VitroRobertson

VitroRobertson is an advertising agency within the MDC holding company that is headquartered in San Diego, California. VitroRobertson is known for their work for clients such as Taylor Guitars, Yamaha Watercraft, and Kyocera. They have also done work for Pei Wei, P.F. Changs, IHOP, Sergenti, and Taylor. Below is a spot that VitroRobertson did for IHOP.


I thought that this spot was funny because of how it showed the competitiveness amongst employees in a working environment that we as diners do not commonly witness. I thought that it did a good job of linking the theme of their breakfast menu with characters in the spot. By incorporating Donovan McNabb, quarterback for the Washington Redskins, it not only added a good touch to the spot, but it made the viewer associate the brand, IHOP, with athletics, which is clearly the theme of their overall breakfast menu. For as exciting as I can imagine a restaurant such as IHOP's advertising to be, I thought that this spot was pretty effective.

Crispin Porter + Bogusky

Crispin Porter + Bogusky is an advertising agency within the MDC holding company that is headquartered in both Miami, Florida and Boulder, Colorado. Crispin has partnered with Arnold to do a great amount of extremely effective work for the Truth Anti-Smoking campaign. Some clients of Crispin Porter + Bogusky include the following: Coke Zero, IKEA, Mini Cooper, Burger King, and Best Buy. Although rather goofy, I like the spots that Crispin has done for Volkswagen. Unpimp Your Auto... Check it out below!




I like these spots because of how they play off of the MTV series "Pimp my ride." I find it comical how these ads are essentially poking fun at the extra things added to make cars "cool." I think that this campaign does a good job of getting across the idea of simplicity, which is something that Bill Bernbach used to sell Volkswagen vehicles back when DDB held the account. I think that although humorous, these spots are realistic in the way that none of those extra "jazzy" features are necessary on a vehicle. Volkswagen is a luxurious and hip, yet affordable car company, and I get this feeling from the spot without being told that. I can see a large part of the target audience for Volkswagen vehicles having seen or heard of the MTV series "Pimp my ride," so this spot would make sense to them. Even if one hadn't seen this particular television series, everyone has seen a car with so much extra rediculous stuff that they can relate. Overall, I thought that this spot was very effective.

McKinney

McKinney is an advertising agency within the Havas holding company that is headquartered in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. McKinney recently won the Nationwide Insurance account, that was previously held by Dallas-based agency, TM Advertising. Some clients of McKinney (both past and current) include Sherwin-Williams, Virgin Atlantic, Coldwell Banker, Qwest Business, and Audi. The campaign that McKinney has released for Nationwide Insurance is quite interesting. I thought that it couldn't get much worse than TM Advertising's K-Fed "Rollin' VIP" spot, but now we are spitting up canned soup letters into the words "Nationwide is on your side?" I'm not sure which one I prefer. This campaign plays off of "The World's Greatest Spokesperson," which I am not sure if I totally get, but when one goes to their website, they can watch television spot, get a quote on insurance, and even make a tee shirt or go to the spokesperson's facebook page. If you don't beleive me, check it our for yourself.

http://worldsgreatestspokesperson.nationwide.com/

Below is a spot from the campaign. I would call it a bit more grossed out than effective, but see for yourself.

Euro RSCG

Euro RSCG is an advertising agency within the Havas holding company that is headquartered in New York City. Euro RSCG is a worldwide agency that is very digitally-based. Some clients of Euro RSCG include Kraft Foods, Novartis, Credit Suisse, Jaguar, Volvo, and Evian. The commercial below is a spot that Euro RSCG did for Evian.


I was rather confused after seeing this spot. I mean I understand that the message is that drinking water keeps one's body youthful, but I thought it was very bizarre how this was presented. I mean I will definitely give it to them for originality. This spot was nothing like anything I had seen before, other than having babies... The babies in this spot kind of resembled the E*Trade Baby. And I also understand that the babies were on rollerskates to show that they were very youthful and agile in their movement. Another "blast from the past" would be the tape player that the babies are using to play their music. It was funny, but I just think that it could have possibly be done better. I would say that it was comical, but not a great or rewarding spot in my opinion.

Arnold Worldwide

Arnold Worldwide is an agency headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, which is part of the Havas agency holding company. Their client list includes, but is not limited, the following: Carnival Cruise Lines, Titleist, Ocean Spray, Reese's, and Progressive. Arnold Worldwide has also partnered with Crispin Porter + Bogusky to do much work for the Truth Anti-Smoking campaign. The following is an advertisement that Arnold recently did for Carnival Cruise Lines.



I thought that this spot was really cool, because it was unique and got people talking about the brand, Carnival. I have been on cruises before, so I know that they really do go above and beyond to blow all guests away and surpass any preconceived expectation that one may have of the cruising industry. I think that doing something as crazy as building the world's largest pinata and displaying it in Philadelphia really made a statement about the way that Carnival operates and the entertainment and "wow" factor that they strive for. Overall, I think this spot made people think about Carnival in a positive light, and that's what good advertising should do!

Team One Advertising

Team One Advertising is an agency based in L.A. within the Publicis Groupe holding company. Some clients of Team One Advertising are Lexus, Ritz Carlton, Whole Foods Market, L.A. Animal Services, and The Partnership for a Drug Free America. The print advertisement below was done by Team One Advertising for the Ritz Carlton Spa.

