As an International student, I experience homesickness a lot, sometimes every the slightest memory from home makes me nostalgic and I always wanted to bring a piece of home with me so that I can remind me myself of the moments and also because I am afraid that I might forget something from home that I do not wish to forget. So, when I watch this ad from Air Wick about a father who was enlisted in the army and leaving his family and home to serve the country, I somehow can relate the homesickness he felt.
Now that I found out Air Wick has a new product- a scented candles that can remind you of your home by stimulating your sense of smell. The obtain molecules of a scent you want to be reminded of and make it into a candle. When the candle is lighted, you smell home and you feel like home. This is a smart marketing strategy because Air Wick knows that everyone is vulnerable to feeling lonely, away from family and missing the loved ones. Once again, the strategy of pulling the heartstring is used.
I think that this product is very innovative and I am really curious about how the candles smell like. Are the scents accurate and in accordance with your olfactory memory that reminds you of something memorable? Will they smell weird if you chose a scent like your socks? Also, if an individual is being reminded of his or her home too much, wouldn’t he or she be more vulnerable and sad and be prevented from moving on toward his or her mission or goals?
Have you ever wondered what would happen to you if you were struck by a rainbow? No? Let me tell you the story of the Skittle Man. Once upon a time, an ordinary man was just hanging out outdoor and he was struck by a rainbow miraculously. And then, he underwent a physical transformation that his skin is now replaced by Skittles. I don’t mean to be judgmental but he looked creepy in the video. He now saves money from going to the barbershop and when Skittles keeps falling off of his body like exfoliation. Because of the way he is now, as a Skittles man, his wife has to cope with this situation and constantly pick up the Skittles that is falling off of him. Besides, he became famous in the neighborhood because if his appearance and the fact that he was struck by a rainbow.
This ad is outlandish and weird in some way. It is intended to imitate a documentary that would “win a prize at Sunday or Cannes”, which tells the hardship that the Skittles man has to go through after the physical transformation. This ad takes creativity to a whole new level that it had become bizarre. Bizarre in a way that people would remember. I am still confused if I liked the ad but it is definitely a different approach that a candy company took to promote its candy. Effective or no? I think it is up to the viewer because ads like this is hard rather subjective since there is no clear emotions that the ad is trying to bring across.
This is an unusual Christmas ad that I stumbled across online. Sure, everyone wants a piece of Christmas when it’s December but Glico, a Japanese snack company took a different approach to create a Christmas ad. They sure put a lot of effort in the ad and a lot of editing and training to come out with this masterpiece. It is unusual because it is not a touching ad or a heartwarming ad which most of the companies are heading toward. Instead, it is a compilation of Christmas songs put together by the sound of cracking, rattling and crunching the snacks.
The main product that is highlighted in the video is Pocky, a chocolate-coated biscuit stick. Breaking the Pocky sticks by making different shapes of the mouth produces different sounds and tunes. With heavy editing, song like “We Wish You A Merry Christmas”, “Joy To The World” and “Jingle Bells” are made into a medley. It is interesting to see how the sequence and order are choreographed so neatly according to the beat of the songs. It looks like a lot of fun!
Not only is the company on time for the festive season’s bandwagon, it is also trying to promote its smile.glico campaign with an aim to bring smiles to the consumers around the globe because they believe in smiles when people have sweet experiences. The energy that the commercials send across is very positive and they give our happy vibes to the viewers so that when they consume glico’s product they recall the happiness they felt when they watched the commercials. Also, nobody wants a sad Christmas.
From the smile.glico video and the goal of the campaign, we can clearly see that glico is trying to expand the company’s reach to other parts of the world. It was not stated clearly where exactly but definitely outside of asia and they see Christmas as a big opportunity because it’s a worldwide celebration that people with different cultural backgrounds share the same concept of Christmas and similar emotions they feel toward Christmas. When people are on the same page, the message is easier to transmit across no matter where they are from.
In conclusion, big festive seasons like Christmas is a big opportunity to be monetized and capitalized, sad but true. I hope that the true meaning of celebrating Christmas will not be forgotten and it is not about how expensive the presents are but how sincere they are. Also, don’t forget to be happy, thankful and at the same time cherish your loved ones. Happy holidays!
