One of my favorite ads happen to be a Thai life insurance commercial. I remember when I was younger and I saw this ad in passing on Facebook and it was the first thing that came to mind. The message in this ad is heartwarming and it does an amazing job at moving you to tears because of how powerful the message is. This ad gets you to think and was inspiring to watch. So I think that commercials should go for this type of approach. It went to show how the little things always counts and how much you can make an impact and have an influence in someone else’s life.

It doesn’t matter whether you are the the poorest or the richest, but your attitude towards life and the things in life is what has meaning. Your attitude is what impulses you in how you want your life to be. That ultimately, in the end, in life it all comes down to being happy. By loving, respecting and helping others we’ll be able to achieve our main and only goal in this life, which is happiness. That is the life worth living.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=632CHpeHYZE

My favorite ad is kinda old but it is for AT&T.  It’s set in a hospital and a patient is waiting to go into surgery and he asks how the surgeon performing his surgery is and the nurse’s response is, “he’s okay,” and the guy about to have surgery is like “excuse me what?”  Then the surgeon comes in the room yelling, “Guess who just got reinstated?!” to someone else in the hallway as he walks into the room.  He then looks at the patient and says, “well not officially” and then proceeds to ask him “Nervous?” to which he responds, “yeah me too” and then walks out of the room saying “Don’t worry about it. We’ll figure it out.” AT&T then starts talking about how “just okay is not okay” and they are the best network in the country and they have a new 5G network.  I like this ad because I think it’s funny and I don’t ever get tired of seeing it.

This ad makes me think of the Huff reading because although it is not really presenting statistics, at the end of the ad AT&T claims to be “America’s best wireless network according to America’s biggest test.”  What is America’s biggest test?  AT&T is not the only company to do this because somehow every mobile network company is able to claim that they have the best network that you want your phone to be on.  Clearly, they are able to manipulate these claims by only advertising certain information.  And, the ad ends with AT&T’s slogan, “More for your thing, that’s our thing,” and a picture of an award in the font of this slogan.  This is a very generic picture but because there is an award image, it makes you think their claims have more merit than they actually do.

https://ispot.tv/a/IZ6U

A few months ago, I was watching a lot of shows on Hulu, and the commercials that split up the show are often recycled and reused – to the point of it just getting stuck in my head.  One of the companies that stuck with me was SafeAuto, not because of the direct promotion of the company, but because of the silliness of the commercial itself.  Each commercial featured a product that is unconventional and definitely wouldn’t get a bid from SharkTank investors – like pajamas for your car and a jumpsuit that heats up your food when you work out.  The voice-over cuts the fake promotion short by exclaiming “That doesn’t sound right!”, which is the part that starts that promotion for SafeAuto itself.  My friends and I quote the “That doesn’t sound right” phrase in our everyday interactions, which makes the commercial even more comical.  As I was thinking of commercials that I really liked, I struggled because no commercials were initially coming to mind.  I began wondering what commercials I refer to the most, and I was reminded of these SafeAuto commercials from Hulu.  However,  I think it is interesting because I  couldn’t remember the company itself, but I remembered the silly promotions of fake products and the phrase “That doesn’t sound right!”, making me wonder how effective the commercial was for the course.

In addition, I thought about the Super Bowl commercials that everyone talks about the day after Super Bowl Sunday.  Of the commercials from last year, I recalled the Bud Knight commercials.  I remembered really enjoying them because the commercials made up a trilogy series, which was entertaining to watch out for in the commercial breaks.  I thought it was interesting to see the progression of the series, and the story line itself was so unique from other beer commercials.  These commercials were really memorable, and they gave way to the famous “Dilly Dilly” phrase.  While I wouldn’t say these commercials are my favorite, they are impressionable for the uniqueness and audience it drew.

My favorite ad, or rather, series of ads, are Coca-Cola’s ad’s centered around sharing a Coke with someone. This idea originated in the 1971 ‘Hilltop’ ad, in which a diverse group of people are singing on a hill that they’d “like to buy the world a Coke.” This ad established Coke as a brand that transcended any group identity, and could be shared by everyone. It was simple, and capitalized on the fame of the song “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” by the New Seekers. I think this ad appealed to people because it shows you that you can have something in common with so many other people around the world simply by enjoying the same beverage.

