Although it is difficult for me to admit, many people believe that advertising can have many negative effects on people, especially children. Millions of children sit in front of the television on Saturday mornings to watch cartoons. Some may watch a few of their favorite shows, while others spend hours upon hours sitting and staring at the screen. In one hour of television there are approximately 20 minutes worth of commercials. After a few hours, that commercial time begins to add up. When children are exposed to television advertising for long periods of time, it can begin to have serious negative effects.
Because Saturday morning is a popular time for children to be watching television, it is also a popular time for advertisers to run their commercials at a high frequency, or in other words, the same commercial multiple times. Children may see the same McDonalds commercial five times during a certain program. The advertising may also be different commercials for the same product.
The brands that are advertised on Saturday mornings are also very specific. Most of the commercials will be for fast food or sugar cereals. To the advertisers, it only makes sense to target these brands to children who will eventually convince their parents to purchase them. However, advertisers have failed to take into consideration that their commercials could possibly be overwhelming to the young minds of their target market.
Children account for billions of dollars in sales each year, and they are an essential target audience to many brands and companies. However, are those billions of dollars really worth the consequences? Child obesity is becoming a real problem in today’s society, but can we directly contribute that to Happy Meal commercials? Some will argue yes.
Other arguments have also been made against advertising targeted to children. People believe that because children are exposed to so much advertising at such young ages, they can develop brand loyalty while they are extremely young.
In addition to brand loyalty, advertising can also put images into the minds of children. Due to the excessive cigarette advertising with Joe Camel, this mascot became as recognizable to six-year-olds as Mickey Mouse. Later, after the Joe Camel ads were discontinued, a study showed that Camel was the most popular brand of cigarettes that was sold to minors. An obvious conclusion can be drawn, but whether or not it is a fact is debatable.
Although the negative effects of advertising are a clear reality, the blame cannot be placed entirely on the advertiser. Parents are also responsible for the health and well being of their children. Although the commercials are there, the parents are also allowing their children to be exposed to them. Assigning blame, however, is not the main concern. Children’s lives are being affected because of advertising without question, and measures to prevent or stop this need to be taken.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Should I Be Persuaded?
Although this is no longer a current advertisement, I found that the commercial for the "Chocolate" cell phones that featured Christina Aguilera's song, "Candyman" was brilliant. If you're not familiar with the commercial, I'll try to describe it for you.
The scenery was almost like a high-tech candy factory, with conveyer belts going every which way. But instead of candybars traveling about the factory there were the cellphones. The three colors of the cellphones (red, white, and green) were the three colors used throughout the commercial, and the way the commercial flowed was unbelievable. Christina Aguiulera's song worked perfectly as the "soundtrack" for this commercial because she describes a guy like candy, but in this case it seems as if she's describing the phones. Also, a main feature of the cellphones is that they double as an mp3 player, so it was like the song was coming from the phone.
As I write this I feel as if I'm not giving the commercial as much applause as it deserves. I guess you just have to see it, and for those who have I hope you agree with me!
The commercial just had so much synergy, everything was related and it had many key aspects that an advertiser strives for. For one, the catchy pop song will most likely be stuck in your head for the rest of the day, if not the week. The use of color and movement makes it hard to turn your head or flip the channel in the middle of it. The way the product, the song, the visual, the colors, and the design all work together is really great.
Sometimes I feel as if I'm the only person in the world who would rather watch commercials than the actual television programming. I, obviously, blame this on my major, and at times I find it extremely annoying. But on the other hand, I enjoy it. I found this commercial to be one of the best that I've seen in a long time, and it motivated me to one day create, or atleast be a part of creating a commercial that is on the same level.
Another point that I hesitate to make is that the commercial began to persuade me that I NEEDED one of these cellphones. I am ashamed to admit that I was sucked into the business that I will one day be working in. I have not, however, purchased one. Yet.
The scenery was almost like a high-tech candy factory, with conveyer belts going every which way. But instead of candybars traveling about the factory there were the cellphones. The three colors of the cellphones (red, white, and green) were the three colors used throughout the commercial, and the way the commercial flowed was unbelievable. Christina Aguiulera's song worked perfectly as the "soundtrack" for this commercial because she describes a guy like candy, but in this case it seems as if she's describing the phones. Also, a main feature of the cellphones is that they double as an mp3 player, so it was like the song was coming from the phone.
As I write this I feel as if I'm not giving the commercial as much applause as it deserves. I guess you just have to see it, and for those who have I hope you agree with me!
The commercial just had so much synergy, everything was related and it had many key aspects that an advertiser strives for. For one, the catchy pop song will most likely be stuck in your head for the rest of the day, if not the week. The use of color and movement makes it hard to turn your head or flip the channel in the middle of it. The way the product, the song, the visual, the colors, and the design all work together is really great.
