Modern Advertising

There are many important parts to advertising, from branding all the way to marketing and advertising. What is amazing is how advanced advertising is becoming. Advertising started from words with one promoting something to another. Then it went to print on newspapers, posters and magazines and now there are billboards, radio and TV advertisements. The newest advertisements move and are interactive. Mall kiosks are an example of interactive ads. They also use social media networks to keep people updated and connected. Other examples of interactive advertisements are Chanel and Adobe. They have screens that become animated as you walk by; Chanel’s is on the outside of one of their stores. This grabs people’s attention and makes them feel interacted with the brand. On one of Coca-Cola’s vending machines is an interactive screen that shows commercials that are seen on TV and shows the different flavors of soda you can buy. Many companies are using interactive advertisements because they are new to the advertisement world and because it gets people involved. Instead of just hearing and seeing ads, you can now touch the ads and make them do what you want. People can remember interactive ads more than something they read. I think these new ways to advertise are great and exciting. 

Nostalgia Marketing

Nostalgia is a memory that one has, these can be triggered either by touch, smell or visually. Using nostalgia to market a product is clever way to market because it triggers emotions that can either be positive or negative associations.

An advantage to nostalgia marketing is when it triggers positive memories. This would cause them to purchase the product because it helps them to relive their good times that they have had and make them feel young again. Younger people can still be affected positively by this strategy. For example Pepsi and Mountain Dew had a throwback packaging. Younger people that have not experienced the old packaging are still drawn to buy it because it is retro and is “cool” to them. Older people buy the soda because they are familiar with the old packaging and have had good memories with it.  But the disadvantage to nostalgia marketing would be if someone had a bad experience with that brand before and would not be able to forget it. Negative associations could have been made with a product if that product broke when they were using it or even something not related directly to the product itself like a fight with a significant other while using the product. Nostalgia marketing relies on the person and their past experience instead of the product and its pros and cons.

Products that are supposed to be technologically advanced would not be able to use nostalgia to market their product. Technology is practical and needs to be up to date with everything around it so making it seem old would not help it to be seen as the most innovative product out.   

Harley Davidson

Harley Davidson is a well know company and have diehard fans that participate with the brand itself. The Harley community has the Hog Owners Group, H.O.G which has benefits if you are a part of it. The perks of being a H.O.G are the H.O.G Magazine, insurance, roadside assistance and Harley rentals. Another way the community is brought together is by Posse Rides and destination rallies set up by Harley. These rides get more riders to participate with the brand. The Posse rides generate enthusiasm for the brand. Riders have even created their own twist to the rides and have made traditions and oaths that are mandatory for riders to do before a ride. The destination rallies were created to increase riders’ involvement with their product and the brand. All of these tactics created togetherness within the Harley community.

Having the Harley communities creates more involvement with the brand because of all the activities brings the riders together. The fact that the community created traditions on their own shows how involved people are with the brand and what it stands for. Having involvement within the community creates brand loyalty which is something every brand wants.

Posse Ride

Elements from the Posse Ride like riding in a group and having checkpoints enhance the meaning of the brand. It shows that H.O.Gs stick together and have each other’s backs. The checkpoints show how dedicated the members are and how serious they take riding. But at the same time these rides also show how the riders are carefree and rebellious. The oath that riders take before the ride promises that they will participate fully in the ride. This oath also shows the dedication.

I don’t think Harley should get more involved than they already are in the rides. I think it would dilute the riders’ meaning to the participation. The riders are supposed to be free when they ride and too much interference from the brand would ruin that freedom for the riders. The brand doesn’t need to get more involved because the community is strong as it is and will still be loyal to them.

I think things like social media networks could be a way for Harley to increase involvement in the brand. Social networks could be used to set up events. Riders could share their experience, things they have done or seen and talk about their bikes with others thus causing outsiders to want that same experience that their friend had.   

I think Harley has done the best job at having a tight loyal community. Their consumers are loyal to their brand and love to participate in the activities that are created. 

Dyson

Everyone is a consumer whether one is consuming a product, service or activity. When looking at consumer behavior, there are many influences people have, external, internal and post-decision. Companies must keep these things in mind when creating a product or else their product can be one of the many that fail.  