I think that this print ad is very effective, because just by looking at it, the viewer is filled with a sense of relaxation, which afterall is what a spa is all about! I liked that the ad was kept simple, but still got straight to the point. Notice the meditating figure is being held on a platter, as if by a waiter. To me, this sends the message that the Ritz Carlton is at the guest's service, which most people find enjoyable while staying at a hotel. The copy in the upper right hand corner compliments the image very well... "The sudden dissappearance of worldly cares. It's our pleasure." I feel that this sums up the entire message that a spa would like to get across, because spas are a place to escape into a relaxing zone.

Kaplan Thaler Group

The Kaplan Thaler Group is an advertising agency within the Publicis Groupe that is located in New York City. An interesting fact about the Kaplan Thaler Group is that it is one of the few advertising agencies that was started by a woman. In this case, it was founded by Linda Kaplan Thaler (hence the name). Some clients of the Kaplan Thaler Group include Aflac, Proctor & Gamble, Clairol, Pfizer, and Continental Airlines. Below is a spot done for Continental Airlines.



I thought this spot did a good job addressing a current issue in a humorous manner. First of all, everyone that regularly flies knows that a lot of airlines have cut off many services that used to be considered standard due to both rising fuel costs and the downturning economy. I remember being a little girl and loving to go on the airplane, because my mom always ordered me the "special" McDonalds Kids Meal. Not that airplane food was ever anything fabulous, but it gave people something to do while being stuck in their seat for a given period of time. Regardless, I think that this commercial brings up the issue in a humorous way by showing clouds shaped in different food items. As one can see, the passengers are (exaggerating obviously) practically drooling at the mere sight of food as the flight attendants are oblivious and just chatting in the back of the plane. I think that this commercial was effective in pointing out a distinguishing feature that Continental Airlines offers, while entertaining the viewer with a bit of humor!

Fallon Worldwide

Fallon Worldwide is an advertising agency within the Publicis Groupe that is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Some clients of Fallon Worldwide include the following: Nordstrom, Sony, General Mills, Time Magazine, and CitiBank. The following are two televsion spots that were done for CitiBank. These spots highlight the Indentity Theft Solutions feature that is free with all Citi cards.




I thought that these spots were very effective. First of all, I liked how the victim was talking, but it was obvious the person who had taken their card's voice. The spot touched on a very practical issue, because most people know of someone that has been pickpocketed or had some other related misfortune. I thougbt that it was very effective how the actors in the spots looked like normal "every day" people, doing things that were not really out of the ordinary, such as watching T.V. or getting a pedicure. I feel that this made the spot so effective, because most of the time when an innocent person is being a victim of an identity theft situation, they are completely oblivious that it is even occurring. After seeing this, I know I want to make sure my bank has something comparable to Citi's Identity Theft Solutions!

Leo Burnett

Leo Burnett is a very successful advertising agency within the Publicis Groupe that is actually headquartered in my hometown, Chicago, Illinois. Something very unique about Leo Burnett is that he started up his own agency during the Great Depression. Although many predicted that his business would fail, he definitely prospered during this hard time. Some current as well as past clients of Leo Burnett include Marlboro, Allstate, Visa, Kelloggs, Gain, and General Motors. The following is a spot that was done by Leo Burnett's Chicago office for Kelloggs' Special K Cereal.


I think that this spot does a wonderful job of getting the brand's message across to consumers as well as promoting a healthy overall well-being. I thought that it was interesting how the stereotypical things that we hear women say daily in society were switched out by having a man say them. It seemed to me to put things in perspective. Men sound silly saying those things... so women most likely do too. It must just be that we have heard women say things over and over again like this to put themselves down, that is sadly has become something that we accept. Special K cereal is a healthy alternative to many other breakfast choices on the market, and I feel that this campaign definitely succeeded in letting consumers know that worry about their body is not everything in the world and that Special K is a great way to get necessary nutrients and be satisfied (without directly saying any of that). This commercial sort of reminds me of Ogilvy & Mather Toronto's Dove campaign, because of the way that they chose to approach the problem. However, it did not seem too much like this that it lost effectiveness.

Publicis

Publicis is an advertising agency within the Publicis Groupe, which is headquartered in Paris, France. Some clients of Publicis include Proctor & Gamble, Whirlpool, Beck's, L'Oreal, and Nestle. A very impressive fact that I found on the Publicis "Our Work" page of their website is that they hold 22 of the very prestigious Cannes Lions! If that's not impressive, I really do not know what is! Upon reading this statistic, I was quite eager to check out their work! Turns out... Publicis did not dissapoint. The photo below was taken of an advertisement that Publicis' Mumbai office did for their client L'Oreal's Garnier product line.
On the website the technique behind the advertisement was described as the following: "The billboard was tilted at an angle to provide shade to pedestrians and thus demonstrate what the product offers- protection from the sun." I think that this is a great way to show off the L'Oreal product in such a unique way. I also believe that the concept of tilting the "shelter" was effective in getting consumers to look up. I really like the technique that was used, because it assists the consumer in a time that they would probably be in need of the product being advertised. Overall, I thought that this was very effective as well as rewarding to the consumer, because it made them think about what was going on and put things together.

