Gemma Goulder's Blog

This year had multiple capturing Super Bowl ads, as usual. However, the one that I still hear talked about is the Budweiser Super Bowl Ad This touching ad, following the life of man and his horse is a complete 180 from the typical, manly men beer commercials that typically raid our TV’s. So what made Budweiser chose to switch things up and go for a more touching feeling to their ads? Whatever it was, it definitely worked as I have never heard so many people talk about one commercial!

Watching the Pepsi Superbowl commercial posted by my teammate Mia, at first I was very confused. Trying to turn up the volume on my computer, it finally clicked that it was meant to be silent! I think this was a very powerful tactic used by Pepsi, especially as a Superbowl commercial. As Mia mentioned, during the Superbowl, there is non-stop noise: the game, parties, chip bags, beer cans etc. etc. By creating that awkward silence, Pepsi would have grabbed everyones attention. I can imagine, at first people, like me, would be confused. “Where did the sound go?!” But then, after getting the message, this commercial provides a sense of humour, while also encouraging diversity and bringing awareness to the deaf community. Like Mia, I think this was an extremely smart move on Pepsi’s behalf, drawing positive attention to themselves through silence, during a time of complete chaos and cheers.

Pinterest is a new social media tool for me, but quickly, I have become obsessed with all the beautiful, and delicious looking pictures it has to offer. From recipes, to travel destinations, this app makes me want to do, eat, travel, work, and spend MORE! According to the blog post How Users Interact with Pinterest, it is the most “powerful visual platform” for consumers, as one can skim through hundreds of pictures before one pops out and catches your particular tastes and desires. The biggest demographic using this site are women aged 25-34…this can be really helpful for organizations wanting to start using this site as a form of media advertising as they can target this specific segment. Personally, I find a strong visual image much more enticing than any other form of advertising. I think Pinterest is a great tool organizations can easily tap into when trying to target specific markets, such as women with children, or young adults such as myself. With 1 billion monthly pageviews, it is a fast growing social media tool. What do you think about the social media site? Would it be a good way for companies to easily and effectively advertise their products? Check it out!

I was sitting watching an episode of The Bachelor (don’t judge me) and saw a cute Huggies baby wipes commercial targeting new dads where they were “put to the test” with everyday child care duties. I thought it would be a good topic to touch upon, but once researching into it a bit more was surprised to find a lot of negative feedback behind them! Huggies has received a lot of backlash in the last year over their “Dad Test” marketing campaign. Dads saying “we’re dads, Huggies, not dummies” are very offended by these commercials targeting the father figures, with titles such as “Spaghetti night with dad”, “Easy-Chair” and “Speed Change with Dad”. I found the commercial very light, funny and charming, surprised by all the backlash they have received. In my opinion, Huggies was obviously trying to make fun of the stereotype that dads don’t take part in the “dirty work” of taking care of a baby, highlighting the dads actually having fun together and seemingly enjoying themselves. Are dads being too sensitive over these commercials or did Huggies really go too far? Take a look at the ads and decide for yourself!

When I think of Marketing the first thing that comes to mind is Advertising and the process behind encouraging consumers to choose a product/service over others that would provide the same need or want. When it comes to advertising, there have been many examples over the years that have been very controversial within the media. Advertisements have been referred to as a job interview with millions of people at once, where you don’t assume a false identity, but probably don’t make a full disclosure (http://www.aef.com/on_campus/classroom/speaker_pres/data/3001). But how far is too far? And what is the difference between direct media advertisement versus product placement in movies by characters people admire? There has always been controversy behind advertising items that can potentially be harmful to ones health or lifestyle, such as cigarettes, alcohol and gambling. In North America today, direct cigarette advertising does not occur anymore like it did previously. However, product placement in the media, especially blockbuster movies promoting the “cool” factor of smoking is more prevalent than ever. For example, the multi-million dollar grossing moving Skyfall, the most recent James Bond movie, has over 20 smoking incidences in which the sleek and sexy characters are smoking cigarette after cigarette. According to a study published in the journal Paediatrics in 2012 claims that for every 500 smoking scenes a child sees in PG-13 movies increases the likelihood of that child trying cigarettes increases by 49% (http://news.health.com/2012/12/10/worst-movie-for-smoking/). In my opinion, this form of subtle advertising is way more influential, especially for a younger generation. In these cases, what makes the product placement of these harmful products in “cool” movies such as James Bond any less controversial than directly advertising in a “cool” ad in the media?

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