For our Viral Video for Brand Storytelling, our group chose the brand Coca-Cola. Through our extensive market and consumer research, we discovered that Coca-Cola’s main problem was pertaining to health issues. These health concerns affect Coca Cola’s sales in North America and Europe.
Coca Cola’s key market sales are overseas (specifically Latin America and Asia Pacific) with a primary target market of men and women between the ages of 12-30, with a primary focus on 18-25 year olds who use social media and mobile devices.
Coca Cola uses strategic positioning in order to use the same image globally. In addition, their strategic positioning is used in order to be perceived as a daily part of life, in order to build brand loyalty.
Our group created a viral video to remove the negative image of Coca-Cola being unhealthy by focusing on smaller sizes with our tag line, “In a smaller size for bigger celebration”. We also maintained Coca Cola’s fun, happy and entertaining unique selling preposition by connecting holiday music and decorations with our video. We believe this will help drive sales in North America and Europe.
This is the video for our final presentation. Enjoy!
Burberry is welcoming the festive season by releasing a Christmas campaign starring Romeo Beckham. This festive film comes with the title “From London with Love” and it tells the story of young people falling in love in an artistic way expressed through beautifully choreographed dancing. Maybe I was just being emotional but I really loved the film, it was so beautiful I teared watching it. I loved the execution of the story line and how the music enchants the atmosphere. It reminded me of how beautiful it was to feel loved and happy. It was just dreamy and this is definitely a fantasy ad.
“From London with Love” is very sophisticated and subtle in terms of promoting their signature trench coat, umbrella and scarfs. Also, they subconsciously promote the upper class culture that enjoys luxury lifestyle besides showing how joyful it is to be in that social class. This is a “Burberry culture” overall; British heritage, sophisticated, fashionable, wealthy, glamorous and famous.
Amidst the umbrellas and trench coats, Romeo plays cupid and the love story revolves around him.The Star of the film, Romeo Beckham whose parents are world-class famous duo- David Beckham and Victoria Beckham. Coming from an elite family, Romeo naturally becomes a child star with bright future in the entertainment industry.Romeo being the endorser at such a young age for this luxury brand that he acquires effortless because of his famous parents. So, is this considered celebrity endorsement?
Not only that, the glittery Burberry logo appears many times throughout the film. The glittering effect works well with the theme of the film and at the same time it is a strategy to promote its brand. Also, the film uses “Love” as a technique to engage its audience. Like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, love is an emotion that we need in our lives and something that we are constantly searching for. From love, it slowly transforms into warmth of the festive season that eliminate the loneliness urbanites often feel in the big cities.
However, there are comments on Youtube that read:
I guess it’s up to the audience to interpret the promotional film but this is definitely an advertisement that Burberry released to promote their products and culture in conjunction with the festive season. But I definitely think that it is enchanting and I was moved and it gets me into christmas mood.
Reference
Romeo Beckham Is Enchanting in Burberry’s Beautifully Choreographed Christmas Spot. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2014.
Imagine yourself as a cute little white bunny happily nibbling on your carrots and suddenly you felt somebody pinched your back and pulled you upwards and away from your home into a cold and bleak room brightly lit with white lights. The next thing you know, they force fed you and shaved your soft fur away and left you with ugly uneven patches. And then they did all sort of intrusive experiment on your body. This is a torment.
A young lady, Jacqueline Traide volunteered herself and bravely took on a live protest in London. She was ushered in with a leash at Lush’s Regent Street shop window and this was a live protest where animal test for the cosmetic industry was being acted on a human subject. She underwent 10 hours of endurance for the experiment where she literally went through what the lab animals would go through. It was in the busy city of London and the whole process was carried out in front of a huge audience. People were flabbergasted, stunned and shocked.
Jacqueline wore a skin-color tight suit and was being treated as a specimen in the lab. She was labeled, her mouth was stretched open with a metal hook attached to her mouth from end to end, her skin and eyes were tested with irritants and she bled as she tried to resist the needles. When the whole experiment was completed, the subject was “killed” and disposed of at the garbage.