T.A.G. SF

T.A.G. SF is an advertising agency within the Interpublic Group. It is also one of the five Interpublic agencies that make up the McCann Worldgroup. Some clients of TAG include Catalyst Accounting, Westpointe Dental, Kingsway Mall, Community Savings, and IMAX. TAG designed a really unique billboard to advertise for IMAX in Canada. On this billboard, there were two large, wide-open eyes that each had images from the film that was being advertised in IMAX within them. I was not able to find the image, but check it out by clicking this link: http://www.tag-advertising.com/#/outdoor/eyes-of-imax

I liked this billboard, because the eyes were gigantic, much like the IMAX theater, so it gave the appearance that this would be similar to something that one would see if they attended a film at the IMAX theater. I also liked how the viewer looked into the eyes on the billboard to see the image from the movie. I thought that this was a fun, unique detail to have in the ad. This advertisement was reported to have definitely increased attendance to the IMAX theater, and actually surpassed the expectations that were had. I like this advertisemet, because it is very intriguing to the viewer. I think that it is effective overall. Below is a picture of an IMAX theater, so that you can see how massive it actually is! These theaters can even have screens wrapping around the sides of the theater and above the audience. Very cool!

Campbell Mithun

Campbell Mithun is an advertising agency within the Interpublic Group that is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Some of their clients include Burger King, Dish Network, Toro, United Way, and Land O Lakes. Below is a spot that was done Campbell Mithun for Land O Lakes.

I am not sure how I really feel about this spot. If the message that this spot is trying to get across is what I am thinking it is, then I believe that I understand it. It seems that the spot is trying to demonstrate the fact that olive oil is healthier than butter, and that because of this more people are switching to using olive oil in their cooking rather than using butter. This Land O Lakes product offers an alternative to completely making the switch. However, I think that the "Colive" concept is kind of weird. However it is funny how they show the olive with cow print as a "hybrid" between the two. I think that overall this spot is effective, because it gets across the message that the product is healthier without entirely sacrificing butter, which I believe many Americans may appeal to.

Mullen

Mullen is an advertising agency that is part of the Interpublic Group. Although headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Mullen also has offices in Winston-Salem, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and New York. One of their many clients is Timberland. Both of the spots below are from Mullen's campaign for Timberland PRO work boots. The first spot highlights the anti-fatigue technology feature of the Timberland PRO work boots, and the second spot highlights the steel toe protection feature.

I thought that this spot was effective in showing these features of the boot. And I found it interesting that the spot was done in an out of the ordinary setting for seeing work boots. Usually when I think of work boots, I think of a dirty, messy construction site. This spot highlights the concerns that one may have if they do work construction, but in a clever way. For example, it was interesting to see the shoe jumping rope and lifting a weight in the first spot. This shows that the shoe can endure situations where the person wearing the shoe will be doing arduous tasks, such as lifting, but without actually showing that. I thought that this was an interesting way to go about advertising the product. I also think that the medium they chose (film for a TV spot) was a good choice for their target audience, because after a long day, what manual laborer doesn't want to kick their boots off and relax by say watching TV?

Deutsch

Deutsch is an agency within the Interpublic Group that is headquartered in New York City. Some of Deutsch’s clients include Unilever, Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC), Snapple, Direct TV, Volkswagen, and IKEA. While browsing on the Deutsch Inc. website, I stumbled across a really unique advertising campaign that was recently done for IKEA.

This campaign was done by the New York office of Deutsch, and it played off of President Obama's speech when he says "The world has changed, and we must change with it." Through this campaign IKEA encouraged consumers to "embrace change" by advertising around Washington D.C. In Washington D.C.'s Union Station, IKEA furnished a mock Oval Office with all IKEA furniture. In this replica, consumers could sit at the "President's desk" and take a photo or simply just walk around the display. Also, on IKEA's website, there was a page designated to designing your own Oval Office and send their designs to the actual Oval Office. This campaign encouraged consumers to purchase affordable IKEA furniture and be "fiscally responsible," which most people are looking for in a time with a rocky economic situation.

I think that this campaign was really awesome and very effective. I believe that linking an ad campaign with an event that will go down in history (Obama's election) can be very powerful if done right, and I believe that Deutsch did this right. This advertising campaign was definitely socially responsible and not at all offensive. Even if a viewer of this campaign isn't an Obama fan, this ad campaign wouldn't offend them, because it doesn't take a political stance, it just elaborates on something that is happening in the United States.

I encourage you to watch the video on this (I was unable to embed it), but attached a link and directions of how to get to it.

Go to http://www.deutschinc.com/

Click on "Gallery"

Choose "NY"

Click the box with "IKEA Event" in it that shows an IKEA flag (top row, third in from the right)

Hill Holliday

Hill Holliday is an advertising agency within the Interpublic Group. It is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Some clients of Hill Holliday include Dunkin Donuts, Liberty Mutual, Anheuser Busch, Bank of America, and Chili's. Below is a spot that Hill Holliday did for Chili's.

