I sat for a moment thinking about my favorite ad of all time and one video, in particular, stood out to me. Made by filmmaker and Youtuber Casey Neistat, this video is currently sitting at 31 million views, and was put out in 2012. This video ad stands out to me for a few reasons and is quite different from most traditional ads. For one thing, if you don’t pay attention to the first 8 seconds of the video, you may very well miss who the advertiser is and what the product is.

The premise of the video is simple. Nike paid Neistat to make a video for them advertising their Fuel Band (he had produced two prior ads for them for the same product), and instead of using it to show off the product, he uses the money to travel around the world until it runs out. It took 10 days, shown off across a little over 4 minutes. The video is full of cool sights and adventure with the occasional inspirational quote over the screen. The quickness and sporadic nature of his travels are part of what makes it such an attractive ad for me. It all ends with the #MakeItCount in white text on a black screen, which was Nike’s slogan for the product. Nowadays this kind of risk-taking and flexible attitude towards brand deal advertising is a bit more common, mostly on Youtube and various social platforms, but this was revolutionary at the time. The advertising isn’t forced down the viewer’s throat, but it definitely gets the idea across. I think it paints Nike in a cool light as it shows they want people to take risks and to, as the slogan says, make it count. Was this a successful ad? I’d say so, despite Neistat not even wearing the product (Nike Fuel Band) for the majority of the video. Aside from the millions that have watched it, many articles have been written on it as well. Some of the articles praised it while others criticized it, but as they say, all press is good press. It’s unique and meaningful, and that’s why it works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAuDTd2-Z1k

When tasked with finding my favorite advertisement, the Mathew McConaughey Lincoln commercials immediately jumped to the front of mind. I do not know of the Lincoln Nautilus one is my favorite (the car certainly is not) per se, but it is the most memorable. As a car enthusiast, I love anything and everything about cars even if it is a mundane semi-luxury crossover (aka the antithesis of an exciting car). Also, who does not love Matthew McConaughey? If you do not, then I would like to meet you to understand why because it is unimaginable. Furthermore, playing pool is pretty fun. Cars plus McConaughey plus Pool is a solid recipe for success. I am sure I have enjoyed watching other ads more, but none are more memorable the Mathew McConaughey and Lincoln commercials.

To relate my chosen advertisement and the assigned reading, I think that the ad attempts to correlate McConaughey’s lifestyle and him driving a Lincoln. McConaughey is portrayed as living in a beautiful house, surrounded by friends on a nice day, and having a good time. Those three things are desirable, so it follows that since he has those and also a Lincoln that the car is equally as valuable. At least that is the advertising spin on it. Furthermore, the music has an air of occasion and mystery to it. Lincoln is trying to connect those qualities with its mundane crossover. The inclusion of Mathew McConaughey playing a game of pool with one of the spectators saying “I’ve never seen that before” is the icing on top. When McConaughey does a crazy pool move, it flashes between the shot and the Nautilus implying that both the pool shot and the car are something out of the ordinary. The appeal of the car is further accentuated when McConaughey states that he has seen the crazy shot and car before, showing that they are not out of the ordinary to him. Doing the crazy pool trick shot may not be attainable but the car is, so anyone can have something that Mathew McConaughey has. And, that thing can be something others are impressed by.

This ad campaign began as the company was struggling to really attract the male audience. A washington Post article states, “research suggested women purchase as much as 70 percent of the shower gel for men in their households, but using body wash struck some men as unmanly.” (https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/16/business/media/16adco.html) Studies across the hygiene industry around 2010 showed that men were less interested in a body wash and more inclined to use soap, as it is what they were used to. Old Spice wanted to take a playful, humorous approach to ensure users that they could still “smell like a man”, while using a body wash. This gets at the male ego a little bit, as they were worried whether they could still smell like a man using a body wash, but uses jokes and humor to do so.

