Month: November 2010

This series of John Smith beer commercials extend the premise of this blog. The intent of this blog, however, was to offer a perspective on beer adverts in international countries. I don’t believe that John Smith’s is sold in North America, but in the U.K., the product has established itself as one of the most competitive products on the market.

The company launched this campaign of commercials approximately ten years ago (don’t quote me on that one), in order to establish brand awareness in the British community. The commercials are evidently targeted for that particular market segment, as they have designed a personality for their brand. The product has a face behind it: that overweight, single, caring father who enjoys himself a good time. Having said that, what part of the Western world does not relate to that kind of branding on a certain level?

This blog marks a return to the original theme of my blog, alcoholic marketing. I believe this commercial to be somewhat confusing and not very amusing. It features absurdly dressed historic sugar plantation owners and loud explosions, but the point of the commercial is somewhat misconstrued. “The thinking man’s rum,” as the man states, shows no connection to destroying an alligator. But, perhaps that is the point of the commercial, which serves to offend the regular consumer of rum. In researching this commercial, I found that it also raised some controversy over the portrayal of animal cruelty. While this is unfortunate and I can sympathize with the producer of the commercial, as a marketer, you must be incredibly responsible in the messages that your commercial conveys.

https://www.vista.ubc.ca/webct/urw/lc5116011.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct

Jesse,

You do raise an important point here. Do the benefits of airing a Superbowl commercial outweigh the astronomical costs? I believe that this is often times very hit and miss, meaning that sometimes it is profitable, and other times, not so much. I think an important point to consider is the fact that year after year, we see companies in similar business sectors advertising their product. A perfect example would be Budweiser (as you’ve mentioned above). Bud Light, Heinekin, and many other direct competitors air commercials consistently during the Superbowl. They must be turning a profit if they keep coming back year after year.

A few weeks ago, I blogged on the Miller High Life commercial that lasted for 1 second. Check it out. It offers insight as to how these companies can cut costs of paying for these astounding airing costs.

Regards,

Matt

Think about how many people you know who drink coke? Do your parents drink coke? What about their friends? Personally, I have elder family members that were avid Coke fans, and have always seen Coke as a product consumed by all kinds of people. I’m beginning to realize that more and more, young adults and children will drink Coke at lunch, or in the morning. When I see my parents drink Coke, it is certainly once in a blue moon. I think Coke has realized their target segment and have established a marketing strategy directly related to that segment. In a generation where video-gaming has captivated the minds of teens and young adults alike, captivating this segment can be understandably difficult. This commercial, featuring the theme of the grossly violent video-game, Grand Theft Auto, shows the viewer a peaceful side of Coke in a growingly violent generation.

Drink Coke, and you will have a good day! This message will sell anyone, the problem is to get people to believe it.

This commercial advertises the popular energy drink Amp. The company has shown that they’ve identified their target segment and successfully positioned themselves within that target segment. The commercial features popular hockey goalkeepers yelling insults at each other with lightning fast response times, only throwing off one of the keepers yells an insult in a foreign language. Airing this kind of commercial in Western Canada, particularly Vancouver, is a very strategic decision by management. They are targeting avid hockey fans of a younger generation that are familiar with the explicative’s bantered between the goalkeepers. This commercial grabs the attention of this target segment, and then tells them that you can achieve lightning fast reaction times if they consume the featured energy drink.