Sometimes I feel as if I'm the only person in the world who would rather watch commercials than the actual television programming. I, obviously, blame this on my major, and at times I find it extremely annoying. But on the other hand, I enjoy it. I found this commercial to be one of the best that I've seen in a long time, and it motivated me to one day create, or atleast be a part of creating a commercial that is on the same level.
Another point that I hesitate to make is that the commercial began to persuade me that I NEEDED one of these cellphones. I am ashamed to admit that I was sucked into the business that I will one day be working in. I have not, however, purchased one. Yet.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Expository or Persuasive?
Considering my topic is for the most part based on facts and leaves little room for opinions, my final research paper will most likely be expository. I don’t see how I could form a persuasive thesis about the history of advertising; there’s not much that needs persuading. It will be simple to lay out the facts in chronological order and in a neat, organized way. However, when it comes to the strategies used in advertising, I may include some of my opinions on which are best, or where advertising is going in the future. For the most part my final paper will consist of hard facts and information that I have collected, so it only makes sense for it to be expository. In a way, it is a bit ironic. Advertising’s main purpose is to persuade people to buy products, and yet my paper really won’t be persuading anyone to do anything.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Sweet Spot
My fourth source for my research paper is a book called "Hitting the Sweet Spot." This book is focused around one of the most recent advertising strategies. Throughout the history of advertising things have been focused around the product, but this is the first concept that deals with the heart and the emotions of the consumers.
"Hitting the Sweet Spot" is a guide to giving consumers exactly what they want to see through the advertising of the product. Instead of commercials focused on what the product is, they are now focused on how they will make the consumer feel. It has been found that people are emotionally attached to certain brands and this strategy plays off of that. The goal is to hit the sweet spot of your target audience, or to find the one thing that will connect with them on a personal and emotional level.
Instead of Tide just being a laundry detergent, it is now a feeling; it reminds you of your mother washing your clothes and the scent brings you back to those fond memories of childhood. Sure, it washes your clothes, probably gets them pretty clean, but Tide means so much more than just simply clean clothes.
The concept sounds a bit silly, but almost anyone can name a few brands that they are emotionally attached to, and that is exactly why this strategy is so successful. Maybe it's that your dad gave you your first baseball glove and it was Wilson brand, or that you ate Cheerios with your grandmother every morning. Just think about it. Both of those would make great commercials.
"Hitting the Sweet Spot" is one of the more recent strategies in advertising and it will probably continue to be successful for a while. A lot of information is useful in this book and it will definitely fall somewhere into my research paper, most likely towards the end of the chronology.
"Hitting the Sweet Spot" is a guide to giving consumers exactly what they want to see through the advertising of the product. Instead of commercials focused on what the product is, they are now focused on how they will make the consumer feel. It has been found that people are emotionally attached to certain brands and this strategy plays off of that. The goal is to hit the sweet spot of your target audience, or to find the one thing that will connect with them on a personal and emotional level.
Instead of Tide just being a laundry detergent, it is now a feeling; it reminds you of your mother washing your clothes and the scent brings you back to those fond memories of childhood. Sure, it washes your clothes, probably gets them pretty clean, but Tide means so much more than just simply clean clothes.
The concept sounds a bit silly, but almost anyone can name a few brands that they are emotionally attached to, and that is exactly why this strategy is so successful. Maybe it's that your dad gave you your first baseball glove and it was Wilson brand, or that you ate Cheerios with your grandmother every morning. Just think about it. Both of those would make great commercials.
"Hitting the Sweet Spot" is one of the more recent strategies in advertising and it will probably continue to be successful for a while. A lot of information is useful in this book and it will definitely fall somewhere into my research paper, most likely towards the end of the chronology.
Breaking Through the Clutter
In the past, advertising was easy. Merchants would yell in the streets about their fruit. People would post up signs around the town advertising their service. Competition was minimal, and technology was nonexistent. There was no such thing as mass communication. People had limited means of getting the attention of their customers. However, in today’s society, there are numerous ways to get a message to the consumer. Advertisers today are having more and more difficulty getting their voice heard through all of the noise.
Previously there has not been as much competition in the advertising business as there is today. There were ads on television simply stating what the product was and why you should purchase it. There were only a few different brands in each product category. People were not forced to pick and choose as much as they are in today’s society. Advertising was more of a means of simply getting the word about your brand out there as opposed to persuading the customer away from a competing brand.
In today’s fast-paced society advertisers are forced to do just that. The object has shifted from stating to persuading, and as thousands of ads are being thrown at consumers everyday, it is crucial for advertisers to find a way to make their ad stand out above the rest. A person is exposed to over 3,000 advertisements a day. As you can imagine, each person remembers very few if any. New strategies are needed to create the ad that they will remember.
A few strategies have been implemented in the past and they have paved the way for future advertisers. However, these strategies are slowly becoming outdated and there is a constant need for new and innovative ideas in the advertising business.
How can people break through the clutter? How can we make the consumer not only see but remember our commercial? And even better, how can we get the consumer, after seeing the advertisement, to purchase the product?
These are just a few questions that advertisers today are being faced with.
