How McDonald’s has fought the “gross food” comments

Recently I have seen a lot of videos online about how McDonald’s doesn’t sell food that is eatable for people, or that it is made of bones and nasty materials that people would never consider eating. With this, The company sent a reality show host for Myth Busters, Grant Imahara, to the places that provide McDonald’s with their food. In the two videos I watched they were showing us how they make the McNuggets and the McRib. This is really important for the brand as it combats with the negative feedback that they are getting from the public and pretty much putting it in their face that everything they are selling their customers is eatable and is produced under the right conditions.

This sparked my attention because I think it is a great way for a brand to extend themselves to the public and react to the comments that people are putting out about their food. I think that it is necessary to answer some of these lingering questions that food companies often have when it is fast food and quickly prepared in not the best conditions that are visible to consumers. What do you think? Do you think more companies should do this for their food? Do you think these videos end the idea of “gross food” for some people? It is enough for you?

How A Brand Changes their Ads for the Seasons

I wanted to focus on Coca Cola for this blog because I think they do a great job marketing their product during the different seasons. The two seasons that I decided to focus on was Christmas and Summer! Summer obviously does a great job getting promotion and selling their nice cold and refreshing beverage during the hot summer months. With the classic polar bear cooling off with a cold Coca Cola on the iconic can, Coke has been successful in creating an iconic marketing strategy for their company. Their commercials are usually really striking and tie in old memories that people can make connections with during any season. I have attached below a video of a Coke commercial in the summer. This commercial to me definitely brings back memories of going out and being outside with your friends all summer and jus being kids.

The second season I want to talk about is Christmas. Coca Cola is HUGE for promoting their “ice cold beverage” as a tradition during the holiday season. During this time they wrap  santa claus on the can and completely changes the experience of drinking the product. During this time everyone is gathering together to have fun and enjoy being around loved ones. I think coke does a great job in creating this moment for people through their commercials. Their holiday commercials can easily remind a person what the holiday season is really all about: family, love, and happiness.

I wanted to look at this brand and how I personally thought they were able to transition and use the seasons as huge selling points for their company. I think Coca Cola is an excellent brand for this as I really do believe that they are able to provide the customer with a personal experience no matter what the season. I think they do a create job of changing the appeal of their drink while keeping the purpose of enjoying it with family and loved ones.

KISSING STRANGERS IS COOL, UNLESS IT IS AN AD FOR A CLOTHING COMPANY

I think we all have seen the video I’ve provided above. I Remember seeing this for the first time and I was in complete shock. It definitely brings in a social and relatable component that some commercials leave out. I think the incorporation of these videos that are coming out on YouTube tend to inspire people. I know after watching this I was like wow it must be really interesting to kiss a stranger, on camera, for the purpose of revealing how awkward yet passionate it is to kissing a stranger and have it all recorded.

When I found out this was an ad for a clothing company I am not going to lie I was pretty bummed. The company is called Wren. It is a fashion clothing store who’s CEO created this commercial to showcase her fall collection for Style.com’s Video Fashion Week. It started out as a video shared with 21 people, and over night and the following month, the video reached millions of views. Today it has reached around 42 million views and counting.

This commercial was lovely. However I was quite upset when I found out that it was a real video of strangers kissing. Well it was, but it was only create to show a clothing line. I think this is what got a lot of people upset or turned off by the video because it takes away from the original content and turns it into another cheesy advertisement a company has made. Regardless, sales jumped significantly for the company after the video went viral as well as the song, We Might Be Dead Tomorrow sales by Soko. I think this was a great way for companies to really think about how they are reaching their audience. I think more companies need to reflect on the effects of this ad and really think about different create ways that their company can expand their brand awareness.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/14/business/media/a-kiss-is-just-a-kiss-unless-its-an-ad-for-a-clothing-company.html?_r=0

How low-key artists sell their products through advertising

As I thought about what my blog would be about today I was flipping through Instagram. As I scrolled through the new posts I can across a few people that I follow who are artists. It is obvious how mainstream artists can reach mass amounts of people all over the world and are very successful. What intrigued me about these local artists if you will is how they are able to expand their audience and fan base based on social media outlets such as Facebook and Instagram. One of my coworkers is a very talented artist. Though it is not his only profession he is slowly but surely gaining ground in the art world and expanding his clientele. As of right now he currently has 888 followers on Instagram and 188 on Facebook. When i talked to him the other day he said that his strategy for reaching new targets was to make connections and appeal to people who would like his style of art. I think it is interesting to see how on some sites if you like a post other post similar to those that you may like pop up and BOOM you have reached a new target audience member. Another example of someone is who I follow on Instagram that lives in England. She is young but her artistic talent has gained her over 147,000 followers on Instagram alone. I think this is incredible that such a young artist can reach so many people all from a cellphone. With that being said I wanted to talk about this because I think it is awesome that local artists now-a-days can reach great lengths of success all behind a computer screen. Advertising an individuals product goes far beyond word of mouth and physical appreciation. In the hype of social media, it has become accessible for people to reach others who may have otherwise never head of them because of location or lack of technology.