This was a campaign launched by Lush, a cosmetics company to fight animal testing. Action is louder than words. So, Lush decided to put out this live “performance” to engage the audience with the Fear strategy. The performance successfully captured attention and stopped passerby to spend a few minutes to witness the experiment on human test subject. Also, Lush had people to sign petitions against animal testing so that the law will be reinforced in the whole Europe albeit it was already illegal to test on animal in the UK.
Other than fear, the audience who witnessed the process felt all sorts of complex emotions just by putting themselves in the shoes- empathy, sympathy, shock, sadness, pity and more. This campaign was successful because it played with the human emotions and they could very well imagine themselves in that position when they saw another human being lying on the lab bench. Many knew that animal testing was wrong and still going on but not many will take the initiative to take any action because people tend to be passive and dismiss the idea easily if they can’t relate to the situation. However, fear approach might backfire if the fear level is too high. In this case, I think it will backfire if too much blood was shown in the process.
References
Harris, P. (2012, April 25). Is this the most extreme window display ever? Brutal treatment of woman, 24, as she is subjected to ‘animal tests’ in front of horrified shoppers. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
Omond, T. (2012, April 27). Lush’s human performance art was about animal cruelty not titillation. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
In one of the presentation in class, we learned about the CEOs of many famous brands, their reputations, charismas, contributions and more. One of the world-renown CEOs today that I stumbled upon on Facebook is ironically, the CEO and the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg. I am sure that not many of you are aware of his secret gimmick that makes him welcomed worldwide.
Mark Zuckerberg can speak Mandarin quite fluently. As most of us know, he has a Chinese Wife and I think this is one of the main reasons he acquires the Mandarin speaking skills.
In the video, he greets the crowd and says that he is happy to be here and he loves this city. He says,”My Mandarin is bad but I am willing to learn. Maybe I need more practice.” There are 3 reasons he learns Chinese. First, his wife is a Chinese and her family only speaks Mandarin and he would like to communicate with them. Second, he wants to learn about Chinese culture and he thinks that by learning languages it can help him understand cultures better. Third, he likes challenges.
Languages are powerful channels of communication. In the present world, English is the universal language, and Chinese is the most spoken language. With this newly acquired language, Zuckerberg not only can communicate with his in-laws, he can also gain some fame from the Chinese speaking countries such as China, Taiwan, and maybe Singapore and Malaysia. By speaking a common language, it reduces the distance between people of different cultures and this is why he receives great welcome in the Chinese community and greatly impressed them just by uttering a few simple Mandarin sentences.
Language is a vital tool in advertising and martketing because it relates directly to a certain culture and it speaks to a particular community. That is why we have the same ads in different languages across the world. In this case, Zuckerberg represents his brand- Facebook and he is seen as a brand, when you see Mark Zuckerberg you think of Facebook and nothing else. So, he utilizes his skill in Mandarin to venture in to a new market in China where Facebook is banned. We can see its effectiveness in the expressions of the audience and the reactions they gave when Zuckerberg shows his skill; they were astonished.
No doubt that it is important to understand the culture of a different country to better understand the perceptions of the community, it will be a plus if we acquire some skills in the language that can communicate to the specific crowd so that it will enhance the accuracy and efficiency of the message we try to get across.
References
Mark Zuckerberg speaking chinese at Tsinghua University in Beijing! (2014, October 22). Retrieved October 23, 2014.
Everything begins with a touch. A friendship, a relationship, an agreement, a truce and even a marketing plan. This company foresees the arrival of the cuffing season and started an app based on “touch”. It is called the Cuddlr, an app that can be used to look for cuddling partners and many has related Cuddlr to Tinder, just a friendlier version with a more angelic intention.
When the app was introduced, many rolled their eyes or even sneered at it but it is these emotions that pique the curiosity and trigger people to try it. And once they try it they might like it. Cuddlr’s marketing strategy is centered on the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs- love and belonging. The founder of the company realized that people tend to stay indoor more often due to the cold weather and this is the time they are vulnerable to loneliness. Also, they target on single urbanites who yearns for a company to cuddle with but don’t intent to cross a line.
So this is how it works:
Download Cuddlr
Create your profile and send request to a cuddle partner.
Set up a meeting.
And it’s cuddle time!
Don’t forget to rate your cuddle partner!