Previously there has not been as much competition in the advertising business as there is today. There were ads on television simply stating what the product was and why you should purchase it. There were only a few different brands in each product category. People were not forced to pick and choose as much as they are in today’s society. Advertising was more of a means of simply getting the word about your brand out there as opposed to persuading the customer away from a competing brand.
In today’s fast-paced society advertisers are forced to do just that. The object has shifted from stating to persuading, and as thousands of ads are being thrown at consumers everyday, it is crucial for advertisers to find a way to make their ad stand out above the rest. A person is exposed to over 3,000 advertisements a day. As you can imagine, each person remembers very few if any. New strategies are needed to create the ad that they will remember.
A few strategies have been implemented in the past and they have paved the way for future advertisers. However, these strategies are slowly becoming outdated and there is a constant need for new and innovative ideas in the advertising business.
How can people break through the clutter? How can we make the consumer not only see but remember our commercial? And even better, how can we get the consumer, after seeing the advertisement, to purchase the product?
These are just a few questions that advertisers today are being faced with.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Peer Review Session
When we had our peer review session in class, it seemed like everyone was able to benefit from it, or atleast take something away from the constructive criticism. Because the four of us all had the chance to read each others papers, we were all able to compare and contrast each paper, as well as find the weaknesses.
In my paper I found that I needed to better explain what the Unique Selling Proposition was because the average person does not know about it. I somewhat took this for granted, and for the rest of my paper I will have to be careful about assuming that the general population already knows some of the things that I know about advertising and its history.
I think the peer review session was helpful, especially because it allowed me to fix things in my paper that I hadn't found on my own. I corrected a few comma errors and reworded some of my sentences. I also started threes sentences in a row with the word "the," and after the peer review session I was able to correct that as well.
I hope everyone else benefited from the peer review session as much as I did, and I really think its a good, helpful was to use class time in a way that everyone can benefit from. It was nice to be able to fix the paper after the peer review session, because I think everone's papers would have improved.
In my paper I found that I needed to better explain what the Unique Selling Proposition was because the average person does not know about it. I somewhat took this for granted, and for the rest of my paper I will have to be careful about assuming that the general population already knows some of the things that I know about advertising and its history.
I think the peer review session was helpful, especially because it allowed me to fix things in my paper that I hadn't found on my own. I corrected a few comma errors and reworded some of my sentences. I also started threes sentences in a row with the word "the," and after the peer review session I was able to correct that as well.
I hope everyone else benefited from the peer review session as much as I did, and I really think its a good, helpful was to use class time in a way that everyone can benefit from. It was nice to be able to fix the paper after the peer review session, because I think everone's papers would have improved.
Positioning
The third source I'm using for my research paper is a book called "Positioning: How to Be Seen and Heard in the Overcrowded Marketplace." There is a ton of information packed into this book, but I definitely think I will be able to use a lot of it in my paper. It will be difficult to pick and choose from the examples, because there are a lot that relate to my topic. A lot of the information can be weeded out and picked apart.
The book is written around an advertising strategy called positioning. Positioning is when an advertiser "positions" the product in the minds of the consumers. Instead of simple stating what the product has to offer, positioning gives the product an identity in the consumers mind. Often times the product is positioned against its competitors. This usually occurs when a brand is #2 in the category and they need something that will let that brand stand out from the #1 brand.
Numerous successful advertising campaigns have been formed around the positioning strategy, and the authors provide many examples of successful brands that were repositioned in the marketplace. One of the most famous examples of this is 7up.
Originally 7up was positioned almost for medicinal purposes; it was the drink your mom gave you when you had an upset stomach. It was not even in the same category as Coke and Pepsi. After 7up sales began to plumit, it was repositioned as the "uncola." This new advertising campaign compared it to Coke and Pepsi, but said that it was different, new, and not a cola. 7up sales skyrocketed due to this new position.
"Positioning" will definitely be a lot of help for my paper, and I think I will be able to incorporate the information easily with the rest of my sources so far.
The book is written around an advertising strategy called positioning. Positioning is when an advertiser "positions" the product in the minds of the consumers. Instead of simple stating what the product has to offer, positioning gives the product an identity in the consumers mind. Often times the product is positioned against its competitors. This usually occurs when a brand is #2 in the category and they need something that will let that brand stand out from the #1 brand.
Numerous successful advertising campaigns have been formed around the positioning strategy, and the authors provide many examples of successful brands that were repositioned in the marketplace. One of the most famous examples of this is 7up.
Originally 7up was positioned almost for medicinal purposes; it was the drink your mom gave you when you had an upset stomach. It was not even in the same category as Coke and Pepsi. After 7up sales began to plumit, it was repositioned as the "uncola." This new advertising campaign compared it to Coke and Pepsi, but said that it was different, new, and not a cola. 7up sales skyrocketed due to this new position.
"Positioning" will definitely be a lot of help for my paper, and I think I will be able to incorporate the information easily with the rest of my sources so far.
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