I have always thought that Old Spice has done a very unique job of advertising. Specifically, they take a very direct, humorous way of promoting their project. Also, Old Spice capitalizes on certain generalizations and stereotypes to appeal to a specific target audience of men. However, they do it in a distinct way. Old Spice uses these stereotypes and gendered targeting in a playful way to make men more comfortable with their product, in my opinion. I also think that the fact that they say things such as “smell like a man, man” could be taken the wrong way by some people who do not appreciate this gendered segmentation of the market. As a marketing major, gendered segmentation is a touchy topic, especially in recent years. Marketers have to realize that most products should not be defined as solely for men or solely for women because realistically, most products can be used pretty equally by both segments.

However, bath soap and body wash does tend to be one of the product categories, where segmenting the market is beneficial. The way Old Spice does this though, is what makes me appreciate the ad. People take their hygiene seriously (or so they should), but I believe that the playful approach Old Spice takes helps men feel more comfortable with their product.

I chose the “Dream Crazier” Nike Ad as my favorite ad that I have seen. As a female and an athlete, this ad speaks to me and applies to my life. The ad shows various female athletes performing in their sports whether it be basketball, tennis, track or more. While these women are competing in their sports, they show emotion or different behaviors. Nike acknowledges the burdens that women take on with that emotion and how it may label them as being soft. Nike strips away the stereotype of being a “classy” woman and shows that emotion that females feel are not because they are soft but because they are strong.

Just like Professor Bezio said in the podcast “Nike ads hit me in the feminist every time these days.” This ad is one of my favorites because Nike is one of the first companies to speak solely to women in their campaigns. They focus on building women up and speaking to their interests. In this particular ad they shows the labels that women endure when we show emotion whether it be sad, angry or happy. Lastly, I like this ad because it is inspiring. As a student and an athlete, I am always aiming to do better. Nike ads always encourage this behavior and show women that stereotypes are just ideas and our endless emotions are what make us successful.

Alright, so every Super Bowl, I watch the game and am actually interested in who wins, but the one thing that higher on my priority list is watching the Avocados From Mexico commercials. The way that the director and writer compose these masterpieces is something that I will never understand but always want to learn. These could be the funniest ads of all time, and I will tell you why I believe they need to do this.

So you typically do not see any fruit or veggie ads on the television unless it is a drink or maybe the occasional Green Giant. The reason for this is because if you go to a grocery store and want an apple, you will go in, grab a plastic bag, and put the color of your choice in. Easy. However, companies like Avocados from Mexico need to get their name out there because an avocado is just an avocado, so differentiating themselves is a must as they compete against the massive store.

They use a humorous bit that has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with avocados. Then, at the end they put a very bright green guac with them munching on chips to make it stick in your brain, so you go, “dang guac sounds so good right now, let me go to the store and grab a bag of Avocados from Mexico.” I think the way they draw in their audience with hilarious stories is why these commercials work for the company. I personally only buy these avocados because of the craftsmanship of the ads.

https://youtu.be/V3rPyLjcMbI

When we were told to pick our favorite/a memorable advertisement, my mind immediately went to the “How many licks” Advertisement from Tootsie pop.. I think most of us have heard or know the saying “How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop”. This is because since this ad with the owl aired for the first time in 1970, it became so memorable that it is still used today on television in an updated format, and is one of the longest running advertisements to date. If you have not seen this ad before (which would be hard for me to believe), a little boy comes up to an owl and asks “Mr Owl, How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie center of a tootsie pop?”. The Owl then says “lets find out”, taking the Tootsie Pop from the boy and licking it twice before eating the whole thing on the third. The narrator then says “How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop; the world may never know”.