Cuddlr, the social app for cuddling is not doing a great job in advertising and marketing and they definitely failed at making it big. There are only a promo video and review articles available. Although it is interesting and ridiculous at the same time, it provokes curiosity and so much creativity could’ve been deployed in the marketing and advertising plans. Instead, they fell short and people are now making fun of them all over the Internet. However, I do not understand why Tinder, a hookup app, is more widely accepted by the society and not this harmless cuddle app?
I honestly think that the world is not so innocent and I think that Cuddlr is a devil in disguise and the devil is just wearing a mask of an angel. The first thing that came to my mind was that it is highly possible that cuddling can lead to a more inappropriate action and Cuddlr can turn into Tinder. Not only that, the very fundamental of cuddling with strangers infringes on personal safety, which is one of the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. This contradiction might be the reason the app is not doing so well.
So what do you think? Try your fate with Cuddlr?
References
DeAmicis, C. (2014, September 29). I snuggled with a stranger using new app Cuddlr, and my fellow cuddlee had a gun. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
Fuller, G. (2014, September 23). Cuffing Season: There’s Now An App That Allows You To Find Strangers To Cuddle With. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
Apple yet again overwhelmed the world with its iPhone 6 and as per usual the camping craze took over the turf of all the Apple stores around the world. And this guy Mooney, he flew all the way to Australia and sat patiently through out the 22 hours long flight just to get the first iPhone 6 before the rest of the world did (because of the time difference, Australia launched the iPhone 6 earlier than other parts of the world). Was it because of his desire to be known as the first person to get the iPhone6 and be instantly famous on the Internet? Or was it because he was just too rich and free?
Mooney did not camp to get his hands on the phone, he sort of bribed his way to get the first iPhone6; he decided to pay the couple at front of the line at the Apple store with a big amount of money and have them to get the first phone for him. When he accomplished his mission, he dropped his phone in a glass or beer. When I saw that I was speechless and thought that I wasted my time watching another pointless viral video. Don’t roll your eyes just yet, he had something up his sleeves. Mooney is the spokesperson of Reviveaphone. Reviveaphone is a repair kit for phones damaged by water.
Do you think this is a clever advertisement? In my opinion, I think it is smart to capture the audience’s attention. Mooney did it by pulling out some unconventional gimmick and flew across the ocean just to get the first iPhone only to drop it in the beer. The highlight of the video was when he successfully revived the phone with the Reviveaphone kit. When the audience is engaged and watches the video until the very end, which is the Tension Reduction part, that’s when Reviveaphone comes in and be the “hero” to save the dead phone. And then, there will be an “Oh!” moment when the message of the ad is sent across and understood. For me, it was quite unexpected that the video, which I thought was another pointless viral video, turned out to be an ad and Reviveaphone certainly caught up with the iPhone6 craze, trend or frenzy to come out with this idea for the ad at the right time. However, if the video was too long the audience might tune out and not watch until the very end and the ad would be pointless.
I like the execution of idea for the advertisement and I think Reviveaphone is an innovative product that does magic to water damaged phones albeit not many people know about it. This is why good ads are crucial for startup companies and for new products to gain their entries into the market.
References
Toole, C. (2014, September 25). Guy Flies From Canada To Australia To Buy iPhone 6 And Then Drops It In A Pitcher Of Beer. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
Where did his money come from?! He is rich, ostentatious, a major playboy and a gun lover. He might sound like Tony Stark but he is just not as smart. Dan Bilzerian, a 33 years old chap calls himself an actor, astronaut and an asshole (this is what he wrote on his website). But really, he is a self-proclaimed a high-stakes poker player, a navy veteran (failed his training, actually) and a modern Hugh Hefner. Scantily clad girls, cash, guns, poker, yacht, party and booze- this sums up the life of a man who makes it rain cash.
“My Instagram persona is a person that lives a flashy life and does all the crazy things.” Instagram has taken his “fame” to another level and he is now dubbed the “Most Interesting Man” on Instagram. His antics with cars, girls and all his lavishness helped him gain 4.7 million followers on Instagram. I am not lying but 7 out of 10 of my male friends know about him and admire or maybe are envious of his lifestyle. Here’s why.