I did not really like this spot, because I felt that it wasn't very unique. I knew I had seen something like it before, so I thought and realized that there is a Nike commercial at a basketball game where the same concept is done. I am not sure which spot was done first, but I think that the Nike one was more interesting. After all, how interesting is playing musical chairs with a couple of colleagues in a conference room when you've already seen musical chairs being done on a much more grand scale at a basketball arena? I think that there are more effective ways for restaurants to sell their product than taking this approach. Another thing about this spot that I found unoriginal is how they show large footage of food being dipped into sauces. I mean really, we've seen that a million times. Who hasn't been to Chili's? And at least I know I've never had food that looked like that when eating there.

Carmichael Lynch

Carmichael Lynch is an advertising agency headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1998, Carmichael Lynch was purchased by the Interpublic Group. Some of their clients are Ginn Resorts, Jack Link's, Harley-Davidson, Porsche, and IKEA. Carmichael Lynch is best known for their recreation-related advertising, especially the work that they have done in print.

I think that the spot below, from the "Dream Bigger" campaign for Ginn Resorts, is really unique, and I really like how it was done. I thought that it was really cool how the spot showed different hotel employees providing services that make one's visit more comfortable (such as making one's bed or fixing a cocktail), however, everything that they were doing was to get the golf course ready. I thought that this ad took an interesting approach to marketing Ginn Resorts.

The print spots that went along with the "Dream Bigger" campaign showed Ginn resorts as also being a family oriented place. In one of the print ads, there are kids jumping on a bed and fairy dust above and around them to show how magical the resorts are for children. (I cannot find the print it with the right to import into this blog, but I attached the link to it below.)

Link to view print ad on Carmichael Lynch website:

http://www.carmichaellynch.com/#0,10,11

McCann Erickson/McCann Worldwide

McCann Erickson is an advertising agency, which was founded by H.K. McCann, with the philosophy on the advertising business as "Truth Well Told." In 1997, the McCann Worldgroup, containing five agencies including McCann Erickson, was created in order to continue producting top-shelf work around the world. Some clients of McCann Worldwide include: UNICEF, General Motors, Unilever, MasterCard, and Coca-Cola.

I was most impressed with the advertising campaign that McCann launched for UNICEF, based on Droga5's original campaign for UNICEF, in efforts for providing increased supplies of clean water to countries that are not as fortunate as we are in the United States. By viewing the video below, taken from "New York Tonight," one can see the various nontraditional methods that were used to approach solving this problem (concerning the lack of clean water available around the world).



I think that this advertising campaign was very effective for many reasons. First of all, this campaign did not preach at people or make them feel badly about the life that they were living compared to the lives that others live. I believed that it was very effective, because of the ways that were chosen to deliver the message, such as asking people if they'd like a bottle of dirty water. I was really impressed by the fact that $1.00 can provide a child with forty days of drinking water. That seems crazy, because in Dallas most vending machines sell a single bottle of water for around $1.25

I thought it was also effective how the vending machines' buttons were labeled with different ailments that one can receive from drinking contaminated or dirty water, such as Typhoid or Hepatitis. I felt that this campaign really put things in perspective as well as encouraging people to help, just by giving one dollar. Overall, seeing how this campaign worked left me feel like doing small things can really help others out. I think McCann Worldwide did a great job on this assignment!

Lowe

Lowe is an advertising agency within the Interpublic Group. Although Lowe is headquartered in London, England, they have major offices in other cities around the world (for example, New York City). Some of Lowe's major clients are Johnson & Johnson, AXE, Stella Artois, and Saab. I first found the television spot below on the Lowe website (where it had subtitles), but then embedded it from youtube. Here is what is said in the commercial:

"He lifted his arms. It was amazing. Just a little here. From this point... to this point. I'll never forget the day I met him. My friends didn't say anything. Everyone sweats a little. And just when I couldn't stand it anymore, he found the solution. Now I love him. Axe Dry. Antiperspirant."

I just did not understand this commercial. I am not a particular fan of most Axe advertising, in which women are swarming a man wearing Axe. However, this spot did not really do it for me either. I understand that the man's sweating problem was highly over-exaggerated, but I found it to just be weird and kind of gross. I would say that no one would be deceived as to the power of Axe antiperspirant, because the commercial was wildly played up. Some people may think that it was funny, but I just thought it was plain gross. I mean who wants to date someone that has sweat spraying out of their armpits constantly?

TM Advertising

TM Advertising is an Interpublic agency that is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Some of their clients include: Nintendo Wii, the American Heart Association, Texas Tourism, Superpages.com, and Nationwide. The following spot is for Nationwide and features Kevin Federline.


I personally do not like this spot and feel that it does a terrible job of getting the client's message across. I really do not understand the whole concept... first Kevin Federline is rapping with girls around him, then he is working at a fast food restaurant. I am unsure that the connection really makes sense here. I suppose that it has potential, but I missed the punchline of how "Life Comes At You Fast" has anything to do with what we have been shown so far in the spot.

I also think that Kevin Federline may not be the best person to have representing one's company. First of all, his connection with his past marriage to Britney Spears does not help him out. Also that was his second marriage, so we are talking two divorces. Not that divorce is always bad, but two doesn't make him look all that jazzy (or reliable I might ad). I just think there would have been better people to choose to feature in this spot and better ways to get the message across than the angle that TM Advertising chose to use in the spot.

