I’m attaching my favorite recent advertisement. A few weeks ago, my marketing professor shared this ad from Bud Light which was shown during the Super Bowl. It’s a national running joke that Americans watch the Superbowl only for the commercials, but they are actually pretty effective and entertaining ads (probably due to intense planning and high budgets). This advertisement plays on the line “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” while referring to 2020 as “a lemon of a year.” They are using lemons as a metaphor for the coronavirus, and the ad features lemons falling from the sky, knocking people out, destroying cities, shutting down airports, and ruining evens such as sports and weddings, just as the pandemic did. The purpose of the ad is to introduce Bud Light’s new lemonade flavored line of hard seltzers, “packed with lemon flavor after a lemon of a year.” I like this advertisement so much because a lot of commercials from 2020 made reference to the pandemic, but Bud Light did it in a relatable, funny, and entertaining way. The reading stated “Ads attempt to soothe our spiritual hunger problem and help us find a way to connect with those around us” (page 476), so I find it interesting that this ad could connect so many people. It gave the nation something to laugh about all together while watching the most-viewed TV event in the USA, the Superbowl.

I find advertisements extremely interesting, which is why I love marketing so much.  There are so so many different strategies that companies can use to promote their brand and manipulate consumers, yet at the same time reflect our values and bring us together. I think that being aware of these manipulation tools can make us better-informed consumers.

Growing up, I was- and still am- fascinated by things that moved. In particular, things that could transport people from place to place, such as cars, trains, airplanes, ships, and so on. Once I earned my driver’s license, I yearned to have a vehicle of my own so that I could be more independent and really enjoy the “full high school experience” I’m sure we all heard about when talking with our friends about their vehicles and the places they could go with them. Besides this, my family has adopted a rule when it comes to car buying: “Either you buy a Toyota or a Honda, but don’t dare buy a Nissan.” While I won’t get into the reasons why my family and I comply with that rule, I will say that every time a Toyota or Honda ad appeared on the television, it had my family’s undivided attention.

In this Honda CR-V ad, what I like most about it is the emphasis it places on safety. Throughout the ad, Honda reinforces multiple times how the vehicle can keep you centered in your lane without you having to manually do so. On that note, they are also reeling audience members, like myself, because this is a technological innovation associated with driving! If I, the driver, have to worry less about whether or not I’m centered in my lane when, say, I check to see why my younger sisters are thrashing about in the backseat, then I can assume that my family’s overall safety in the vehicle is solid no matter what life might bring about. Beyond this, the alluring factor of technological innovation is highlighted by the blue colors and upbeat music playing in the background, which, in a way, takes you from reality and into this dream state Honda wants you to be in while watching their ad. In essence, Honda’s message of “The Power of Dreams” is supported by many ad elements that have convinced customers to purchase this vehicle for its dependable safety features and technological innovation that other car brands hadn’t reached the surface of yet. Plus, their purchase of a CR-V is like an investment in their dreams.

http://https://youtu.be/xxNxqveseyI

I saw this ad for the first time during the Super Bowl and at the time I appreciated it for its humor and irony. Now that I have listened to the podcast and done the reading, I can appreciate it for its effective tactics. Like the podcast talks about, when I think of ads I think of the basic act of seeing a product and wanting it. Whenever my roommate sees ads for donuts on Instagram, we end up going out to buy donuts. Not only is it like the Old Spice ad where it suggests that having an Alexa is equivalent to having a more attractive male in your house, but it also appeals to the familiar and popular by having Michael Jordan as a star in the ad. There is also the sexual appeal, mentioned by the reading as lust, that comes into play when Michael Jordan has the societal definition of attractive features such as large muscles and blue eyes.

Additionally, this ad appeals to our ‘lizard brains’ by portraying many comfortable and inviting images like a backyard barbecue, dinner cooking on the stove, and a warm bubble bath. Overall, this ad seems to insinuate that having an Alexa will bring you all of these good experiences and make you popular and ‘in the norm’ of culture. The funny jokes like “It’s getting way too wet around here” turn the humor from funny to memorable, increasing the effectiveness and memorability of the ad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs

I chose this advertisement as my favorite for a variety of reasons. In my life so far, I have found a lot of frustration with normative notions of femininity and “being girly.” Stereotypes regarding weakness and timidness not only affect how others perceive women and girls, but also their self-esteem. This is definitely something I have struggled with as I’ve grown up. In this ad, different demographics of girls are given the same prompts. The older demographic of girls, mostly people my age, when asked to “run like a girl” or act out another action, conform to stereotypical notions of what a girl should be: bad at running, weak, “soft,” and timid. But when these prompts are given to young girls, they show themselves working hard, “running as fast as they can,” and giving it their all. The ad continues to ask the question “When did doing something “like a girl” become an insult?” and the conversation progresses to discussing how young girls are severely impacted by the association between “like a girl” with weakness.