What type of impact do you think this form of media can help those who otherwise would not gain as much instant success as they do because of Instagram etc.?

Do you think social media is a good place to advertise your brand and product?

The Most Influential Print Ads on The Markets

Have you ever seen a print ad and thought, “wow, maybe i’ll try out that product” or “I never thought about this issue that way”. For many of us, this happens everyday. My question is through what type of print ads this is most effective. In class we have been discussing the different types of advertisement: Sadvertisement, Happy advertisement etc. We all make personal connections with different ads based on personal experiences and beliefs. I want to know if there is one over others that produces the biggest buzz and intrigues the most people.

In my personal opinion I think funny and humorous ads are most effective for myself. A lot of times when I see an ad that I think is funny I am likely to remember that ad and reference it to other people, and therefore spreading awareness of a company’s products etc. With that being said I also think sometimes funny ads are harder for me to remember what the purpose of the ad is for and only focus on the funny element added.

This is an example of Wolf Hot Sauce

If I saw this on a hand dryer I would more likely to remember the image of the man versus what the advertisement was trying to promote. Although when I analyze this ad I think that it is a clever and funny way to promote a type of hot sauce, I do not think that this would be effective for me.

With that being said, I also think that there are ads that I would totally make connections between the advertisement and the product. This is an advertisement for Sharp knives. I would make the connection between the two and be likely to remember the product and it would improve my remembrance of the product because of the clever advertisement.

Next I want to talk about Sadvertisements. I think these advertisements can be helpful because when I look at them I am more likely to find personal connection with it and take it serious. The first image of the woman who is a victim of physical abuse. This would definitely pull my attention and make me want take action and fight abuse in general. On the other hand, the second image in my opinion would not be effective for me. I think if I saw this on the street I would be turned off by the visual image and immediately look away instead of focusing on the purpose of the ad.

Lastly I want to talk about informative print ads. There are plenty of ads that are strictly used to relay information to the public. Sometimes This can be boring and not effective because people may be turned away from an ads a lack of images and excitement. Also some people do not like to read, they would rather look at a picture with fun visuals.

What types of print ads influence you the most and which do you think are the least effective?

“Quickies” in St. Louis

When I was sitting on the train the other day I was looking at all of the advertisements and one in particular caught my attention. The picture below is what I saw.

This caught my attention because of its key words. “Quickie” “Hook Up” “Quick In and Out” As I looked closer my mind started to wander onto all of the possibilities of what this advertising could be promoting. I thought it was a little adventurous for a company to put out advertisement directly promoting “hooking up” with someone random. I then went to the website to see that the advertisement was St. Louis way of trying to get people to come and visit different attraction areas. This ad campaign posted in Chicago transit locations is their way of trying to lure Chicago tourists to go and visit St. Louis. Once you are on the site you may make certain connections to Tinder. That is exactly how it is set up. The site allows you to swipe right through the different attractions in St. Louis and choose which locations you want to visit and left for the ones you do not want to visit. Then once you have swiped that you want to visit a location the site send you out “flirty” messages like “I can’t wait to meet you” to you. I personally think the initial advertisement strategy of using suggestive and flirtatious words definitely is a good marketing strategy as it grabs peoples attention. I personally gave it a double look and then looked into it with questions as to what exactly the “weekend quickie” website entailed. Secondly I thought it was interesting that the website used similar functions like other popular dating sites. I think this is also useful because people may get a kick out of it and it is a simpler way for people to see the large attractions that are found in St. Louis. If I had to put the two up against each other I would say that the initial advertisement that I saw on the train would definitely catch peoples attention and interests. I think it is interesting to see how companies change key words according to the topic at hand and who their target audience is. With that being said I do believe that the set up of the website is also interesting because it definitely catches the general interest of the people who go on to the website. Do you think that this form of advertisement was good? How could they improve? If you saw this ad on the train would you look into it?

References:

1.Nelson, Shellie. “St. Louis Tries to Lure Illinois Tourists with ‘Weekend Quickie'” WQADcom. 2 July 2014. Web. 9 Oct. 2014.