I also think this ad established a foundation for future Coke ads. For example, the ‘Share a Coke with’ campaign has run for several years, and builds on the foundation of the ‘Hilltop’ ad. Coke is the brand for everyone, and it is so ubiquitous that every time you have a Coke, you’re sharing it with someone else around the world. Initially, this campaign just started with first names on cans and bottles of Coke, then expanded into more general terms like ‘dude’, ‘mate’, and ‘superstar.’ The campaign also tied in with sports by using sports nicknames like ‘MVP’ and ‘Champ’, as well as football team logos. While the ‘Share a Coke’ campaign didn’t explicitly reference the 1971 campaign, having consistent themes across 50 years is what makes Coke such a recognizable brand.

I do not watch much TV, but I am exposed to ads constantly, especially in my email. Admittedly, I did sign up for some of these emails, or bought things from websites that now send me emails. I find that their subjects and their advertising emails are my favorites because I find that they really drew me in. This is usually always the case, but I have found that ever since COVID-19 has caused me to social distance this has been the case so much more. I think that this not only has to do with the fact that I am very bored, but also the fact that the brands are using this opportunity to sell their lounge wear, cute but comfy clothes to work from home in, and accessories for staying at home. The ad that I am using for this blog post is an email that I received from Free People last week that was entitled “WFH- ready, but still comfy”. This email instantly drew me in because I thought that I needed things that were comfy yet were not sweatpants and sweatshirts. Obviously, I do not need these clothes, but I definitely did online shop.

This is exactly what our readings discussed, especially in regard to the “four tricks of advertising” discussed in Teays’s article (481). In this ad step 1 shame is that I have supposedly nothing to wear that is comfortable yet also appropriate for work. Steps 2 and 3 optimism and solution are that the problem can be solved by all of the clothing items that they are showing in this particular email, various cute tops that seem to be comfortable, by the body language of the models. Step 4 in this email is the fact that they use language like “more shirts for your video calls under $50” to show that it is worth the money to purchase these tops. I think that it is so interesting how so many clothing brands like Free People are taking the pandemic and using it as a marketing ploy to sell people more clothes even though nobody is interacting with one another in person. I think that this shows a lot of creativity on their part, and at the same time really enticing people like me to actually buy these clothes from these emails.

Almost all of my favorite ads are from H-E-B because they are catered specifically to the Texans and I grew up going to H-E-B with my family. Every ad features the same jingle, one of two narrators and often depict family testimonies or imagery of family/friends being together. This makes the ads familiar and relocatable. They feel real in the sense they they portray Texan activities (barbecuing, tubing, family dinners) and nod to values of this region. Overall, H-E-B prides themselves on serving families and supporting local businesses.

The first ad is advertising their curbside pick-up and delivery services. While there are no testimonies in this one, it shows how a family can spend time together while H-E-B employees do all of the shopping for them. This one is particular special because of the cultural referencing to thumping watermelons (an art form that I learned when I was maybe 5 years old) and placement of stars, Texas pillows, etc. throughout the video.

The second ad is in Spanish and highlights a particular tradition special to the Mexican American community in Texas, making tamales. H-E-B shows they have all the ingredients necessary for this family event and shows a video of a family sitting around the table to recreate this part of our culture. These ads always make me feel happy and closer to my family because H-E-B marketers understand the significance of tamales to the community.

One of my favorite ad campaigns is Snicker’s “you’re not you when you’re hungry” campaign. In these commercials, one character is acting irritable and unlike themselves. Then, they have a bite of a Snickers bar and turn back in to their own personality. My favorite of these ads was a Super Bowl ad from a long time ago with Betty White. She keeps getting tackled playing football, until she eats a snickers bar and turns back into a man playing football.

This ad uses humor to capture it’s audience. Because it is funny, it is enjoyable to watch and consumers won’t be irritated at having to watch a commercial. They will then associate Snickers’ brand with laughing and feeling happy. Also, having celebrities like Betty white in the ad suggests to audiences that the product is endorsed by her. Fans of Betty White will be more inclined to eat Snickers because they believe that she eats them as well. The ad also is something that many Americans can relate to. Playing football with your friends, but having an off day and getting tackled. Because it is relatable, consumers will respond well to it.