The ad is roughly 3 minutes long so I won’t explain the entire thing, but I think the message it carries is a really important one. The whole point of the ad is to disrupt the notion of girls being weak and to inspire confidence in women everywhere. I think this ad is especially effective as it not only portrays a strong and powerful message but it also instills those values into the brand. Not once are Always’ products mentioned and instead they focus on something much bigger: the confidence of the people who buy their products. Additionally, putting a message out for young girls everywhere to be proud of who they are and their “girly-ness” is something that I know would have gone a long way for me if I saw this when I was younger.

I thought the podcast about ads was so interesting. I never really thought of why I was drawn to certain things or more compelled to buy some products and not others until now. I think that certain ads will obviously appeal to some more than others, but for the majority, ads do a great job at selling fantasies or the idea of something that makes you compelled to buy a product. You are not actually buying a fantasy, because those (sadly) cannot be purchased with money (for the most part), but you still think that buying the product will somehow come with it as well. I took the 30 seconds to watch the Old Spice commercial, and even after an explanation as to why my lizard brain thinks this way, I still found it compelling (maybe because of the idea of being on a yacht right now…). Either way, it is crazy to me to actually look back and think of what ads are selling, because for the most part, it is not the actual product. This made me think of when there used to be ads for Instagram and Snapchat (back before they dominated social media). I feel like they drew on the idea that we would be so much more connected when in reality, that is far from the truth. However, they sold the idea and marketed it in a way that would appeal to our lizard brains. 

There are many ads that I remember from growing up and watching on TV. Some jingles still get stuck in my head like Old Spice’s, Kay Jewelers’, or Subways. Some visuals will never leave my mind, like the Skittles commercials. I will say, those are commercials that I will never unsee and the worst part is, and I don’t really know why because they disgusted me, I still will buy and eat Skittles. They are familiar and safe – the exact idea that ads want to sell. I also thought the fact that there is no difference between brand name items vs non-brand name products was crazy. I think I knew this, especially when it relates to medicine (Advil vs ibuprofen, Tylenol vs acetaminophen, etc), but I still will buy the brand-name product, even if it costs more. I know this is a habit I should break because it’s frankly stupid, especially with the knowledge I have, but it is so hard to stray from what you know. Overall, I think ads do a great job at what they are supposed to do. They target your unconscious mind and trick you into buying products based off of fallacies. However, they are frustrating, especially when your Old Spice body wash doesn’t come with a yacht or diamonds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvpq2OjmJvg

I’m a huge football fan, but in addition to watching the Super Bowl game, I also love watching to critique all of the commercials with my friends. One of the first Super Bowl commercials this year was a State Farm commercial, naturally. I think what surprised me most about the ad was that there were a whole lot of familiar and popular faces. The guy with the cheese on his head is from an older State Farm commercial. Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers are sitting next to the new Jake from State Farm, a celebrity himself. Next thing you know, Paul Rudd and Drake are thrown into the commercial, too. I think the randomness of the celebrities (and familiar face) made the commercial one of my favorites from this year (and Drake is actually pretty funny).

After doing the reading and listening to the podcast, I realized that most advertisements rely on only one thing: their assumption that what is “normal” is desirable. Either through shame, optimism, solutions or rationale, advertisers try to target what they feel the viewer needs. I think that the Teays reading made a very interesting point when it mentioned sin and seduction in advertising. Envy, lust and greed are present in the majority of advertisements that we see, and that’s what advertisers want us to feel, which is kind of unfortunate.

When it comes to analyzing ads, I do think that it’s important to look at the verbal and visual messages, but to also do some introspection into your own values. Even if advertisers claim that “everyone” is using a specific product, what difference does it make if you have your own values and opinions? Even if it’s something as simple as a Pizza Hut commercial, you can easily look at it and realize (from the perspective of a broke college student who loves pizza) “actually, I’m not hungry, this ad just makes it sound good in the moment,” and keep it moving. Understanding advertisements starts with removing yourself and realizing what is really important to you.