Youtubers: The New Form of Advertisement

How many of you watch Youtube videos? Now a days there are hundreds of thousands of videos that an individual can find on youtube from your favorite NBA players highlights to learning how to play the ukelele. Now more than ever Youtube stars have become the new form of advertisement for companies. Why you man ask? Think about all of the viewers they have. Reaching millions of subscribers all over the world, one individual is able to convey an opinion, inform a viewer, or even promote a product through a worldwide media source. Youtube was launched in 2005. On April, 23rd 2005 it had it’s first video, only 19 seconds long. And in September 2005, Youtube had its first ever million hit video. Today Youtube “celebrities” are able to post videos of realistically anything and have over a million hits on just a couple of hours. What I want to talk about is the evolutionary effect that Youtube has had on the social media world.

It should not come to a surprise that people on Youtube have been used as advertisement tools for different brands. Companies will often give Youtubers free products to try out and promote on their channel. In doing so, that one individual is able to send information out to thousands of viewers in one video.

In early April 2014 Youtube Google chose three sensational Youtubers that each have over 1 million subscribers. They launched this campaign through Google owned properties as well as on TV. They advertised this campaign through commercials on Youtube as well as on billboards, train cars, and on TV itself. With this advertisement they were able to reach millions of people all over the country to increase social media activity through Youtube. The three Youtubers they used were Bethany Mota a fashion and beauty vlogger, who also has her who fashion line at Aeropostale.  Michelle Phan, a make-up star who recently launched her own make-up line with Lancome, and Rosanna Pansino, a popular baker.

These ads were wrapped around billboards on subway trains

I personally think that this form of advertisement is ingenious. I’ve been watching Youtube for about 7 years consistently and watch how the Youtubers that I used to watch get famous is incredible in itself. I think for companies it is a very smart move to reach out the bloggers or Youtubers because these are the individuals that can help get your product out to thousands of people. I personally always go to Youtube first when i am looking to buy a new product whether it be makeup, skincare, etc. What do you guys think about Youtubers being the media channel from the company directly to the consumer? Do you think it will only help increase profits, or do you think companies should be focusing on other ways to get their business out to the public?

References:

Peterson, Tim. “YouTube to Run TV Ads Promoting Creators in Big 2014 Push | Special Report: TV Upfront – Advertising Age.” Advertising Age Special Report TV Upfront RSS. 3 Apr. 2014. Web. 25 Sept. 2014.

Informative Videos as a way of reaching out to the public

Something that has really interested me lately are all of the videos we see daily in which people interview people to get their opinions on a specific topic. Whether it is a subject that may push limits and test different opinions, it is always interesting to see first hand how people around the world view different issues that we all goes through or face everyday. For example I came across a video recently that asked different people about what their definition of success was. This was particularly interesting to me because it not only reaches out to a broad group of people but also a wide variety of different ages, personalities, cultures, and other social differences that exist throughout the world. This way of social media is interesting because it is a different approach to your basic advertisement strategy. The following two videos are examples of how different topics reach different age groups etc.

https://www.youtube.com/user/GlamourMag

How do these videos reach different groups of people? How does this affect advertisement for a product, an idea, a lifestyle, etc. Do you think this is a good way to show the world people’s opinions on challenging topics?

Mc Donalds Global Marketing

With over 35,000 outlets worldwide the Mc Donald’s Corporations has stretched their famous fast food burger chain from a quick drive through meal for soldiers to an iconic brand across different cultures and countries alike. When you think of Mc Donald’s you may think of the class Big Mac or Snack Wrap. All of the classic drive through meals that have made their way into our food culture today. What many don’t think about is how Mc Donald’s has marketed themselves in different countries and places around the world to appeal to the specific culture and traditions of the location and its people. Mc Donald’s has done an amazing job branding themselves and putting themselves on the market creating region specific menus while keeping their most prized meals.

  

Above you have the well known french fries that have been a crowd pleaser since 1955. Our menu in the states consists of classic burgers like the Big Mac, to promotional means like McRib that come and go on the menu at customers demands. We are in many ways the melting pot, gathering people of all nations and respected religions etc. Due to this I think there is a clear reason why we have a set in stone menu that can appeal to all people. In the states if someone wants to get something more specific to their beliefs they can easily go to a cultural specific restaurant. Now I want to take a closer look at how they market themselves in other places around the world.