The ad also does a good job of getting the message across. It brands Snickers bars as not just a candy, but a snack that will fill you up and give you energy. This comes across clearly in the advertisement, while it is still funny and relatable. I think that this Snickers ad is very effective and it is one of my favorite ads.

Link:

One of my favorite ads of all time came out in 2012 and was made by Proctor and Gamble. If you don’t know, Proctor and Gamble is the mother company to brands like Pampers, Downey, Tide, Gain, Charmin, Gillette (household brands, cleaning products, feminine products, etc). The ad campaign was titled: “Thank You, Mom,” and aired during the 2012 London Olympics. Not only does the commercial make me cry every time I watch it, but I think they were able to use their products (not commonly associated with the Olympics) and make a connection that Olympic athletes and average viewers alike can relate to. At the core of the advertisement is the fact that behind every successful athlete, is a mom who works harder and cheers louder than everyone else. P&G was able to frame themselves as the helpers of all moms, and all moms around the world should be thanked. They use different sports and family dynamics from multiple different cultures which I think really celebrates the essence of the Olympics, but the consistent idea is that mothers should be celebrated: they have the hardest job in the world, and also the best job in the world.

The beauty of the campaign is that it isn’t about the athletes in the Olympics and highlighting the products they use, it is about the hard work of their mothers, and the products that make life go, like laundry detergent and pads. Olympians start young, the sacrifice so often given by mothers to afford lessons, to push their children, to be that number one supporter, should be celebrated. Although it cannot be ignored that not every country uses these products the same and many households don’t have access to them, I do think it does a very good job of highlighting many different cultures and home environments that Olympians come from. It is beautiful because everyone watching has a mother to thank, you do not have to be an Olympian to feel the nostalgia of being a child and the reliance you have on your mother.

I have attached my favorite two commercials of the campaign below:

Considering the number of images and messages that we are bombarded with on the daily, it is hard to pick just one that rises above the rest. So naturally, I’ve selected a couple.

One of my favorite’s is probably Always’s  “Like A Girl” campaign. They would show short clips on TV, but post 5 minute or more videos of YouTube that outlined the whole campaign. They would ask older teenagers what it meant to do something “like a girl,” and they acted out the traditional insulting image of what that looked like. Then they would ask the name of younger girls who showed a different meaning of what “like a girl” meant to them. I liked it before it forced people to confront the sexist language and euphemisms that we use everyday.  LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs

Another one I love is GEICO because of their wide variety of ads with the same punchline –GEICO making its customers happier than the witch in the broom factory or a camel on humpday or Paul Revere with a cellphone. They’re always funny and are super re-quotable which helps make them more famous (especially the “humpday” one). They are also all very brief at about only 30 seconds which means they are very effective at communicating their message in compelling way in a very short amount of time. LINK:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LtjzQaFZ3k

One part of the reading that stuck out to me was when it said, “we live in a society of extremes” and advertisements play off this by giving us the clear, singular answers we want. Ads have evolved to really tap into the psychology of viewers to sell their product. This reading made me understand why I like my favorite ad. If I had to choose one, it would be the google ad where the old man is asking google home to remember things about his wife. There is another version where someone is asking google questions on their relationship that I also like. They are extremely sweet and emotional, but also incredibly simple. The entire commercial is the google search page with occasional pictures and a voice over. More than anything, this add emphasizes optimism. Google can solve any problem you have, even ones of memory and companionship. It uses a story to engage the audience. The story is easily relatable and those who do not relate directly can share in the feeling of nostalgia. It is also expanding the demographic of Google. As a tech company, users skew to be younger. But since the ad features and elderly man, it emphasizes that not only does everyone have a use for the device, but it is so easy to use that anyone can use it.

The ads I remember most have stories, similar to this Google one. If it is not a story within a singular ad, it is the overarching, recurring format or characters that stick out to me. I definitely fall for the tricks that ads use. However, it is hard to measure their effect. For example, while I really liked the Google ad, I was not inclined to buy the home device for me or any of my family. I do not even truly believe that this is the home device I would choose if I had one. However, the effect of advertisements is not always as direct as buying the product. The Google ad had an impact on my perception of the company. They seem sweet and caring which is important, especially as they grow and gain more power over the market. People need to have the sense of trust to use any of Google’s products, and this ad helped that image. Analyzing ads is very interesting because it reveals the immense knowledge marketers have on our psychology.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xSxXiHwMrg