Although advertising is not unfamiliar to me as an avid consumer of content, a significant portion of the psychological reasoning behind advertising was unknown to me. It is interesting to me that methods of advertising have shifted over time, and have gone from advertising individual products to a customer by presenting positive information about the product itself, to selling a lifestyle or an ideal that has little to nothing to do with the product. Instead of choosing products based on logistical information, customers are seeking feelings that are either associated with certain products or their advertisements. For example, advertisements create winners and losers– those who use the product and those who do not, or even more persuasively, those who are “not able to.” These products generally present a lifestyle of wealth and happiness that people link to individual products, even though they know that in reality that one product will not change their lives that drastically. 

Somehow, even knowing that generic products are the same as “brand-name” products does not change the fact that those brand-name products are more appealing, because they are more easily recognizable, and “trusted.” In order to get a better understanding of how these psychological tricks are executed in advertisements, I watched a compilation of Super Bowl Ads from 2021. One of the most common things I noticed was references to history and pop culture that are designed to make the reader feel “included” and “special” as if they are a part of an inside joke. For example, the Amazon Alexa ad referenced the Bill Clinton Monica Lewinsky scandal, and there was a Mountain Dew commercial that was a play on an iconic scene from The Shining, a classic movie that people should understand the reference to, regardless of whether they have seen the film. 

One commercial that stuck out to me during my life was the Nike Colin Kapernick “Dream Crazy” commercial, because it was so controversial and although the theme was about sports players, it made a broader statement about American society as a whole. During a time when Colin Kapernick’s decision to kneel during the National Anthem was extremely controversial (and still is), this ad focused on the importance of being the best one can be in every aspect of life, on and off the field. I remember watching it and being inspired and honestly surprised that Nike took the risk of potentially losing support by standing up for something that they believed in, equality for all. This commercial wasn’t about Nike products themselves, it was about what supporting Nike means and what their brand stands for. 

https://youtu.be/jBnseji3tBk

I picked this ad because I feel that it demonstrates what we read. To begin, it uses the appeal to popularity through a celebrity. While not everyone may like Heinz ketchup, if they are drawn to Ed Sheeran, they may be more inclined to purchase this specific brand of ketchup.

Along with that, the ad exaggerates the waiter and chefs response to Ed using ketchup. I think that if this really happened, while people might look at him strange, the reactions would not be dramatic. This emphasizes the fact that Ed Sheeran is going against norms and we should follow him.

Lastly, this ad uses a celebrity, but makes him seem relatable to the average person. While some of us may dine in a setting that is pictured here, most of us don’t. Most of us dine in a place where ketchup is already on the table. Because this ad portrays Ed Sheeran preferring to dine with Heinz ketchup rather than his “farm to table blah blah blah,” we are more likely to feel like we can relate to him, and therefore want to buy the product.

I was thinking about my favorite advertisements on TV over the years, and the Meerkat Insurance advertisements always came to mind. Whenever I am visiting family in England, these ads always pop up and although they are slightly immature, they always seem to make me chuckle. Talking animals is a tactic used to entertain and keep the attention of children in children’s books, so I think it is impressive to see how this is in turn used in advertisements for adults with things like insurance.

I always hear my family complain about these ads that always seem to come on during every advertising break. But this is where these ads are so effective – they stay in people’s minds and catch their attention. These ads do not have a specific audience, but hope that through their creation of these unique characters, that they also attempt to sell merchandise through, they will catch the eye of potential customers.

https://youtu.be/HtWavRpVzDQ

In my opinion, one of the best ads is the Right Twix vs Left Twix ads for several reasons. The first is the verbal message of the ad itself, for it gives a very simple, yet very clear, slogan of “Left Twix vs Right Twix”. By making these two entities seem on opposite sides of some issues, the ad works to create, through the verbal message, an almost debate about whether the left or right side of a Twix is better. This is a good advertising movement because by creating the perfect arena for a debate, the ads encourage people, even if they are joking, to have small conversations and debates about whether one side of the candy is actually better than the other and why, and in this way the ad both uses the media to create coverage of the product and also encourages further discussion of and purchasing of the product through word-of-mouth conversations and debates.

Additionally, this ad is strong because it utilizes both the verbal message and the visual message to tell a story. The story of this ad pertains to how the Twix bar came to be, and the competition that grew between the brothers of the left and right Twix. By making the creation of Twix, and the eventual competition between left and right Twix, the ad grabs the readers attention, for we are often inclined to follow stories and also uses the visual imagery to both further the story and pull the viewer in, and also to increase the appeal of the candy bar. This storytelling through words and visuals draws the viewer in and entices them to pay attention, maybe even sparking them to purchase a Twix bar. Overall, I think this is a good ad because it successfully uses verbal and visual messages to both create a competition between the left and right Twix, and to create a story; together, these factors pull in viewers, and can potentially increase the interest of the viewers in the products.