The Martin Agency

The Martin Agency is an advertising agency headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Recently, The Martin Agency was named "U.S. Agency of the Year" by AdWeek. One of the Martin Agency's most well-known clients is Geico. However, they also have done work for other big named clients such as Walmart, Hanes, NASCAR, UPS, and BFGoodrich.

I would say that the campaign that The Martin Agency did for Geico was very successful, because different spots ran during the same time period in order to appeal to a broader audience than could be achieved through a single campaign. My personal favorite is the Geico Gecko. However, this may be because I am a girl and I think that talking lizards are cute.



I thought that this spot was effective, because it was sort of saying "What would we do without this cute lizard?" in an indirect way. Since Geico is known for it's Gecko, I thought that this spot worked well for them. It was funny how the "temp" lizard was basically the complete opposite of the Gecko, and of course the commercial ended with their signature line "Geico... 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance." However, if the Gecko was not a well established Geico icon, the spot would most likely not be as appealing to viewers.

Other campaigns that The Martin Agency has done for Geico include "Accidents are bad," featuring a talking pot hole and a talking utility pipe, "Somebody's watching you," featuring a stack of money with eyes, and "Caveman Escape Extinction," featuring some of America's favorite Neanderthals.

DraftFCB

Lexus RX350 & RX450h

South Africa

DraftFCB is an agency within the Interpublic Group that has headquarters in both Chicago and New York. DraftFCB was formed in 2006 with a merger between two agencies, Foote, Cone & Belding and Draft. Some well-known clients of Draft FCB include the following: Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), United States Postal Service, Motorola, EA Games, and Kraft Foods. The spot below and the photo above are both taken from the campaign that DraftFCB's office in Johannesburg, South Africa did for Lexus. This campaign is titled "Namaqualand." On the DraftFCB website, where I found both of these, was a message that I found interesting....

"One in two South Africans would rather choose dream cars over green cars, as they are convinced that hybrids equal underperforming cars. Lexus is the first to deliver the contrary through their "performance with conscience" philosophy."

I thought that this message was interesting, because it seems that in America a lot of people are wrapped up in being green, as well as getting good gas mileage on their vehicle (which hybrids tend to do). I thought these commercials were effective in advertising the car, as well as introducing the hybrid concept in a "chic" way. Since the Lexus RX is offered as either a hybrid or not, it may have been effective for the commercial to possibly show some statistics supporting why the hybrid is a good choice. Because Lexus is a luxury vehicle brand, some people that may have not been interested in owning a hybrid vehicle may change their mind when they see the Lexus is making them. I also thought that the print ad was effective, because although a very chic vehicle, it depicts the car as being "family friendly." This is most likely a concern for many people considering purchasing a luxury vehicle, because to afford a luxury vehicle most people have an established career (and possibly a family). Overall, I think that this campaign is effective, but could have possibly been more effective.

Saatchi & Saatchi

Saatchi & Saatchi is an advertising agency, headquartered in New York, that is part of the Publicis Groupe. Some of their clients include: Sony, Toyota, Proctor and Gamble (Pampers and Tide), Miller Brewing Company (Miller High Life), and ESPN.

I would like to take a closer look at the film (commercial) campaign that Saatchi & Saatchi's Australia office did for the Toyota RAV4, titled "Bad Things Happen Indoors." I had a hard time choosing which of the spots to show, so I posted two below.





I believe that these spots are effective for promoting the RAV4. First of all, they were all around only 15 seconds in duration, and within this small time frame they were able to really get their message across. When you think about it, no one wants to be the victim of either of the situations in the spots above, and almost everyone can relate to when something bad happened inside, whether it was a minor or major incident. Since the Toyota RAV4 is an Sports Utility Vehicle it makes sense that they would want to get customers into their vehicles and out exploring the outdoors. I thought that these spots did a good job of combining humor and then highlighted the practicality of the RAV4. However, one downfall of the commercial in my opinion, would be at the end when the two people jump into the air together. I thought that part kind of cheesy, although I guess it did show people having fun outdoors. Maybe it would have been better to just show the car parked without the people in the end of the spot.

3 Irresponsible Ads & 3 Responsible Ads

Assignment: Find three examples of work that's socially irresponsible and three examples of work that is socially responsible.

Socially Irresponsible Work

Paris Hilton for Carl's Jr.
This spot, although potentially appealing to men, does nothing for me other than making me think that Carl's Jr. really must have been desperate for an idea to have landed on this. Not only is it potentially offensive, but Paris Hilton washing a Bentley in a tiny swimsuit has literally nothing to do with Carl's Jr.'s "New" Burger. If this was really the best idea that they could come up with... all I can say is wow.


The Taco Bell Drive-Thru Diet
Results May Vary... You may need a bigger disclaimer on this one, Taco Bell! This ad is not only rediculous, but could be deemed very deceiving to people that are less educated on nutrition and the food pyramid. The spokesperson for this campaign, Christine, must have a very fast metabolism or just be a freak incident for this dramatic weight loss to occur by eating Taco Bell. It makes you wonder- if she lost this much weight eating Taco Bell, what was she eating before?






