Month: October 2010

Nike is targeting a new segment with their Nike Air Jordan Gucci special edition shoes.  Nike actually combines 3 major brand in this shoe.  They combine Nike, Jordan and Gucci to make the shoe very attractive and luxurious.  Nike is trying to target a different demographic with these shoes.  They want a demographic who has a higher income level and those who value luxury.

These shoes are very expensive and Gucci must believe in Nike to let them put their brand on Nike’s products.  I believe this puts Nikes ahead of their competition because Nike is the only sporting goods company that has collaborated with a high end brand such as Gucci.

This is a Megan Fox billboard for Emporio Armani women’s underwear in Los Angeles, California.  I am sure this distracts a lot of male drivers that pass along this street.

So the question is if sex really sells and if it is ethical to do so.

I believe that it works and male consumers often buy unnecessary products due to the model endorsing it or due to an attractive saleswoman selling it.  This happens a lot and I am sure a lot of men experience post purchase dissonance afterwards.  It is just hard for a man to ignore an attractive lady and say no to her.  Marketing executives know this “weakness” of men and cunningly take advantage of it.

As for women, this ad also works because women all see or hear how men go crazy at the sight of Megan Fox and how they treat her as is she is a goddess.  Women who see this kind of behavior might like that king of attention and try to emulate Megan Fox.  This leads to purchasing clothes that Megan Fox wears which would make Emporio Armani look good and appealing.

I think it is not very ethical to use women like this in ads because it seems to objectify women a lot.  But I am aware that in this modern age that we live in, it is quickly becoming a trend for women to be seen like this where as it would cause a controversy if this ad was shown 100 years ago.

Apple’s products just keep on getting better and better.  Just when you think they cannot get any better, they come right out and introduce a new amazing product.  What I seem to notice about Apple is that their products are so excellent that their competition had no chance of competing at all. The only real competition they have is against themselves so they try to outdo their own product every time. Like for example is their new Macbook Air.  They used to sell this amazingly thin, lightweight laptop for around $1600 but now they sell it for around $999 without compromising quality.  It is truly amazing what they are doing and their marketing team is doing an awesome job making their products very desirable that everybody wants one even if they do not need it.  I for one am a big fanboy of Apple.

I would like to comment on Anawin’s blog entry about Lebron James’s highly publicized and controversial “The Decision”.

LeBron James is one of my favorite basketball players and the response from his televised “Decision” has sparked many criticisms and negative feedback.  A lot of people are also saying that it was a huge marketing mistake and he destroyed his brand because of this. I would like to disagree with everyone about this.  I do not think Lebron deserves the criticisms and the negativity of everyone.

The nationally televised “Decision” was a huge success in my opinion because it generated $6 million dollars in ad revenue and it had almost 10 million viewers in the United States alone.  The show was basically just a professional athlete announcing where he is going to play next season and it still generated that much buzz and interest in the media and public.  When had a man’s decision been able to generate that much money and viewers? I do not think has ever happened before.  He also donated all the revenue to the Boys and Girls Clubs which is a charity for underprivileged children.  In my opinion, it was a big marketing success and Lebron is not getting enough credit for this excellent marketing strategy.