Hot girls! Of course. He comes and goes with an entourage of sexy girls. They follow him like little ducklings to bask in the brief “glamor” they share with his shadow. Dan likes to show off his life on Instagram because he says the responses from the users are great; the Likes for each picture is up to 6 digits. He claims that money is freedom and if one is rich nobody can tell them what to do. He clearly has the key to freedom already.
Do you know that he has a main girl? Yes, surprisingly a real girlfriend.
Oh guess what? He casually threw a party on a yacht with a hundred girls on it and he made an entry with a $9 million helicopter just because it’s a Saturday. Unbelievable. Why doesn’t he use the money to do some charity, some may ask. Well, he donated $10,000 to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
Nobody is really famous unless they appear on the screens. So, Dan decided to venture into film and made himself a stunt person in Olympus Has Fallen. But, he is not satisfied with that role. He then invested $1 million in the production of Lone Survivor, The Other Woman and The Equalizer which he has a role in the respective films.
When he has everything in the world, he gets bored. So, he decided to create some controversies on the social media. First, he threw a female “adult video” star off the roof, she was injured and of course he was sued. Of course, he has a video for it. However, it is not a problem for him because he is too rich to bother. And recently, he got caught by the cops and he has someone video-ed the process for him and uploaded it on his Instagram account. The caption read, “ It was a fun ride while it lasted, I might be going away for a while” but the reason behind it was not revealed. I don’t know what was his intention but he posted another video later and in the caption he said, “Come on you boys didn’t think I’d let those bastards arrest me did you?” And the next thing you know he’s behind the wheels of the cop’s car.
People find his flashy lifestyle desirable and attractive and for many it is interesting to look into the lifestyle of people who have a lot of freedom, in this case freedom means money. I think we should all stop being envious and start creating our own life.I would like to point out that Instagram plays a big role in social media today and is really useful to expose yourselves to the world and gain you some fame, perhaps it’s a form of self-advertising. Besides, you indirectly advertise for the brands and products you own by showing them on your profile for free although advertisement is a paid form of communication. So, what do you think, is he glamorous or notorious?
Stieber, Z. (2014, September 24). Dan Bilzerian Arrested? Instagram King Posts Video of Himself Getting Handcuffed by Police. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
Reagan, B. (2014, September 16). Dan Bilzerian’s Life of Partying and Poker. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
Dan Bilzerian. (n.d.). Retrieved September 25, 2014.
10 THINGS ABOUT DAN BILZERIAN YOU PROBABLY DON’T KNOW (PART 1). (n.d.). Retrieved September 25, 2014.
All you need is a smart phone and you are set to travel. How awesome is that! Chicago is one of the luckiest cities that receives this über cool treatment from a company called Uber. No more flagging down a taxi with you arm people! Uber provides us with this modern-day “on-demand private driver” service which you can summon a car anytime and anywhere by using their smart phone app. Just a tap of finger and the nearest driver around you will arrive on your call.
Every startup company put most of their effort in promoting and marketing and Uber has done quite an impressive job. Uber employs a very interesting concept which is “let the customer do the talking” and they don’t really have any commercial advertisements. It definitely sounds simple and somehow passive but it totally works. This is because Uber provides a customer-orientated service. If the service is good, it goes around and spreads naturally and it is effective and free! To keep this going, they ensure that their Uber drivers are professional and friendly because happy customer means success. For example, Uber’s been running a premium service known as “Uber VIP” that is only available to loyal customers who have used Uber for 100 times or more in New York City. They have the access to Uber’s highest-rated driver and this certainly makes them feel exclusive.
How about an ice cream? No problem, just summon a Uber ice cream truck. Uber never fails to surprise the current customers and never fails to impress and fascinate the prospective customers with innovative services like the aforementioned. It happened this summer. It is adorable how you could tap on an ice cream cone icon in the app and request an on-demand ice cream truck and it cost $12. Other than ice cream, the requester could get a neon tank and Uber gave out stickers for everyone! Unfortunately, we might have to wait until next summer for the “Molly Moo’s Ice Cream” truck to be around again.
