Thank you AdWeek’s AdFreak for another terrific find! Sorry, correction: finds!
Increasingly the ever-so-popular “prank” ads have barraged our televisions and internet usage through hilarious pranks that promote a single product at the very end. These memorable commercials are a must see! But how come commercials like this go viral so quickly compared to others?
First off, it’s something new and exciting. The themes are so ridiculous they’re hilarious at times, and it creates a little bit of excitement in the viewers’ eyes to wonder “what would my reaction have been?”.
Second, though our eyes glance ad advertisements and logos at every waking moment, these ads go above and beyond the expectation we would have about the everyday advertisement! Take the NIVEA Deo StressTest for example; it would take a lot of effort for these marketers to arrange such an ordeal in an extremely professional manner to pull this off successfully. That’s what makes these commercials so outstanding: it’s their ability to make the viewer go “wow”.
Advertisements seem to get bigger and bigger as society and technology improves. And the most memorable and successful commercials have come from those who put the biggest efforts in creativity, dramatic/comedic appeal, and general ridiculousness. These prank ads and the Old Spice commercials are a prime example of these.
Okay, so after Tamar showed us the videos promoting the current “parent” generation to use minivans, I had to try and find something similarly hilarious. Then I found this.
I’m not going to lie, I became thoroughly excited watching this video. As Toyota and Honda change the way we look at minivans, Audi is redefining our view of the good ol’ station wagons. It’s cliche reliability and mother’s-dream-car is changing. With the new, bad-ass commercial that lives up to any man’s perfect fusion of video games and sports cars, the ultimate paintball duel is fought between two of Audi’s 450 horsepower, V-8 engine, hood-mounted paintball gun station wagons. But I assure you, after you watch this video, anyone can agree that these can’t be station wagons.
Haha so Audi’s commercial clearly worked. Targeting the male population towards purchasing a family station wagon through the use of their love of sports cars and video games. They’ve turned this lame loser-cruiser into an elongated, turbo boosted hatchback. I mean, come on, what guy hasn’t thought about having a paintball fight in cars or go-carts?
For the first time in 9 years, McDonald sales in the US have dropped. And even in different countries, McDonalds is expecting to see a decline in their overall sales. But instead of taking a financial approach as to why this is happening, I want to use this blog to evaluate a more social approach.
Let’s face it, times are changing. And while Miller spends the time in his article explaining how McDonald’s competitors are spending their time introducing new lines of “higher quality” products such as Angus beef and wheat or focaccia buns, he misses one key, underlying element: consumers are becoming more health conscious.
source: click photo
In a recent article, Jenn Tekin from Packaged Facts “estimates U.S. retail sales of nutritional supplements exceeded $9 billion in 2009, up 8% over 2008 sales. From 2005 to 2009, the market grew by a total of 26%, fueled by growing consumer awareness about health maintenance, in addition to pressure by the media and government to enforce product accountability.” This change of health consciousness is only expected to increase over the next few years.
Companies such as Nike and BodyBuilding.com have also promoted the idea of a healthy lifestyle through ads such as the ones shown (left Nike, right BodyBuilding.com). Both of these companies are changing the stereotypical idea from “sexy=skinny” to “sexy=fit”. What I find interesting about both of these advertisements is how it strongly relates to both men and women: women want to look attractive, and men want to look attractive to attract beautiful women (hey, sex sells!).
source: click photo
But what’s even more interesting is how advertisements like these are changing the way consumers of all age demographics (Gen X, Gen Y, and even Baby Boomers) are looking at a more health conscious lifestyle. My generation (Gen Y) are currently going through the trend of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, leading way from the unhealthy alternatives. The generation before me (Gen X) are also taking a lead in changing their lifestyle to become healthier in comparison to their high-fat, processed food diets as children as they begin to raise their own. Baby Boomers are also developing into a more health-conscious life as they experience a higher risk of diseases as they age. Their motivation to change their unhealthy lifestyle is again based on the resources available with the new trends.
Okay, so back to the original article: McDonald’s sales are dropping. Well after evaluating the health-trend that has been going on for the last 8 years it’s no wonder McDonalds is finally declining! The target segment is changing, and people are becoming more willing to take the time to spend a little more in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. And though McDonalds has tried to target this consumer by introducing “healthy alternatives” such as salads, these types of consumers do not look at Mickey-D’s as a meal alternative. These consumers would look at a hamburger as a “reward” for their week-long hard work; a little indulgence to satisfy the taste buds. But instead of simply removing products from their product line, McDonalds should engage in product development to improve the overall quality of the burger.
For example, if I decide to eat a burger, I don’t want to buy the cheapest one I can find, I want a high quality, savory burger that will suffice as a reward.