I believe this ad is so captivating for all generations because of the question the ad asks. In this advertisement, it never actually tells the audience to go buy Tootsie Pops, taking the main focus away from the actual purchase of the product.. Instead, it offers the viewers a challenge, telling them that “the world may never know” how many licks it would take to get to the tootsie center of a tootsie pop, enticing viewers to go buy the tootsie pop to see how many licks it takes. This ad is also memorable and captivating because Now that this ad is over 50 years old, it is nostalgic for older generations, as well as cute for younger generations to see and talk to the older generations about, creating a bond between the two. Attached to this post is the 1998 version of this commercial, when it was shortened down from multiple creatures to just the owl (which is the most memorable version of the commercial). It is impressive to me that even with this nostalgia factor and the idea of challenging the audience as motivation to get them to purchase the product, that people still enjoy this advertisement with its very old graphics and animation style compared to the modern style of most animated advertisements today. 

This glasses brand presented these ads with the tagline: “get the respect you deserve.” So it’s pretty upfront about the extra things it is trying to sell beyond just glasses, it’s selling respect, status, and a particular image. However, the dichotomies here are interesting in that they reveal bias, though it is unclear whether it is company bias or our own cultural biases. It goes from hell’s angel to fashion designer, butcher to artist, ‘easy’ to ‘hard,’ and truck driver to ‘Dr. Professor.’ In theory, these go from low-status descriptions or occupations to high-status occupations, from the addition of glasses. Glasses are associated with intelligence, though this can easily go towards the negative (nerd stereotype). Ogmerk is trying to put a positive spin on this. But why is an artist more respected than a butcher? Neither butcher nor artist requires a degree, and a butcher is a steady trade, while an artist is often by commission/gig/income by the amount of art you sell. Similarly, why is a fashion designer more respected than a motorcyclist? Truck drivers make about the same amount of money on average as professors but get much less respect. At first glance, none of the images would be immediately recognizable without the labels underneath. And finally, the ‘easy’ vs ‘hard’ version, implies that attractive women without glasses are seen as sexually promiscuous, while those with glasses can play ‘hard to get,’ with the sexual promiscuity being less favorable. In neither of those situations, however, is the woman’s attractiveness tied to the glasses, just the amount of respect she receives from others. Additionally, the other slides are about an occupation, not a sexual description, which is a bit suspect in this gendered context. 

I found this ad on a list of “powerful and creative ads,’ so it clearly works. But some of the implications that it gives to certain professions and appearances make me take a second look. What if you are a hell’s angel, or a butcher, or a truck driver? Then this ad is telling them that these glasses are not for them, that they should be ashamed of their status, and instead look like some other occupation group. This alienates Ogmerk’s potential low-status consumers but also solidifies its position as a high-status brand.

Apart from being an advertisement that my family friend produced, I really love the way that this video puts a modern twist on “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” As a cult classic movie, both the older and younger generations likely would have picked up on the reference. Furthermore, the use of Elle Fanning and ASAP Ferg makes Tiffany’s as a company more appealing and accessible to the younger generations, rather than available only to those who are wealthy and/or celebrating a special occasion such as an engagement or a birthday. Using such a well-known actress as Elle Fanning probably initially drew in the population who would recognize her, and then the shift in music to ASAP Freg must have drawn in the attention of other viewers. Furthermore, the dancing with the crowds of all ages is fun and upbeat, giving the video a sense of freshness in alignment with the floral arrangements behind many of the scenes. Finally, the use of “Tiffany blue,” Tiffany’s well-known marketing strategy, is exaggerated throughout the entire advertisement facilitating the connection between Tiffany’s and modernization.

My favorite commercial is the 2012 One Direction commercial for Pepsi during the Super Bowl. I am the perfect target audience as I was at the time and still am a huge One Direction fan. The ad shows the band share a Pepsi with football player Drew Brees, branching together two very different demographics of people. I love the branching together of teenage girls and football fans into one commercial–it’s a rare occurrence. It makes me a one direction fan, want to drink a Pepsi with a Drew Brees fan/ other football fans. Pepi has a habit of contracting celebrities for their commercials to show that celebrities drink our soda so you should too. I never want to drink Pepsi, but this ad makes me crave a cold Pepsi, so I guess Pepsi has accomplished their goal. Also, this ad has over 3 million views on YouTube, showing the power of including celebrities in ones advertisements.