Hi everybody, I just saw this new safety video from Virgin America. Virgin America is known for its fun image and this video definitely reflects this with a sassy edge. Do you guys think it's funny or slightly offensive for mocking travelers who don't want to follow directions?

http://mashable.com/2013/10/29/virgin-america-safety-video/#:eyJzIjoiZiIsImkiOiJfbTV5cDh4Ym5oa2RsNWt2djM1NHFsYzVybjNfIn0

JetBlue and Buzzfeed

http://www.buzzfeed.com/h2/fbsp/jetblueyouaboveall/10-clever-ways-to-take-airplane-snacks-to-new-heights

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG3d0TgsqFs

BuzzFeed, a recently popular website that features media "buzz" has begun to integrate advertisements into its posts. One aspect of the site are its lists. This particular post, "10 Clever Ways to Take Airplane Snacks to New Heights," was written by JetBlue, a "BuzzFeed Partner." The list is not only entertaining to the reader, but also emphasizes the fact that there are a variety of unlimited snacks on a JetBlue flight. The list ends with a commercial (youtube link above) that makes fun of competitors who do not serve unlimited snacks and only small cups of drinks. I thought this was an interesting way to subtly reach people, specifically a younger age groups or internet-savy consumers, as well as a good demonstration of comparative advertising in that it is a market challenger (to other airlines).

I know I mentioned it in class, but here's the Leapmotion video that describes what the product is.  It is definitely in the introduction phase, but there is a lot of potential for this product.  It seems almost like a Tony Stark invention.

https://www.leapmotion.com/

Zodiac Race Shoes

I found this cute commercial that taps into the familiarity and comfort of traditional stories in Japan. It's the retell of the zodiac race and I think it's rather brilliant to relate their brand to something everyone already has some kind of connection to.

Kia Soul hamster campaign

Kia has run this campaign for several years now, and it's still going.  This particular video is one of the more memorable ones in my opinion, though it's a few years old now.  Targeting their market by essentially using the product name as a slogan, these ads are meant to capture the feeling of 'Soul' and breaking the mold of more conventional cars.

While attention-grabbing, I've never really seen myself drawing a strong brand connection with Kia or Soul.  I just don't think it's a good product representation, but given the length of the campaign, it does seem to resonate with some consumers.

Shaq fitting in a Buick Car

Today we talked about four requirements for effective segmentation; to be specific, market segments must have the following characteristics to be useful: measurability, accessibility, substantiality, and actionability. With respect to substantiality, I explained that a segment must be the 'largest' possible homogenous group economically feasible to serve and launch an effective marketing program. I also added that it would not be feasible (and not profitable) to develop cars exclusively for those who are extremely tall. Interestingly, Graham Dietz sent me a link to this commercial after class. Shaq O'Neal endorses a Buick LaCrosse saying that he even fits in this car :)

Angry Birds! (And Branding)

I saw a story on how Rovio, the parent company that produces the popular Angry Birds video game, is coming out with this game, called Angry Birds Go! It's an interesting move considering it attempts to expand on the Angry Birds universe and abandons the traditional "sling-shot" type game play that many of us have come to know and love.
It will be interesting to see where the Angry Birds brand goes from here. If nothing else, Rovio is showing that they seek to expand the brand beyond early roots. Angry Birds seeks to become as well known as other video game favorites such as Mario, Pokemon, and even Call of Duty.
Would you buy this game? Would you play it in class or on the way to work?

I have been thinking about how advertising shapes our perspectives and cultural norms. How do some advertisements objectify parts of the body?  For example in Jimmy Choo print ads, often the advertisement features only the leg of a woman wearing a Jimmy Choo shoe. Are these advertisements anti-feminist? Do they objectify the woman's body by failing to even show the model's face? In many "high fashion" campaigns, select parts of the body are shown or women are shown in submissive positions. How does this shape our cultural norms, and how does this shape our views of a woman's role in society?

Durex

Hot Pockets - Celebrities and Social Media

I came across this ad on Facebook today, and it seemed to use a few of the ideas we've discussed in class. Hot Pockets is trying to connect with its customers by asking them to choose either the Team Crust side or the Team Meats side, using social media, specifically hashtags. They also hired Snoop Dogg, Kate Upton, and a few others as celebrity endorsements. I'm not sure if the ad is effective at making me want to buy Hot Pockets, but I don't think I'll be forgetting it too easily (its pretty entertaining).

Taco Bell and Playstation 4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVruXOewGIA

I saw this commercial the other day while watching football and found it to be a great marketing strategy.  With the upcoming release of the next generation video game consoles, there is much hype in that industry.  So much hype, that the consoles have sold out their pre-orders.  Taco Bell is offering customers a chance to grab hold of the soon-to-be-released Sony Playstation 4 despite being sold out.  Another key hype in Taco Bell's campaign is that they will be giving the console to the winners ahead of the release date; you can be among the first to get the latest and greatest.  To be honest, who doesn't want that?  This is a great campaign and I see it boosting Taco Bell's sales, while also providing prime advertising for Sony.

United Colors of Benetton

 

UNHATE campaign featuring Chinese President Hu Jintao kissing US President Barack Obama.

With all the interesting Benetton Ads we saw in class, I am sure this caused alot of controversy too.

Cultural Influence on Consumer Behavior with Nescafe

I was browsing through videos on consumer behavior on youtube and I found this video that shows the different ways that culture influences consumer behavior with a simple product like Nescafe. The video shows how different cultures appeal to different values and traditions in targeting their consumers. In the video, the Nescafe ads aired in Malaysia and Thailand portrayed the values of emotion associated with elderly and family tradition to create a sense of intimacy and closeness with the Nescafe brand while the ads aired in Australia emphasized the values of individuality and independent appeal to target their consumers by also empahsizing facts given by celebrities and celebrated authors. The video shows how culture can affect groups differently in their appeal to the same type of product such as Nescafe.

DXL Market Nicher Commercial

I saw this commercial on television earlier this week and though it represented a good commercial by a market nicher. DXL is a market nicher because it offers clothes only to big and tall people. The commercial humorously conveys the dilemma that many big and tall people face while trying to find clothes and presents the solution in the form of shopping at the store. Additionally, I believe this commercial is an attempt at market penetration because it spreads awareness about shopping for clothes among big and tall people and is not trying to introduce a new product or capture a new market.

Diet Coke Green Marketing

I saw this on Diet Coke's Facebook page today and thought it was a really clever approach to green marketing. The caption underneath this photo was "How flat can you crush it?" This ad not only serves as an advertisement for Diet Coke, but also for being "green" and recycling. I feel that they make recycling seem simple, so this may entice people to do so. However, I wonder if people will be skeptical of whether Diet Coke if really trying to help the environment, or if they are simply using this ad to make more money.

Culture, Community, Experience

A good example of how to advertise your company instead of just selling a product.

Broken Escalator - Becel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSIkjNaICsg

When I first saw this advertisement, I thought it was a good commercial since it was funny.  However, later on, I could only remember the content of the commercial, and not what it was trying to sell.  I took the people "stuck" on an escalator to be more foolish than lazy, thereby missing the whole point of the commercial.  Therefore, I am still not sure whether this is a clever advertisement that catches somebody's attention, or an advertisement so focused on pleasing the consumer by giving them a good laugh, that the specific product gets lost in it.