Nike- Brands

It's extremely hard for a brand to be truly great. Sure a brand can be popular for a few years or so but it may die out, may lose consumers, may be old and out dated. To be a great brand, a brand must continuously reinvent itself, stay relevant, tap into emotions of it's consumers, and have a never ending, consistent story. An example of a great brand is Nike. Nike has really transformed into a power house company. Anyone that sees the Nike swoosh knows that it's Nike and thinks "Just Do It." They are always revamping their products, their advertisements, and their ventures to stay current. They are no longer just a shoe company but they sell clothing, accessories, training equipment; they just keep expanding to stay in the now. They stay on top of trends, their new Nike Frees are in style with the bright neon colors that came into fashion.

They are huge in Football right now for creating uniform. Their uniforms started with Oregon and created so much hype that they are now designing for the rest of major college teams.

Nike is so on top of it's game that they are really here for the long run. They know their product, they reinvent themselves, and they stay current. They are a prime example as to what a brand should do to really last in their market. 

Coca Cola and it's Nostalgia

Coca Cola is a classic American brand that is the epitome of a product using nostalgia in advertising. Every Christmas we can always expect Santa to be promoting Coca Cola along with the Coca Cola Polar Bears. With the reoccurrence throughout the years of these two symbols, we being to create memories around them so when we see these commercials we remember special times of the holiday.

Along with that, the Coca Cola bottle is nostalgic as well, especially for the generation that actually drank the soda out of those bottles. When they see the bottle in advertisements it can make them remember special memories of when they were younger. 

Coca Cola is brilliant with their advertising and they have the nostalgic advertising down to an art. 

Apple Iphones- Consumer Behaviors

Consumer behavior can make or break a product, either consumers love it or hate it. One example of consumer behaviors skyrocketing a product forward is the Iphone. Consumer behavior is crazy when it comes to Apple and the Iphone. Every year Apple comes out with a new "upgraded" phone for consumers and every year consumers wait in line for HOURS, if not days, to get the new "best thing" from Apple.

There is so much hype with Apple and such a loyal fan base that it doesn't fail to draw so many consumers to the new phone. People who have to wait for two years for their update are always chomping at the bit for the new phone and some people even pay the extra charges to get the new phone because they have to have it. Even with such slight changes as a change of color and a little bit faster processor has Iphone followers going crazy. 

The Iphone was such a revolutionary phone and so ahead of the curve that it created a strong fan base instantly. Their phones were so superior to competitor phones and they still are. Google's Droid is probably just as good, if not better than the Iphone now, but the fact that the Iphone comes out once a year, it's a solid product, and it has the brand, consumers still flock to it. Apple couldn't have launched this product any better. 

Surfrider Foundation

I lived in Santa Barbara for a few years and I remember seeing a video that the Surfrider Foundation had created. The video had a lot of information about the Gaviota Coast that I had never heard before and they used the video to get people to help save the last 20 miles of undeveloped coast left in California by donating to their cause and bringing attention to what was happening. It had a huge impact in our community and I remember I couldn't go on Facebook or Twitter without seeing this video. It really gained the community's support and it was through the channels of social media.

From this video they were able to raise $81,707 through Kickstarted to create a film to really bring attention to the public in a larger scale which will ultimately bring in more revenue and support for the Surfrider Foundation in Santa Barbara,

Harley Davidson

I do believe that brand communities result in greater involvement with the brand. When consumers feel as if they're a part of a family and that the brand really values them, they will want to participate more. They'll want to show others that they are a part of that family and will consume more product.

I think the fact that Harley Davidson sticks to it's roots of just being simple and allowing it's riders to ride together in a camaraderie really just solidifies the brand for the consumers. And the fact that it's across America just brings home the idea of an American product.

I think the amount of involvement that Harley uses is appropriate. They make the consumer feel involved while also being free. The passport is a great way to make them feel like the brand is really acknowledging them, like they're a part of the big picture. I feel like if Harley became more involved it would definitely dilute the rider's meaning to participate.

It's a tried and true practice but give aways that allow the product to go to the consumers more easily promotes the brand and makes consumers want the product more. I definitely think that it could increase the consumer involvement.

Gender Roles and Stereotypes

I would declare myself as a progressive thinker and feminist, so I am really passionate about this topic; gender stereotypes in advertisements. It really upsets me when I see sexists ads, it's just like seeing racist ads. Once again, we have come so far, women have come to far, that it's upsetting to see such setbacks occur in such a public way. You will notice that every cleaning brand will have a commercial where there is a lady is cleaning, doing the dishes, making sure the house is organized, etc. You never see a man doing house chores.