How about some adorable fur balls? In conjunction with the National Cat Day, Uber brought kittens to the requester, literally. For $20, they could cuddle and have a 15 minutes playtime with the kittens and this promotion came with cupcakes. The kittens too, were available for adoption if anyone fell for the cuteness. Guess what? All the money from this kitty promotion went to the city’s local shelter. However, only users from Seattle, New York and San Francisco were able to enjoy this promotion.
Convenience, convenience, convenience! Uber plays by the convenience rule. All the services are on demand and no cash involved. All the transactions were charged directly to your Uber accounts. Not only that, you can rate your driver at the end of your ride by using the 5 stars system. Also, there is no tipping required; it will all be taken care of in their online system. So, what you have to do is just hop on and hop off a Uber.
“It’s time to arrive in style.”
References
Kern, E. (2012, August 9). Uber’s tried-and-true marketing plan: Let your customers do the work. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
#OMGUBERICECREAM. (2012, July 11). Retrieved September 18, 2014.
McDermott, J. (2013, November 5). Uber Proves Master of Stunt Marketing – Digiday. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
I Can Has UberKITTENS. (2013, October 29). Retrieved September 18, 2014.
Gallagher, B. (2012, July 13). Today In Brilliant Marketing Strategies: Uber Delivers Ice Cream | TechCrunch. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
Designer’s clothes, check! Make-up, check! Paparazzi, check! Pose and flaunt away fellow fashion lovers! Unleash your inner peacock attitude and strut down the streets of New York with pride and love for fashion. All the Peacocks out there are geared up and ready to be swarmed by the photographers, or in another case, rejected by them. This opportunity only occurs twice a year and Fashionistas from all around the world are paying a pilgrimage to New York City, once in February (Fall/Winter) and once in September (Spring/Summer). It is outrageous! This year, 2014, the fashion spotlights are shining upon New York from September 4 to September 11. Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce you the New York Fashion Week 2014. #nyfw.
Advertising companies and their associates see this occasion as a big opportunity to earn some big bucks and exposure. They infiltrate through every possible chance they could get to sponsor the fashion week. The aim is to get exposure and eventually contribute to the brands profit. The brands persuade the audience by mesmerizing them with the desire to be “on-top”, to be edgy, almost like selling them the prestige they yearn for through fashion. Mercedes-Benz officially became the sponsor of the event since 2007 and New York Fashion Week was known as “Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week” from then on.
Mercedes-Benz became a proud sponsor of NYFW because of “a belief shared with the fashion industry that standards are set by those who innovate and show leadership in their respective fields.” As of 2009, models walked the runway carrying Hewlett Packard mini notebook computers in the Vivienne Tam show instead of the expected handbag. All are the gimmicks of advertising. Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week has grown huge, everyone wants to be part of it. And voila, here’s the lineup of some of the sponsors of this year’s fashion week- Tresemme, L’Oreal, Maybelline, Diet Coke, Millercoors and Kleenex. Kleenex is perhaps the oddest collaboration with the fashion week and it is seemingly one of those non-traditional brands that wants to be involved in the event. Because of the huge audience, everyone is fighting for the spotlight.
On the other hand, social media never miss out, they sure have their hands on this reputable event. Social media are a crucial tool to everyone including the fashion elites, socialites, celebrities, you and me and everyone else. Famous people utilize social media to boost their popularity, to advertise their sponsors and to create more exposure. This is why the hashtag #nyfw, videos and images of the happenings during the fashion week hype are ubiquitous on the Internet especially on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Here are some quick examples:
Also, technologies help set trends. Users tend to follow the trend established by their fashion idols and also to know what’s “in” and what’s “out” by being updated through technologies. In this case, technology is the means by which fashion enthusiasts from other parts of the world employ to keep their eyes on the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Most obvious than not, top designers or top brands see social media and broadcast media, generally all forms of media as a platform for them to showcase their collections to potential buyers. They too enchant the audience and strategize to stand out from the contending designers with their specially designed runway stages. For example, Ralph Lauren took an outlandish approach and had their models walking on a holographic runway. How impressive and innovative is that? Art, technology, music and fashion had come together as one to create a one-of-its-kind fashion show. If you are intrigued, click on the link below!