Audrina Partridge for Divine Rights of Denim
Really? This reality star is posing so that the viewer can barely see the jeans and shes topless. Is this necessary? I don't think so. There has to be a better way to advertise jeans than this!

Socially Responsible Work

Ogilvy & Mather Toronto for Dove
Although some people may be uncomfortable looking at models in just their undergarmetns, I would say that this is a much more responsible way to show people that way if one is going to do it. By showing all shapes, sizes, and ethnicities of women, this campaign for Real Beauty is very powerful and admirable.

Taxi Toronto for Viagra- "The International Language of Viagra"
Although the product itself is something that can make people feel very uncomfortable, this spot does a wonderful job of marketing the product in a responsible way. First of all, the only word that we understand througout the entire conversation in the spot is "Viagra." For the target market, people who already know what Viagra is, this commercial gets the point across about how great it is without offending anyone. Also, this spot could play when children are in the room, because they would have no idea of what was going on. I feel that all of these factors make the following spot responsible advertising.



Weiden + Kennedy for Nike: "Courage"
This spot is my favorite spot, and maybe this has something to do with the fact that it is advertising done in a socially responsible manner. I really like the Nike Courage television spot, because it shows strengths and forms of courage through all different ways, people,and events. Nike does a fabulous job of summing up courage and integrating so much great footage into this spot in a completely non-offensive way. I love it!

Something Special

Assignment: Find 3 special ads where lots of things come together to make something special.

I know that I have used the spot below in my post about Weiden + Kennedy, however I feel that this advertising campaign done for Coca Cola really brings so many things together to create something that was completely unexpected. I love how the bugs form a "coke bottle" with their bodies to replace the one that they took.


This spot was not done for Honda in the United States, however I think it is really great, because it combines two opposite things to create an entertaining and effective television spot. Who thought an agency could make a spot about loving to hate something so successfully?

I really like this print advertisement done by Weiden + Kennedy, because it combines two very distinct things. Denim/Jeans and America. Although these products were somewhat linked before, Weiden + Kennedy does a great job of giving the viewer a sense of American pride and associating that with their Levis!

I believe that all three of these advertisements do a great job of bringing unlike things together, or in the case of Levi's, bringing things that were loosely associated before to a new level of strength in their association.

Martin/Williams

I was not very familiar with the agency Martin/Williams before I sat down to write this blog post, because we had not really discussed them in class. All I basically knew was that Martin/Williams was an agency, headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, within the Omnicom Group, which consists of various agencies. I went to the Martin/Williams website and stumbled upon a page dedicated to explaining their philosophy as an agency to viewers of the site. I was inspired by what I read, so I thought I would include it here.

Philosophy: "The pull to fall back on what worked before is incredibly strong. For a long time, brands told consumers what to think. Brands were big. Consumers were small. But that's changed. Consumers engage with brands on their terms now. This new world order can break open lucrative new pathways for brands savvy enough, and willing, to take them. To take advantage of this, our entire agency is structured around ideas, literally down to the floor plan. This causes communication that is insightful, lightning-fast, open and pointed. And that creates an environment where never-before-seen ideas, that fit a never-before-seen landscape can emerge."

I found this advertisement and thought that it did a good job of following the philosophy of the company. First of all, most users of yellowpages either look up restaurants or people that they know. I have not heard of anyone just looking up random people. However, this spot was both funny and effectcive because of two main reasons.

1.) Everyone has pictures that have random people in it (NOT to the extent that this guy was going to), and when they see the photo they most likely will just crop the random person out of the frame. However, this does add an extra step in readying a photo for display.

2.) Yellowpages is not about looking up random people. The typical user will not be doing this. So this spot promoted the product in a way that wasn't about what the product is about (atleast generally), which made it interesting and added humor.

Overall, I thought this spot was pretty effective. Yellowpages is not a very exciting product, so it really takes creative talent to be able to get consumers excited about it.

Grey

Grey is a very acclaimed advertising agency headquartered in New York City. Just a few of Grey's clients include: Proctor & Gamble, Canon, E*Trade, T.J. Maxx, and Pfizer. The advertisements we have seen in class from Grey are mostly the E*Trade baby spots. I would have to say that these spots are effective in the way that they are memorable and make viewers laugh. However, from a creative standpoint, it seems that there could be something more interesting and unique to use to convey their message. To me, the E*Trade baby just seems very typical.... It reminds me of that FedEx commercial done by BBDO where they include "the top 10 things needed in a Superbowl advertisement." Although in this case I could say one would be able to replace talking animal with talking baby. Below is a sample of an E*Trade baby spot.

180 (Amsterdam/L.A.)

180 is an advertising agency headquartered in both Amsterdam and Los Angeles. They have done a substantial amount of advertising in the past for Adidas. 180's clients also consist of Sony, Seventh Generation, Amstel, BMW Motorpad, Boost Mobile, HTC, Motorola, Versatel, and Omega. I think that the most intriguing spots done by 180 have been for Adidas. 180 has coined the phrase for Adidas "Impossible is nothing." 180 has done advertising campaigns for Nike promoting the Olympics.

