Apple takes over the Ny TImes

Apparently I’m obsessed with Apple’s “I’m a Mac” ads. I have to admit, I think they are brilliant. What particularly makes me think they have a genius in the marketing department has been the way they have maintained a simple brand and taken to so many advertising outlets. Today, I’m going to talk about their on-line advertising.

When I go to the New York Times homepage, there is always some kind of banner ad across the top and another block along the right side. Apple decided to use these ad spaces in tandem to create ads that not only were interactive with the audience, but also were interactive with each other.

The two locations on the site work as one, taking the viewer’s eye away from what they were reading to follow the Mac Cool Guy and the PC Nerd. The two boxes have graphics that move between the spaces and talk to each other, much as I imagine the paintings at Harry Potter’s school do.

For example, when the NY Times said that Leopard was faster and better than Vista, Mac responded with a clever ad where the PC guy tries to change what appears to be a headline from the paper (but is really one of the banner ads that Apple purchased). He climbs a ladder, taking him from the side box to the top. PC guy tries to change the headline so it doesn’t read so negatively for Vista. Apple guy just sits back and watches calmly.

With the “Refresh” ad, Apple knows their audience familier with working online. This ad plays up the ever changing stream of banner ads that the NY Times (and other websites) frequently have at the top of the page. The “ads” are quotes from reputable sources that state inefficiencies in Vista. PC guy, from the side box, keeps hitting the refresh button, much as a standard user could do. Unfortunately for him, all the ads that day seem to be anti-Vista.

In this campaign, Apple has jumped full force into online advertising. They carefully examined options for placement, and developed well planned campaigns that take the medium to a new level. They were the first to make interactive ads interact.

A Charming Asia: Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam

This is a good Asia Travel Advertisement in 2007. I love it because it introduces a set of interesting cultural and social aspects of the three countries in Indochina. This advertising is a snapshot of Southeast Asia. It exposes the viewers to the treasures of the three countries. With the inclusion of the three countries, this advertisement will be more appealing to foreign tourists. A majority of them generally tour the countries in a series- Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

However, this advertisement does not accurately reflect the true beauty of the countries. For example, the show of only a small part of the temple does not capture the elegant sight of the most famous temple Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Another weak point is that this advertisement fails to illustrate the distint features among the three countries though there are many. If the countries were not labelled, the viewers would not be able to differentiate the three.

Girls just want to have fun...with Nintendo DS

I like advertising. I like it even more when it has an ability to entertain. Believe it or not, also a simple, one page print ad can do it. Nintendo DS latest print ad with America Ferrera is a great example of it.

Nintendo ads are not only for Nintendo DS but also for one of its games, in this case for Mystery Case Files MillionHeir. Ad tells you to find eight items hidden on the picture and surprisingly, the first time I saw this ad I spent a couple of minutes looking for those items, which were hidden pretty well (but I found them all). This ad gets your attention. Its busy picture and the leopard sitting next to America makes you wonder what’s going on. In case it doesn’t get your attention, which I’m sure happens; you miss experiencing one of the games, which thiad imitates, even if you don’t have the Nintendo DS. Very important was the location of this ad. I found it to be the last page of In Touch and also in US magazine, which kind of separated it from hundreds of other ads inside of the magazine.


Nintendo was for many years considered to be a game for boys and boys love Nintendo. It’s surprising that there are only girls promoting Nintendo in this campaign. America Ferrera is not the only female star. Liv Tyler, Carrie Underwood, Olivia Newton-John and also Nicole Kidman for UK market spend their free time with Nintendo DS in their hands.
Nintendo DS also came with different colors to choose from. In a definitely not for boys ad, America shows her own pink Nintendo, with her name AMERICA made of rhyme stones on the back. It is clear that Nintendo DS is being marketed for female customers.

Best Buy sells Nintendo DS for $129.99 which compared to what Nintendo used to cost, is not as bad. Looking for items hidden on the picture gave me sort of an experience of what the Mystery Case Files MillionHeir game is like and showed me that it is fun. I almost want to go and buy which means this ad clearly works.

Shop Ralph Lauren with Camera Phone?

The all-American designer brand, Ralph Lauren, recently launched a series of ads that allows consumers to instantly scan a Quick Response (QR) code in an ad with a camera phone and instantly purchase an item. These ads are descriptive of the new technology age that consumers are living in. Ads are flashing from all directions and the value of instant gratification is growing. Mobile technology is breaking barriers in all industries and now the fashion industry wants a piece of the purchasing power that it provides.

The power to instantly scan the QR code, containing a two-dimensional symbol holding a large volume of information including URLs, was sought as surreal only a couple of years ago. However, this new commercial breakthrough is cracking all purchasing barriers. If security is your worry, don’t be alarmed, because this new technique is set to be fully secure to guarantee a safe channel of information. Consumers who don’t have a camera or QR readers on their mobiles can also shop at m.ralphlauren.com via their phone browser.

It will only be a matter of time until we identify the shopping trend, if any, that this type of advertisement will have with consumers. This may indeed be the start of a technological trend that we will start seeing in more and more advertisements.

Jack Daniel's Gets Political

Ads for the popular whiskey were plastered all around Denver, Colorado during the Democratic National Convention last month. The patriotic ad campaign salutes democracy in an eye-catchy way and with funny copy. There was no mistaking what political party the ads belonged at, because it is perfectly suited for any party.

This ad is particularly suited for American politics and gets a high grade on patriotism. This new ad campaign cannot be ignored, being that it so appropriately promotes Jack Daniel’s whiskey during the presidential campaign. The design of the ad is especially tasteful and the white copy pops out with a classic touch.

This ad cannot be critiqued without examining the creativeness of the slogan, “Socializing liberally. Drinking conservatively.” Makes you think twice? That’s exactly what the kind of reaction it wants to trigger. Whatever your political party affiliation is, Jack Daniel’s isn’t going to judge. He just wants to be part of the PARTY!