All in all, everything is about advertising. It is so subtle that it affects you subliminally. This explains why advertising is inevitable and omnipresent under every spotlight in every part of the world. And today, the fashion luminaries have created more space for advertising effort to grow and to take the audience to a lifestyle of another level because advertisements set the ideas that fit the future.
References
Arthur, R. (2013, September 11). Why Street Style ‘Peacocks’ Are Critical to the Fashion Industry. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
Bravo, T. (2014, September 9). Ralph Lauren brings holographic “Polo” to Central Park. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
Mercedes-Benz and Fashion. (2014, September 1). Retrieved September 11, 2014.
A bucket of ice water and a camera, yes, the Ice Bucket Challenge has stirred the world and brought about a phenomenal trend that flooded the social media. There are a few versions of this challenge; the rich and famous, the not-so-famous and the everyone-else versions. I am sure most of you know how the challenge goes- dump a bucketful of ice water over your head, record it, share it on social media and nominate your friends and they have 24 hours to do the same or they can opt to donate to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association. Have you ever wondered how this happened? Why was the challenge so easily accepted?
This is because everyone wants to have a moment of fame. The challenge is based on the “all about me” concept. Everyone wants to have a share of the spotlight, a transient fame and the fastest way is through social media. People want to be nominated, feel involved and wanted. It is as if they are using this campaign as an excuse to post something up on social media to earn “Likes” for their frivolous satisfaction. For example, I came across a Facebook status, which left me speechless and unsure of what the world has become. It read, “Nobody nominates me for the Ice Bucket Challenge. I guess I am not cool and popular.” Apparently, people who think like that have forgotten the real meaning behind this challenge. And I thought, if you really want to get involved in this good cause, just sign up and write a check directly to the ALS association.
Dumping a bucket of ice water over your head is a piece of cake; everyone can do it. Ice Bucket Challenge keeps the rule simple which is why it was a success. People can adapt their own rules to make every Ice Bucket Challenge unique and also to pique creativity. For instance, Bill Gates built a pulley mechanism to pour ice water down his head. According to Forbes.com, simple ideas are easy to grasp and translate into action, increasing the odds that people will actually respond. This is why the campaign spreads like wildfire within such short time. People do it because it’s easy. People donate because they feel obliged. People do it because they simply can. It is easy and “fun” that’s how the campaign gains approval from people.
However, I would like to see it as a form of “peer pressure”. Your friend challenges you to do the challenge and you feel compelled to accept it or else you will receive the Loser stamp. Also, if the people around you were nominated for the challenge or have accomplished it but not you, here’s when the complex kicks in and makes you feel “uncool”. Moreover, this challenge is a form of selfless act. Selfless actions invoke empathy and empathy produces the urge to act. In the article “The Science Behind The Success of The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge”, there is a thing known as the “audience effect”. You are stirred to act and are more willing to donate with the presence of observers (through Internet). Also, simply by watching people around you participate will increase the odds of your willingness to accept the challenge.
Charitable donations and public awareness of ALS have soared thanks to the campaign. There is no doubt that the Ice Bucket Challenge is a form of effective communication and advertisement. It successfully persuades thousands of people, famous or not, to take up the challenge not to mention that it changes the behaviors of media users in the sense that they would accept the challenge, donate and are more knowledgeable about the disease.
It is fun. It is entertaining. It is the trend now. But, this harmless Ice Bucket Challenge has caused several deaths. An innocent lad lost his life when a heavy bucket full of ice water fell on his head and caused him a fatal neck injury. Just a slip of hand and the tragedy is out of hand. Here’s the link for more detailed report on the news. http://huzlers.com/teen-dies-instantly-neck-injury-ice-bucket-challenge-falls-head-watch-video/ Remember to be careful guys! Safety first.
Let me show you something to shake the tragic vibe off. Enjoy!
Oh who would’ve expected that a fictional character would accept the challenge too!
References
Kotz, D. (2014, September 1). Will the $94 million raised from Ice Bucket Challenge yield cure for ALS? – The Boston Globe. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
Smith, R. (2014, September 1). The Science Behind The Success Of The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
Jensen, J. (2014, August 24). 3 Lessons From the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
Loyola Digital Advertising [로욜라 디지털 광고] 
You must be logged in to post a comment.