Hoover with all of the attachments

One product that has launched successfully is the Dyson vacuum. The Dyson came to America in 2002 and became very popular. They got their product known through commercials that showcased the pros to owning a Dyson. The design of the vacuum was lighter and easier to move and also quieter compared to other bulky vacuums at that time. The design was simple but was different compared to other vacuums, it modern and new with the gray and yellow simplicity. Another perk to the Dyson was that all the attachments were attached to the vacuum, no more need to store a box full of parts in the closet. But besides the fact that the suction was better than any other vacuum, bags were no longer needed which is one less thing you needed to buy when you were cleaning.

Consumers were socially pressured to buy this product for many reasons. One being it was the newest technology and another that it was a bit pricey when it first hit American stores. The expensive vacuum showed that you were upper to middle class if you owned one. The Dyson is also environmental friendlier since you didn’t need to keep buying bags just to throw them away after you are done cleaning. This feature appealed to many people since going green has been getting more and more popular. By watching the commercials consumers were able to gain knowledge about the Dyson and they were able to make comparisons to vacuums they had used in the past. The external influences of society and internal influences of previous experiences helped the Dyson be so successful. The post decisions that consumers had helped Dyson to stay popular and create more products. Dyson vacuums keep advancing and are becoming more user friendly than they already were. Their new models are also smaller and there are different vacuums that each has a specific purpose. Consumers and their influences were taken into consideration when creating this product and that is why Dyson is so popular. 

National Wildlife Federation

Propaganda usually appeals to emotion rather than intellect and selective information is used in order to influence someone. In the past political campaigns have used posters to get their point across but now social media is one of the most popular ways to promote yourself which is what Obama did in his 2008 election. Propaganda is generally connected to politics but it is not limited to this, one environmental campaign that uses digital technology is the National Wildlife Federation.

Social Media networks like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are the new ways to get your voice heard. People can like a page, get daily or even hourly updates and they can share the page for all their friends to see. This is a great way to get more followers and be relevant. The National Wildlife Federation has created pages for all three of those social networks as well as YouTube, Flickr, Google Plus and they even have an E-Newsletter that followers can sign up for. The NWF’s goal is, as stated on their website, “Inspiring Americans to protect wildlife for our children’s future.” In order for them to do this they need more and more people to be aware of their cause and the way to do that is to keep people informed through the internet.

We OTTER Protect Clean Water

The great thing that they did on their Facebook page was to post cute pictures of animals with clever captions. The picture grabs people’s attention but the caption is what makes them read the article. This concept of sharing these pictures also teaches people about the wildlife problems and what someone can do to help. Also on Facebook they have events that people can join. Every time someone joins an event on Facebook it is shared with that person’s friend list. It is a great way to get more people involved because if one person shares a NWF post, depending on how many friends that person has, around one hundred other people will see that post and be able to comment and/or like it as well as the NWF page. Social media networks are very popular now and they are the best way to get more of a wider range of followers. It is smart that the NWF is up to date with all of the popular social networks because they can keep people aware of things that are happening right now.        

Gender Stereotypes

In advertising we see how genders differ from each other and what each gender’s role is supposed to be. Women are perceived to be the housewife that cooks, cleans and takes care of the kids all while looking presentable. Men are shown to be physically fit, dressed in a suit, a business man, hardworking, man of the house, brings home the money. He relaxes as he comes home to dinner. The only interaction he has with his kids is bonding with his son.

In this beer advertisement the husband is telling his wife not to worry because she didn’t burn the beer. The wife is shown in the kitchen holding a pan that has black smoke coming out of it like she has burnt dinner. She is dressed in a button up which is most likely a dress with an apron on. Her hair is done and she has makeup on. The husband is dressed in a suit and has his hair combed back. The husband has his arm around his wife and is comforting her while she is looking up at him and crying. The man is shown as the dominant one because of how he is standing tall and also how the woman is looking up at him. The gender stereotypes are here, from the housewife that can’t do her only job correctly to the dominant businessman comforting his wife.

These are stereotypes that have been around for a long time and sadly they are still present in some ads. Gender stereotyping is very wrong because it is selling those stereotypes, making people believe that that is how they are supposed to be. In reality, men and women are equal and should be shown sharing the house workload. Today more ads are trying to break the gender stereotype.

This commercial shows a husband at home playing with his daughter which is something not typically seen. Usually the only interaction with the kids that a man would have would be with his son. The man is now the stay at home dad and is taking care of the kids and doing the laundry while we can assume that the wife is at work. This helps to show society how men and women are equal and I think more advertisements should depict this. 