I believe that the following commercial does a great job of portraying a good brand image for Adidas while also appealing to their target audience. The spot does an excellent job of conveying the message to the viewer that anyone, varying in athletic skill level, age, race, or socioeconomic status, can wear or use Adidas products. The spot also does an excellent job of portraying the image that Adidas is a laid back brand that anyone can enjoy.

Jay Walter Thompson (JWT)

J. Walter Thompson, known as JWT for short, is headquartered in New York City. Clients current and non-current of JWT include the following: French's mustard, Raisin Brand Crunch, Cheese Nips Chips, Thrifty Car Rentals, Ragu Pasta Sauce, Heineken, Smirnoff Vodka, Kit Kat, the Special Olympics, and DeBeers Diamonds. My favorite spot done by JWT is for the Special Olympics. I believe that this spot is actually quite inspiring, although at first the viewer is led to think that the message is sad. I love this spot, because it takes an usual approach to getting the message that it wishes to send across to the viewer. I find it very intriguing, and it seems to be very successful in what it is trying to achieve.

Dieste Harmel + Partners

Dieste Harmel & Partners, often just called Dieste, is a hispanic advertising agency headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Although a hispanic agency, Dieste does lots of work geared towards English-speaking audiences as well. Dieste is an agency within the Omnicom Group. Some clients of theirs include: AT&T, the Mexican Consulate, Southwest Airlines, and HBO.

One commercial advertisement that I liked, done by Dieste, is the FFDD spot. You can watch it below.

FFDD- Foo Foo Drink Disorder

I thought that this spot was effective for a male audience or possibly a female audience that really likes beer. And although it was funny, I am not sure if it would offend some women. Obviously FFDD is a joke and no one's mouth is shrinking due to drinking out of a straw. I thought that the spot was funny and effective overall.

TBWA/Chiat/Day

In an Absolut World...

TBWA/Chiat/Day is a rediculously creative advertising agency, headquartered in New York, that is part of the Omnicom Group. Chiat/Day based out of Los Angeles did the famous "Apple 1984" spot, with the creative talents of Lee Clow. When TBWA and Chiat/Day merged the company became TBWA/Chiat/Day. However the Chiat/Day part is only in the United States of America, not abroad. There are so many great advertising campaigns that have come out of TBWA/Chiat/Day it is hard to pick a favorite. However, I do love the campaigns that they have done for Absolut Vodka.

TBWA/Chiat/Day does an amazing job of intriguing the viewer by making their advertisements

about things other than their product, which is vodka. I have not seen one Absolut ad that focuses on the taste of their vodka, and ironically I believe that's why their advertising campaigns have been so successful.

I could not decide which advertisement to include, so I included three (two print and one television commercial) as one can see both above and below. Although Absolut has quite an iconic image with their bottle, this campaign does not focus on the bottle whatsoever (as one can see in the print ads it is small and pictured in the bottom right corner). I feel that this campaign was very effective, because of its lack of focus on the actual vodka as I discussed earlier. I love all three of these advertisements playing off the the name of the vodka "Absolut." by creating different situations that would be in the perfect or "Absoult" world.

I will be very surprised if you don't leave these advertisements feeling intrigued.

Goodby Silverstein and Partners

Goodby Silverstein & Partners is an advertising agency within the Omnicom Group headquartered in San Francisco, California. Some of their many clients include: Rolling Rock, Adobe, Nintendo, and the California Dairy Processing Industry. Some of their most famous work is work that they have done for the California Dairy Processing Industry. Check out the spot below.



This spot does an excellent job of combining humor with the message that the client is trying to get across. At first, the spot seems sort of goofy because of the two men clearing out all of the milk from the shelves of a grocery store. Then I was even more confused when I saw the dog carrying cartons of milk on his back. Well, it all makes sense when the message comes on the screen that "A recent study has shown the calcium may reduce the symptoms of PMS." Finally, the viewer sees a man walk into his house with roses and milk for his wife.

I thought that this spot really did a great job of getting across the point that everyone needs to drink milk. It seems that some adults think that milk is a childish drink or that they do not need it, when in fact everyone needs a good amount of calcium to stay healthy and keep their bones strong. It was also humorous seeing all of the men trying to get milk for their wives in order for them to not be so crabby (with PMS). However, I thought that the humor was light hearted, and I did not see it offending anyone (at least not me, as a women). After all, the husbands were trying to help their wives (and themselves) out!

Young & Rubicam

Ogilvy & Mather

Ogilvy & Mather is an agency within the WPP Group that was founded in 1948 by David Ogilvy, who has had a tremendous impact on the advertising world. There are now 450 Ogilvy & Mather offices in 171 cities around the world. The ad below was done by the Ogilvy & Mather Toronto, Canada office by Janet Vonk and Nancy Kestin.



This spot may be shocking to people the first time that they watch it, particularly because of how we view the beauty industry. The transformation that the model makes from the beginning to the end of the spot is very dramatic and almost looks like an entirely different person. Then, once the model is done being photographed, she goes through many changes to erase her "flaws" within the editing process.