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The first place I want to focus on is Israel. Israel is known for their strong Jewish upbringings as it is home to the Holy Land. This means that many of the individuals who live there also live up to traditional kosher standards which are foods that conform to the regulations of kashrut otherwise known as the Jewish dietary law. For example, for someone who lives a kosher lifestyle there is a rule in the Torah that states:”You may not cook a young animal in the milk of its mother” (Ex.23:19). This implies that meat cannot be mixed with dairy products. This as you know is an obvious problem for some of the products at Mc Donald’s that have cheese on it and or any dairy products. Because of this Mc Donald’s has added cultural respected products into the menu. For example: they include many wraps and flatbread combinations. They have a sandwich called a Mc Arabia grilled chicken. This is a smart marketing technique because it not only reaches out to loyal customers that love the meals exclusive to Mc Donald’s, but also brings in an audience that has religious restrictions.

  

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Another example can be found in China. In recent years Mc Donald’s has been struggling with trying to reach the needs of the locals. Now they have keyed into the nations love of pork. They have added a item called Spicy Pork McBites. Costing 9.5 yuan ($1.56 US Currency) the company’s has created another successful product that caters directly to the consumers.

  

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My final example can be found in India. Due to the strong Hindu traditions, the company opened restaurants just this past year that only feature vegetarian meals.  With products such as the “Veggie Surprise” – a meatless burger- and the Maharaja Mac- a spicy chicken sandwich- they have reached new demographics and made their company successful in other traditional cultures.

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Mc Donald’s marketing strategy to capture the attention of people worldwide has been without a doubt one of the most successful established fast food chains ever. Their regional knowledge and ability to cater to specific cultural and traditional differences among countries has really helped them surpass many other food chains. I think their ability to cater to so many different individuals because of their “special” meals has helped them substantially. What do you think of the iconic brands marketing technique?

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1. Resnik, A. (2010, June 9). Strange McDonald’s Menu Items Around the World. Retrieved September 11, 2014.

2. Timmons, H. (2013, November 15). McDonald’s new China tactic is catering to the nation’s voracious love of pork. Retrieved September 11, 2014.

Reversed Gender Stereotypes in Advertisement

Stereotyping is not a new concept to people worldwide. Individuals have consistently judged someone based on their race, ethnicity, and even gender. In advertisement in particular, gender stereotypes have been used regularly without notice. Some argue that it helps connect real life experiences and familiar roles to the consumer. Throughout the years it has become increasingly popular to objectify one gender and categorize another as superior to the rest. Since the beginning of advertisement, women has been placed in ads and commercials in ways that make them subordinate to men. While men are shown as strong, independent, and powerful game changers. The question is, when gender roles are switched in advertisement, does this have an effect on the consumers general opinion of the ad?

To begin I want to show some typical ads from todays advertising market.

All three of these ads show objectify women and create the stereotype that women as subordinate to men. Unfortunately this has become a social norm for people around the world. This behavior/stereotyping simply goes unnoticed or is found humous. This is a form of advertisement that is used typically because it captures the consumers eyes. But has advertisers taken this concept to the extreme?

There have been some people who have protested this stereotype and have switched the typical roles of men and women in different advertisement campaigns. What I challenge all of you to do is to first look at how the women are portrayed, and then shift your attention to how the men take on the “female role”. How does your reaction affect your opinion to the product?

Heinz Ketchup:

Jeans:

Hardee’s:

 

Here are two examples of how our youth are playing on the gender role issue.

 

If ads were not posted with images like the ones above many people would have a very different outlook on the product. Some may find the images as a joke, while others may think they are simply ridiculous. There are also ads out there that have children posing as the main focus. From a young age we are exposed to these basic beliefs and ideals of what products boys use and what products girls use. The problem is, why is it acceptable for people to view these switched advertisements as funny or stupid, and the regular gender based commercials and ads as something that is informative or as a response to the consumers basic ways and beliefs.

The video below is a French short film portraying a man in the general “female gender role”. As he goes about his day he is exposed to sexual harassment and other everyday activities that society declares as a woman’s job in a mans world.

 

 

This video shows how gender stereotypes are experienced not only in America, but throughout the world. Things that some view as social norms, may be completely objectifying and irregular to others. The problem that I have with this issue is we as a society have made it so normal to objectify one group of people. When the roles are reversed it appears “wrong” or not appealing to the general public. This is both a flaw and a well played move that I see within advertisement. Advertisers put out to the consumer what they believe he or she wants to see, disregarding what may be overdoing a stereotype started years ago.

 

Moretsky, A. (2013, May 9). Role Reversal: Perceptions of Men and Women in Advertising. Retrieved September 2, 2014, from http://www.outsourcemarketing.com/role-reversal-perceptions-of-men-and-women-in-advertising/

 

Pourriat, E. (2010) Opressed Majority (Video file). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4UWxlVvT1A