Rachel von Hahn

Forget about sororities and frats for a minute here and start thinking about yogurt. Greek yogurt to be exact. Chobani, a company specializing in the product, has found great success within the American market in a short period of time.  Great might even be a bit of an understatement, considering CEO (and now billionaire) Hamdi Ulukaya has seen his company’s sales quadruple since 2009. So where did all this success come from? The company has done a fine job of brand positioning, securing its spot at the top of the yogurt ladder in America. Chobani strategically tied itself to the Olympics this year by running commercials that highlight how the brand is both healthy and family friendly. Chobani launched a line of Greek yogurt specifically for children, which made them the first yogurt company  to do so. from a marketing standpoint, when it comes to points of difference, Chobani has it covered. Innovating in the dairy industry has done Chobani very well.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-07-31/chobani-takes-gold-in-the-yogurt-aisle
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-14/hidden-chobani-billionaire-emerges-as-greek-yogurt-soars.html

In 2009, the widely known clothing company, Ralph Lauren, found themselves in hot water over the excessive retouching of a model used in an advertisement for their Blue Label jeans. Filippa Hamilton’s waist was whittled down until it appeared smaller than her head. While Photoshop has become a go-to tool in advertising, digitally enhancing someone to have impossible body proportions is definitely crossing the line. Suddenly, “normal” means looking a certain way that is only achievable with a computer program. In another case of photo-altering abuse, advertisements for CoverGirl were scolded when they displayed models with digitally enhanced eyelashes in an attempt to promote their new mascara products.  To put things simply, it’s false advertising. What ends up on display for the public is not an honest representation. These are just a couple of examples in a world that is becoming increasingly obsessed with post-production perfection. The majority of images in the media may be skewed, but that doesn’t mean society’s perception of beauty should be too. At this time there are no regulations relating to the use of Photoshop in advertisement so it’s important to be aware of what is real and what is merely a product of post-processing.

http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-12-16/news/30523807_1_nad-advertising-standards-authority-misleading-ads