I feel that this spot is very powerful, because it shows the truth while simultaneoulsy promoting beauty products. However, this spot does not preach to the viewer to go buy Dove products. It mostly leaves the viewer (at least in my case) with a feeling that Dove is a real, honest brand. When a company can make a viewer feel that way, I think they have accomplished something great... trust. Also, these spots show men that women are real. They do not look like supermodels in ads, because most likely those supermodels don't even look like that in real life. This commercial really helps boost one's self esteem.

Below is another spot from the Dove Beauty campaign that I feel enstills the same feelings in women and also encourages them to be proactive in helping their children feel the same way that they do.

GSD&M Idea City

GSD&M Idea City is an advertising agency within the Omnicom Agencies that is headquartered in Austin, Texas. It was founded by University of Texas graduates. Some clients of GSD&M Idea City include: BMW, Texas A&M University, BBVA Compass, KOHLER, and the PGA Tour. The following spot is my favorite spot done by GSD&M Idea City for the PGA Tour.

This spot is very humorous, but get's the intended message across. I think that it's kind of cool that the advertisement for a golfing event is done through showing a scene in a supermarket parking lot. To me, this spot says these golfers are very talented, both on and off the course. I thought that it was very effective in getting the message across how the other people in the parking lot did a "golf clap" whent the cart glided into the cart drop off area. I also noticed in the spot that the golfer used many mannerisms often seen on the golf course throughout the process of "shooting" the cart into the "goal." The tag line at the end, "These Guys Are Good," as well as the PGA logo did a great job of wrapping up the spot (and clearing up any confusion for those that may not be familiar with golf).

LatinWorks

LatinWorks is an advertising agency headquartered in Austin, Texas. LatinWorks has recently been named the Multicultural Agency of the Year by AdAge. Some of LatinWorks clients include: HEB, Mars, Domino's Pizza, ESPN Deportes, and Bud Light. My favorite spot done by them is a television commercial titled "Classroom." In this spot, there are people of all cultures being taught how to use different area-related lingo to order a Bud Light around the country. The spot is quite comical, because foreigners are trying to imitate different kinds of speech from all over America.


I believe that this spot is effective, however more geared towards a male audience. The only problem that I can see arising due to this ad is offending foreigners, because their different accents are being made fun of. Although funny, I'm not sure that this spot would go over super well with all consumers of the product.

DDB

Doyle, Dane, Bernbach (DDB) is a very well known advertising agency headquartered in New York City. However, because of the copious work that they have done for Anheuser-Busch, their office in Chicago is their most active office. A lot of great work has come out of their Chicago office for Anheuser-Busch, but my personal favorite is the advertising campaign titled "Real Men of Genius." There are various television spots and radio advertisements within this campaign. The concept behind these ads is truly genius. The spots highlight people that are similar to those we all know. For example... "Bud Light salutes you... Mr. Really Really Really Bad Dancer" or "Bud Light salutes you... Mr. Way to Much Cologne Wearer." I feel that these spots relate to a broad audience as well as being quite humorous. If one does not find one of the particular spots comical, rest assured that one will get to them. I liked how in these ads, DDB linked the product Bud Light, to any average Joe. I thought that this was a lot more effective than using celebrity endorsements to sell products.

DDB has done other work for Budweiser as well, consisting of both the True. campaign and the "Wasssssup?" campaign. In both of these, DDB also incorporates humor. However, I find the "Real Men of Genius" spots to be much more entertaining and enjoyable to watch.

Real Men of Genius

Weiden + Kennedy

Weiden + Kennedy is a very prestigious, large, independent advertising agency headquartered in Portland, Oregon. Weiden + Kennedy is very well known for the extensive work that they have done and currently do for Nike. They have also done some very creative work for Coca-Cola. I have two particular favorite advertisements that Weiden + Kennedy has done (that we have viewed in Advertising Literacy).

The first piece of work was done for Nike, and the ad is titled "Courage." This television spot begins with an image of a basketball player throwing the ball up in the air and the words "Everything you need is already inside" appearing on the screen. For the duration of the spot, there are various images and footage of events, which all involve some form of courage. Playing in the background is a segment of music from the song "All These Things That I've Done" by The Killers. In this segment of music the line repeated is "I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier." I feel that this ad instills a powerful virtue in all of the viewers as well as sending a message of basically anyone can wear Nike. The ad ends with the famous phrase "Just Do It" appearing on the screen. After watching this ad, I felt that I should go out and do something. I feel that others would have this similar feeling after viewing the spot. Since Nike already has an established position in the marketplace, their ads are more just to reinforce or make one remember their brand, because the majority of consumers are educated on the product and are aware of the variety of sportswear as well as equipment that the Nike brand offers.

I was also very impressed with a particular ad campaign that Weiden + Kennedy did for Coca Cola. We watched one of these ads in class and another one from the same campaign was on our first exam in Advertising Literacy. The one that we watched in class is titled "Happiness Factory." In this spot, the viewer sees just what "happens" when they put money into a vending machine. The spot that we saw on our exam was titled "Heist," and in this spot, bugs steal a sleeping man's coke, and replace it by concocting a look-alike "bottle" out of lady bug's bodies. I found these spots very interesting, intriguing, and of course creative.

Nike Courage

Coca Cola "Happiness Factory"

Coca Cola "Heist"