Racial Stereotyping

Racism is still a problem we have today in society. One place people saw racial stereotyping was in advertising and they are still shown in ads today, but not as outrageous as before. I think it is fine to promote a quality of a race but there is always a fine line and advertisements should never cross that.

This ad is for a General Electric dishwasher and disposal. They show an African American dressed in a maids outfit talking about how her job of cleaning the kitchen just got easier. This is obviously racist because one, they are going back to days of slavery and how African Americans were the ones cleaning the house for White people. Another racist thing is that they are making her illiterate because she not speaking properly. The racial stereotype that is portrayed is that an uneducated African American would be using this product to clean your house and “you” would most likely be targeted as a white person.

Sadly some ads today still have racial stereotyping. For example this one for Nivea shows an African American holding a dismembered head and is in a stance like he is about to throw it. The words over the man say “re-civilize you” implying that this African American was once uncivilized and needs to be civilized again. The product is meant to groom yourself which is what they meant by “re-civilize yourself.”  Nivea apologized for this ad, said it was not mean to be racist and was taken down.   

I feel like if there are any hints of racist stereotyping in any ad they will most likely get pulled and no longer be shown. I still feel that there are racist stereotypes in ads but they are not as “out there” as they used to be. I think advertisers have to be aware, have ethical responsibilities, for their ads because one society should be past racism and two it has potential to upset many people. 

Semiotic Analysis

Applying semiotics to advertisements helps put a meaning to the message that is trying to be sent. There is the signifier which is the form that something takes, you can touch or see this. Then there is the signified which is the concept that the sign represents, the meaning of it. When analyzing an advertisement, there are different types of signs: Symbolism is things that are leaned, Icons try to represent a message and Index is directly connected to the message.

Crest has many ads for their products. One that I constantly see in magazines is the “If you’re not whitening, you’re yellowing.” The print itself is simple, has a yellow background halfway through the page that has white text, this implies the word whitening and what they want you to do. The bottom half has a white background with yellow text to go with the word yellowing, which is what people don’t want. At the very bottom they show the product and the words “life opens up when you do” are next to it. The signifier is the print itself which is found in a magazine. The signified is the concept that if you don’t use these products then you are not keeping your teeth white. This also relates to the words at the bottom saying that if you don’t take care of yourself by whitening your teeth you won’t have confidence. This ad has symbols because the ad consists mainly of text which is something that has to be learned. This ad works well because culturally we are taught that yellow teeth are unattractive and that a person who has yellow teeth doesn’t take care of themselves, so it makes people not want to be that way. The meaning of the message is to maintain white teeth so you can be the best you that you can be.

The ad Subaru: Trying new things, Confidence in motion is about a couple traveling around and trying new things. Throughout they are shown driving in their Subaru and stopping when they see something they want to do. Sometimes they regret trying some things. The signifier is the TV ad itself. Throughout the ad the words “we got a Subaru to take us new places, It did” “love, it what makes a Subaru a Subaru” are said to tell us what the meaning of a Subaru is. The signified is that a Subaru can help you get to new places, it is a part of your growing fun life. I like this ad because Subaru has been doing a great job at selling their car as a part of one’s life unlike most car ads that try to sell based on the fact that a car is fast and looks cool. They get to a deeper level with their ads and I think it is working because they are selling “Love.”  

The billboard on the 101 North in the Bay Area is for Chipotle. There are three lines of text that are transparent except for the four words that are in black, “Our Ingredients Are Better.” If you take the time to actually read everything, you’ll see that it is long and talks about what is better for a billboard. But they still get their message across with the black text. The way they made this ad was very creative and is perfect for a billboard because while driving by you still get the meaning of the ad. The signifier is the billboard with those four words that stand out. The signified is that Chipotle’s ingredients are better than other competitor’s. Symbolism with the use of words is applied because it is written in English which has to be learned. The message of this ad is easy to read, Chipotle has better ingredients which means their food will taste better than other food places. I like the sweet and shortness of their advertisement and I like how fast they can get their point across.  

Applying semiotics to advertisements is important to do because it helps us to understand the meaning of the ads and learn what messages are being sent. We need to be able to understand the messages so that we can understand what is actually being sold to us.