Office clerk gone mad or gone ad?

First I want you to watch this video.

http://ru.youtube.com/watch?v=0xOdpD_noi4

What would you think about if you saw it? Would you think it's real record of how office clerk is tired of his routine work. May be his boss asked him to type 500 pages of PDF text in MS Word. Who knows.
This video was one of the most popular in CIS (former USSR area) Internet for about month last year. People were feeling sympathy to this guy because they seemed to share his feelings. Office workers tend to be in depression sometimes, particulary when it's annual reports' deadlines. Yes, they even tend to have psychosis. But is it possible to be so mad to fight with your colleagues without any reason? I couldn't believe it. That is why I was waiting for the continuation of the story. It happened.
Month later after the video beated the downloading record the promo campaign of new movie started. The movie's name is WANTED with Angelina Jolie. The main character is office clerk who is in a moment appears to be a killer. Why? Because he hates his job's routine.
What I think is that this video was a pre-promo for the movie. We all heard about product or brand placements in movie. But there is also movie placement as the PR-approach. According to movie's box office, this approach seems to be very successful one.




vs.

Celebrity Perfumes Is it Overkill yet?

Chanel No. 5 is one of the most famous perfumes in history and sells around one bottle every 30 seconds. This famous fragrance was created for Coco Chanel in 1921 by a perfume creator named Ernest Beaux. Something which may seem surprising in a 21st century obsessed with getting back to nature is that Coco's inspiration behind the scent was to create something very artificial. She is quoted on the official Chanel website as saying “I want to give the world something artificial.... like a dress. Something that has been made.... I want a perfume that is a composition”.
Although Chanel No. 5’s advertisements are very subtle these days, the perfume has maintained its spot at the top of the perfume market. Let’s face it, it’s a classic and has been on the market for over 80 years.
Various celebrities are creating their own fragrances. I can’t say I blame them, they have the money, the looks, and the celebrity status-but is this a market for them or should they stick to the big screen? Amongst the celebrities with a perfume lines are:

Mariah Carey, M
Love by Hilary Duff
Kate by Kate Moss
Sean John-Unforgivable Eau de Toilette 75 ml;
Britney Spears-Curious
Christina Aguilera, Christina Aguilera
Naomi Campbell-Mystery
Covet, Sarah Jessica Parker
Jennifer Lopez, GLOW and Still
Paris Hilton, PARIS HILTON
Celine Dion-The Fragrance
David Beckham-Instinct and Intimately Beckham, for Her

The market is becoming saturated with celebrity scents. I often wonder is this a trend, tax write-off or business as usual? And is there a place in the $2.9 billion perfume industry for celebrity’s scents? Does anybody take them serious?
I posed this question to a few friends and got the following responses:

- They cannot connect with star-status perfumes, in fact; they refuse to buy them
for no other reason than the celebrity name attached.
- They would purchase the scent if it was created by their favorite celebrity,
regardless of the smell.
- They only do classic scents and consider celebrity colognes “bubblegum-ish.”

Are celeb’s swaying the perfume market? And who is their target market, personal fans or the average consumer. I must admit the ads are the best, but is that enough?

Women of the world, raise your right hand

Women, stop waiting for a man to buy you a diamond for your left hand. You're successful and deserve good things. Good things that you can buy yourself. Why do you need a man to buy you a ring?

This is the basis for the "Right Hand Ring" ad campaign--it was launched by DeBeers in 2003 and is still running today. Is this ad empowering or insulting? Is DeBeers targeting their intended audience, or alienating them? Did they appeal to the side of a woman that says, "You should buy something nice for yourself" or an alternative side that thinks, "Why don't I have one of these by now?"

Based on the continuation of the campaign, I would venture to say sales of non-traditional diamond rings has gone up over the last five years. So does it matter what emotions the diamond company hit? Can increased sales alone justify a successful campaign?

As I talked about in my "100% truth" posting, where do advertisers need to consider ethics? In this case, how much does DeBeers need to consider the possible impact they are having on society's view of women, and of the view the have of themselves? Did they believe that they were creating a campaign that would boost a woman's status/self esteem?

As a marketer, there is a lot to keep in mind when you're creating an ad. As much as you need to say what your product is/does/promises, you need to always remember your audience. How will they react? Not knowing the history of how an ad was created, will they understand it? Will they appreciate it, or will it turn them away? When you're asking a woman to raise her hand, be sure she won't be raising it in protest.

Improve your English. Seriously.

At least basic knowledge of English is a must in today’s world. Language schools are everywhere and people spend thousands and thousands to learn or improve their skills. One of the oldest language schools in the world, Berlitz, similarly to Travelers, is using the same technique in its advertising. Fun is what people want to see and Berlitz gives it to them, at least in TV commercials.

I know from personal experience that learning English at Berlitz isn't as much fun as their commercial. But the commercial is great. New member of German coast guard, with not very good knowledge of English doesn't realize that sinking and thinking are two radically different words. Berlitz's slogan Language for Life gets a new meaning in connection with this commercial. Music is only supporting the fun and drama at the same time. The commercial is very realistic and it only ads up to the fun effect of it. The message that English is important is clear, but not boring, but still goes thru and reaches its audience. German coastguard commercial is easy to remember and can be watched numerous times and still is funny. Actors simply did an incredible job.

Berlitz may not be the best language school in the world, but its fun commercials make up for whatever they are lacking.

NYC Tourism Ad

This is a tourism advertising of New York City. The ad shows very busy streets, shopping malls, various brands including Starbucks Coffee, at & t, Applebee's...etc.

This ad is reasonably interesting because it gives viewers a snapshot of the busy city in the world. It may sound appealing to some viewers when the presenter said New York people are tolerant and open minded. If getting lost, visitors can ask a local. However, there is much room for improvement. In fact, New York City is much more fascanating than what the ad illustrates.

This ad should include many more amazing places that are unique to the city, including United Nation headquarter, The Statue of Liberty,just to name two. Also, the ad uses the same background (Time Squares), which does not reflect diversity of the city. In stead, there should be different quick showing of the interesting places there. Moreover, the camera man takes the shots with low angle. Therefore, the presenters look down on the viewers, while they are speaking. It makes the viewers feel inferior or uncomfortable. Finally, I am doubtful why the second presenter said there are at least 16 people visiting NYC every single year.

I do not think this advertising is effective enough due to the above weak points though it may be attractive to some people.

Heh... that was quite funny...

First off, watch this commercial.



Secondly, what is the first thing that popped in your head after watching it? Was it "wait... is that little boy playing with a... oh my God"? Or was it "that was freaking hilarious"?

Either way, the commercial got your attention. IKEA used the tactic of humor to grab a hold of you. There isn't necessarily a lot of the actual items from IKEA in the ad but they give you a reason to buy storage, even if it was a reason that's completely out there.

IKEA's main audience is college-age adult to young professionals. I don't think that 12 year old school children or 72 year old grandparents are going to get the humor of the ad. But for those in their late teens to late thirties, it's going to get to them. When they decide that they need storage of some kind, this commercial is going to stick in their minds because of the humor and not really the products.

Advertisers want their advertisements to be memorable. As long as the brand name stands out, the recall is better later on. This IKEA commercial combines perfectly a humorous, memorable situation with the brand name of the IKEA. If the two don't tie together, it's going to be harder for people to connect in recall, thus losing the point of a memorable commercial.