As I sit here celebrating the most recent Canucks victory (Schneiderman’s 5th shutout of the season!), I can’t help but think how the shortened hockey season is nearing its end. But really, how fast has this term has gone by?! It was only a dozen weeks ago when we started the marketing project, but it’s been lots of fun working with Douglas, Mark, Erin and GUMBALL. Just kidding, I mean Zoe.

We started out with Assignment 1, with what we thought we had aced, but that was not the case. Instead, we were very humbled by the marking and with the feedback we received from the rubric. As a group, Team 4 actually ended up bonding over the first assignment. This was when we also realized how helpful the rubric was for our following assignments. Assignment 2 ended up being more on par with what we had expected our mark to be, but we thought that the instructions regarding the segmentation bases were a bit confusing. After a few tries, we eventually figured it out it was segmenting based on target markets. Now off to Assignment 3 – this assignment turned out to be more focused on creativity than anything else. We spent lots of time filming, storyboarding and editing clips, but we underestimated the time that it would take to put all the clips together for a 7 minute video. Though this assignment did wonders for us to learn about the fancy features in the CLC, it was also harder to have everyone equally contribute to the editing process when everyone had different experiences with film editing. Looking back, it seemed as if we should have looked more at the big picture as a whole. We’ve had some ups and downs over the term, but it was great getting to work with such motivated and high-achieving, creative students.

In response to Erin’s post, On the Edge of GoogleChrome, she blogs about how an internet user’s individualism can shape how the internet can be used. With Lady Gaga as GoogleChrome’s front spokesperson, the main question that comes to mind for me is if advertising with celebrities is that much more beneficial for the company?

Yes, Lady Gaga appeals to a wide young-adult demographic with her constant social media focus, but would this emphasis entice a follow-up to her fans to use GoogleChrome? It is, after all, a new platform – it’s not Polaroid or twitter, which can be handled easily on mobile phones – but rather a different type of browser, most often used on laptops or computers. Lady Gaga designed a Polaroid that was supposed to appeal to those with a personal flare, but it couldn’t have looked more common if it was made otherwise. So where does that thought come in when GoogleChrome promotes Lady Gaga as its main “inspiring figure that encourages individuality”?

Many technology companies have recently added celebrities to their face of the organization. Alicia Keys notoriously became Blackberry’s creative director with no avail towards BBRY’s new branding. Her tweets following the unveil of her new position at the company came from a desktop. Oprah Winfrey famously became the middle of a PR-image debacle when she endorsed the Microsoft Surface, a fellow Apple competitor, from – guess what – her Apple iPad.

With the amount of marketing power celebrities are given, there’s no wonder that tech companies are furiously arranging for these PR stints.

Not sure if anyone out there is reading this, but if you’re a male, how are those Bic pens treating you so far? Comfortable? Cushion-y? Just a perfect fit for your hand? If you’re a female, have you always thought that something didn’t seem quite right when you were writing? Well, there’s no need to fret now, ladies – Bic unleashed their new product line in late 2012: Bic For Her pens.

Given Ellen’s hilarious monologue, this new line by Bic has since gone viral, allowing them to garner free and shameless publicity. What’s more is that many of the Amazon reviews are amusingly mocking and ridiculing these ‘lady’ pens.

In a world where gender stereotypes are perpetuated among social media and even politics, this new line by Bic has only further intensified this matter. It’s not the fact that Bic intentionally created pink and purple pastel pens for every-day use, but the fact they specifically targeted women for these pens. What happens if a man wants to use the pink pastel pen? Or even more horrendous as a thought, what if a female wants to use a green pen?

I kind of already mentioned that products through effective marketing do have the ability to idealize and embellish certain ideologies (see: this post). So what happens when a taboo topic like drugs is directly named as an edible product?

Let’s take a look at Redux Beverages’ star product: Cocaine. Cocaine is just your average high-caffeine energy drink – similar to Monster and Red Bull – except that it contains three times more caffeine. Cocaine can even be consumed as an energy supplement (in pill form, of course). For the short time it was found in convenience stores, many complaints were directed towards the marketing campaign, suggesting that “Cocaine glamorizes and legitimises the illegal drug cocaine”.