There is one ad that does stand out to me though that breaks this mold and it's the ad for Tide and Downey. 

This ad really breaks the stereotypical mold of women staying at home with the children and doing the laundry. I was delighted when I saw this commercial on TV. 

Another way gender roles are played in the media are through objectification. One ad campaign that really rubbed me the wrong way are the Carl's Jr. commercials. I really, really dislike that they use female bodies to sell their products. And the sad thing is, these commercials really work! I think making the women just sexual objects and exploiting their bodies is wrong and distasteful.

Women are not the only ones that are objectified in advertisements, there are quite a few ads that objectify men as well. A current ad campaign out right now is for Kraft's Zesty Italian salad dressing:

There's one more campaign that really sticks out to me and bothers me and that's the the Dr. Pepper 10 campaign. I understand their market is for men, but the slogan "It's not for women" is just blatantly sexists and really turned me off from the brand. 

Gender stereotyping and objectifying are common in advertisements. Some are comical, others can be offensive. The sad thing is, is that these techniques work and that is why this will most likely continue on into our future. I just hope more commercials such as the Tide and Downey one continue to pop up to remind us that we don't always have to be obedient to our gender stereotypes. 

Is it Right to Stereotype?

I personally believe that racism is wrong. I feel that, as a society, we have progressed a long way that reverting to racism is just insulting. And I believe that is true for advertising as well. I don't think there is an excuse for racism to be played out in advertising anymore. Advertising has a huge part in how our society runs and there is no place for racism anymore. The following ads are disappointing because they show racism in a modern advertisement.

In this ad we see a white man in a powerful position with black men crouched in a running position that resembles a bowing gesture. While Intel may have been aiming to relay the idea that African Americans are fast runners (which is stereotyping) they really did a poor job with this advertisement. 

It's shocking to see Dove have an advertisement that is racist since they promote beauty from all people. In this ad we have the contrast of before and after and the gradual change in skin color from dark to light in the women in front of the examples. This ad was very poorly executed and disappointing.

Racial stereotyping is another challenge faced in the advertising world. I don't necessarily agree with stereotyping but I can see how, in some cases, it can work. When advertisers use stereotyping, they need to be really careful to make sure it's not negative. Negative stereotyping such as an ad like this by Nivea:

is extremely bad. But when it's a stereotype that give a positive spin to an ad, then I could see how it could be useful. This is extremely hard though. I have yet to really find a commercial or ad that I think uses racial stereotyping well but in class we watched the Doritos Mariachi campaign and it was widely accepted as showing that Mexicans know how to have a good time. So this could be considered a positive racially stereotyped advertisement.

I believe advertisers have an ethical responsibility in their work. Advertising shapes the way we think and the largest contribution to breaking racial stereotypes and racism is through advertising. Showing people that it's okay to break those barriers will do wonders for the fight to end racism. 

Wieden+Kennedy

I believe that Wieden+Kennedy is probably one of the greatest ad agencies out there. They hold top clients such as Coca Cola, Nike, and ESPN and have stayed in high regard for the last 30 years which is quite astonishing for an advertisement agency. I love the work that this company produces. Their Coca Cola commercials are always on point . They always do a good job of bring a bit of nostalgia to their work to remind the audience that Coca Cola is a classic American drink while also staying current and making it feel youthful. A recent project I loved for Coca Cola, that was based out of W+K's Portland division, was their Open Summer Open Happiness campaign. The commercial produced for this brought back the classic fun times of summer while also bringing in the simple song of "You Are My Sunshine," with a new twist, to tie in the classic song and make it feel up to date. Wieden+Kennedy do a great job with Coca Cola and making it classic but youthful. 

A current campaign that I believe is quite genius that W+K are doing right now is the campaign for Dodge. This December, the much anticipated Anchor Man 2 is coming out and W+K is using Ron Burgundy to promote Dodge. It was brilliant to use Will Ferrel in his character to promote this because one it captures the consumers attention, two it's hilarious so people will enjoy watching it especially because America loves Ron Burgundy and is eager to get more of him. Also the movie it's self is named Anchor Man 2: The Legend Continues which could translate to the Dodge, a great American made brand, it's legend continues. There are so many elements to the campaign that are just simply great.     

W+K, in my opinion continuously produces effective work that is just masterful. It's the place advertising majors want to work. Anyone would be lucky to be apart of a world class advertising agency such as this one.