag or a 2013 Ferrari, we assume that they have a lot of money. It doesn't necessarily mean that  they do though. By purchasing certain brands, we can change the way others view about ourselves.

Of course, not everyone thinks this way. I think that many people buy certain brands for different reasons, such being that 1) they have always bought the same brand and have never thought about switching to something else, 2) they buy whatever is cheapest, 3) they make good quality clothing, etc. This is something to think about: why do you buy the brands you do?

Dietmar Dahmen

Because of Dietmar's enthusiasm and passion for advertising, he easily caught all of our attention while presenting his topic, "The Future of Advertisement", to us. I thought it was interesting when he talked about how different brands vs. consumers used to be compared to now. Brands used to talk and sell and consumers would listen and buy. Now brands talk and sell, but consumers talk more and sell also. I knew exactly what he was talking about because I see it all the time on YouTube.

Although I believe that YouTube is mostly “me-vertising”, brands sponsor many of these people who put up videos to feature their products. Not only can some brands give products to people to advertise, but many will be happy to go out, buy a product, and feature that without being paid. (The best example for this was the video that Dietmar showed us of someone demonstrating the art of lacing up shoes.)

All in all, Dietmar was a very compelling speaker and has made me think greatly about what advertising could become. Not only has it given many people jobs, but it has changed our world tremendously!

Thoughts on Advertising

Whenever I think of advertising, I automatically associate it with commercials on TV. I know that advertisements are not limited to just commercials on TV, but I think this way because our society seems to always be glued to it. Although we try to avoid commercials by switching to another channel, we always seem to know the exact commercial if someone brings it up. Although commercials are not as popular as before, I remember loving {this} Raisin Bran Crunch commercial because one of the actors says, "'Ello Gov'na!" I hated raisins at the time, but that commercial convinced me to beg my mom to buy that cereal because I loved british accents.

It's funny what a commercial can do to you. That commercial captured my attention so quickly and made me want to buy RAISINS! Advertising disgusts and excites me for that reason. People who create advertisements can twist our minds to want something by doing something so random, like adding british accents. It also excites me because there can be so much creativity put into designing a commercial. Take this Coca-Cola commercial for example:

It's simple, short, and cute. Even though this commercial was played in 2007, I still remember it because it was very creative and a lot of people seemed to enjoy it. There have even been remakes in different languages and spoofs posted on Youtube!

I think that advertisements can be both misleading and something to be appreciated.