Month: October 2010

Whenever someone mentions McDonalds to me, I immediately crave for the some quarter pounder and McNuggets. Although its unhealthy, their taste, convenience and low priced meals always attracts my grumbling stomach. Building onto Brian Chan’s blog on “Great Reasons to Eat Unhealthy”, I feel like McDonalds’ advertisements are amazingly smart. It’s different to many other advertisements I’ve seen. They are not just some billboards with words or posters with colours and captions. They actually give a lot of thought into it.

Lamppost in downtown Vancouver

Large tissue dispenser to promote the new extra sized meal

Their “healthy approach” in offering salads and vegetables

“The Real Milkshake” – as the cow jump on the trampolines, they “shake” and make real milksakes…

Using fries to incorporate their Wifi availability in McDonald shops

I strongly agree with TzeTzi Pang’s opinion on her most recent blog “Blackberry Playbook? Really?” on the new Blackberry Playbook. She said that she would have never thought of buying a product like iPad, but after seeing Blackberry Playbook she would consider a product like that. I feel like the iPad that many people are dying to have right now is indifferent to any other products Apple sell such as the iPhone or iTouch or even the new released touch screen Nano. They are just made in different sizes with some minor changes! All of these interfaces look the same! If you don’t think so, see for yourself…

The iTouch…

and then the iPhone…

and then the iPad…

Don’t they just look excactly the same?

Now the new Blackberry Playbook is very different. It even offers more than what the iPad offers. The Blackberry Playbook offers the following:

• High-resolution 1024 x 600 pixels widescreen display
• Lightweight at just 0.9 lbs, compared to the iPad’s 1.5 lbs
• 1 GHz dual-core processor
• 1 GB RAM
• Dual HD cameras (3 MP front facing, 5 MP rear facing)
• Supports HD video recording
• Video playback: 1080p HD Video, H.264, MPEG, DivX, WMV
• Audio playback: MP3, AAC, WMA
• HDMI video output

After looking at the Blackberry Playbook, I think I would rather purchase the Blackberry Playbook than the iPad because of its differentiated functions compared to other blackberry products.

THE BLACKBERRY PLAYBOOK!!! 😀

So I was doing some online shopping on TOMS Shoes the other day, and found out one very interesting marketing strategy that I thought was very meaningful and different. This video below shows what they do every year.

Every year, workers and volunteers from TOMS will have a “Shoe Drop” in one selected country to deliver free shoes. Ever pair purchases, TOMS gives one pair of shoes to a child in need. I think this ethical and charitable marketing strategy helped TOMS Shoes build a very strong brand image and customer’s loyalty. After I watched it I was really impressed with what they do and it automatically increased my trust with this brand.

There are many banned commercials out there that are not released. But the question is, why do companies still release their commercials that are obviously unethical, non-educational or inappropriate? Why waste the time and money on something that is going to be banned from the market from seeing? Is this part of their marketing strategy? To produce something that is going to be banned to increase people’s awareness because it is outrageous or inappropriately funny so people will talk about it on channels like YouTube, blogs or forums? Or do they think that the commercials like that are not going to be banned and actually ATTRACT consumers?

Commercials like this: Do YOU think they are acceptable to be released?!