While the manufacturers believe that their consumers are smart enough to understand that Cocaine does, in fact, not contain any real trace of the drug, Max Barry hints in his blog that those selling this product also underestimate the cleverness of their consumers.

And it occurred to me that whenever I hear a company telling their customers how smart they are, it seems they’re selling a stupid product. […] According to its web site, the company changed its name “to better clarify its identity[.]” That’s good to know. I’d thought they did it just so people wouldn’t realize they were the same pack of lying, murderous bastards. – Max Barry

And if Barry is correct, does it matter that Redux Beverages then rebranded and renamed this energy drink, ‘No Name’ in regards to the many complaints and the FDA’s decision to pull it off the market? Or will the intelligent customers “realize that they were the same pack of lying, murderous bastards”?

It might be a slight understatement to say that Best Buy hasn’t had one of its best opening quarters compared to the last few years. On January 31^st, almost 900 employees around Canada went to work to find that many of the Best Buy doors were closed until further notice. Why? Some analysts chalked it up to “lousy customer service” which contributed to the tanking in-store purchasing, while others lamented over the statistics from the post-Christmas shopping season. With this sort of backlash in the news being released into the public, it is hard for Best Buy to maintain customer loyalty while the threat of online-shopping seems to be more alarming than ever.

But no fear to be had… Best Buy released its coveted Superbowl commercial just days later which starred Amy Poehler, a famed comedian following her success as a writer, actress and recent Golden Globe stint, in an attempt to promote Best Buy’s in-house sales and attract other members, such as females, who may not be frequent shoppers at the store.

To counter Cowan’s article (see: first link), Poehler endorses the fact that Best Buy employees are ready to help by bombarding questions to the ‘expert’ in the span of a 60-second commercial. This type of social referencing in Best Buy’s marketing can be quite effective by narrowing the burgeoning gap between male and female shoppers – it provides an indirect aspirational group to be a part of. Considering Poehler’s style of comedy and target audience are to those who find her allusive, witty humour to be an attractive trait, this marketing strategy could be a touchdown for Best Buy in the future. I mean, I’d definitely go to Best Buy to buy my electronics if I could bump into Amy Poehler there while she was shopping.

Whether you’re relaxing at home with a glass of Merlot or downing a keg at a party with friends on a Saturday night, let’s face it – one of the most lucrative marketing sectors in the food and beverage industry today is alcoholic beverages. Molson Coors and its subsidiary Molson Canadian frequently advertise at large events including the Formula One race to the NHL hockey games inside arenas. Considered one of the marketing giants in Canada, Molson Canadian’s products’ images scream patriotism through mottos like “This is our land” and “made from Canada”. Molson Canadian’s most recent feat in their marketing campaign is a video uploaded called Canadian National Canthem which features a group of people playing ‘O Canada’ on Molson Canadian beer cans and bottles.

Yet this new campaign which spews subtle patriotism and their second annual Red Leaf Project to promote ‘greenness’ and environmental awareness is still a complete flip to the message that their parent manufacturer is sending to the public by advertising in men’s lifestyle magazines (e.g. Playboy and FHM). Whereas Molson Canadian thrives off of marketing towards young adults who are passionate about their country and the Canadian lifestyle by branding the beer products as leisure, everyday beverages to be consumed among an active, confident group of friends as a whole entity, Molson Coors conversely labels their products as part of a culture that seeks to commodify female sexuality, while accentuating male aplomb in targeting both genders separately.

“We’re letting [the men] know that while other beers are not doing much for their social life, we’re going to great personal expense to bring women into your love-basement grotto,” said Wright (associate creative director).

With many other brands of beer, such as Budweiser and Corona, on the market, this example of a misleading advertising claim may contribute to the superfluous topic of branding sexuality with alcohol products. In an age when ‘Gen Y’-ers or ‘Millennials’ are largely influenced by media, these incongruous marketing campaigns created by Molson Coors and its subsidiary, Molson Canada, may have a significant effect on how growing young adults view themselves – their own identity – and their respective peers as unique individuals over the consumption of these types of beverages.

Sources:

Photo credit: http://www.advertolog.com/molson/billboard/prairies-10022155/

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising/molson-talks-separately-men-women-63551

http://www.marketingmag.ca/news/marketer-news/molson-goes-local-with-the-return-of-red-leaf-53211