Oddly, This Works

Marquette, as an institution, isn't really known for great advertisement. But I think the new approach to get students to fill out their course evaluation forms is great.

I have never, in seven semesters, filled out a course evaluation form. They always come at a bad time, and frankly, I saw no reason to. I figure other kids will, so my opinion probably isn't necessary. Marquette has managed to get around the big obstacle of apathy with this clever campaign. You'll see these posters, and many like them, all over campus. They each have a clever catchphrase and are positioned near exits and entrances, with their simple design and big block of color, they draw the eye pretty well, just like these did as I walked out of Olin Hall.

I have to hand it to 'em. These may not quite surpass my apathetic view on class evals, but hey. I might fill them out. If I have time.

Maybe Its Just Me

The galloping of hooves racing through a coastal backdrop. And astride majestic, thundering steeds...

Fruit?

Yeah. Watch this.

Maybe its just me, but when the apple says "We Riiidee!" I lose it. Every single time. My roomie has the same reaction. In fact, in my apartment, much of the spot's dialogue has become common one-liners. When I put my sunglasses on as I walk out the door, my roomie will remark, in a deep voice, "Wear them well." And I don't think its just us.

Fruit Of The Loom makes underwear. I actually prefer Hanes (they debuted the "tagless" tee a while back) but after seeing this, I'm probably going to buy at least a three-pack of these new Fruit of The Looms.

I think that's where FotL wanted this ad to go. Guys are goofy, and we don't really care if our underwear is sexy, especially our undershirts, so they can't use sex appeal the same way Victoria's Secret does. FotL decided to use humor to debut their new cut of tee, and as far as I'm concerned, it works.

My Feelings Exactly

So. I need a new phone, do I finally cave and go Apple? Or, do I carry on with my less "creative," less "impressive," Android?

Let's see what Samsung has to say about this:

Hilarious. "Dude, you're a barista." I think this new campaign captures the people that were on the same fence as I am perfectly. Apple fanboys will buy the 4S, and no one can argue that many of the iPhone exclusive features aren't impressive, but why do people really buy phones? How often will you really use Siri?

This spot pokes fun at all of the drama that people ascribe to new Apple launches, and makes a grab for the people that just need/want a new phone. It is very much a rational ad, fittingly, as Samsung has always been a rational brand. Even among other electronics companies, Samsung has made many of its spots based on the superiority of their product. 

One thing to touch upon here, though, is that it can be dangerous to mention a competitor in an ad, but Samsung tackled this by not mentioning or focusing on the iPhone's features as well as being pretty classy in their dialogue. They poked fun of someone that anyone would have poked fun at, not labeling them as a silly iPhone user, just a silly barista.

Overall, I think this spot works, but I'm still not sure what phone to buy.

Maybe I'm Not the Target Here...

I got my December issue of Gentleman's Quarterly today, and as I flipped through it, I stumbled upon this Dolce and Gabbana ad...

I'm not a really macho guy, but... yeah. He's naked and I'm not sure I'm okay with that. So, this got me thinking, what makes high end fashion go for this kind of thing? DG isn't the only one who has ads with shirtless guys and while this may be an oversimplification, I don't think there's an overwhelming majority of GQ readers who are also gay. I think DG is betting on the fact that people who buy their products are... vain. I am not cheap, and I love quality, but you won't find me wearing anything from Dolce. I find it too showy, which might be a correlation to why I also dislike this ad.

I digress, DG knows that people who buy their products are willing to drop cash to buy into the emotional appeal that DG offers in its "sexy" image. So, I can see their logic here, but I still find it weird. In fact, I'm not even sure what this guy is selling aside from the image. I'm not the target, but again, that's not the point.

Another Reason to Never Grow Up

I've spoken about my closeted love of video games before, and I would be remiss to not blog about the heartache that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has imparted upon me. You see, in a futile effort to grow up and press on with maturity I gave my XBox to my younger brother a month ago, and I am now crestfallen to see just how amazing the new Modern Warfare is.



Now, this is not a blog about my life, so let's bring it back on topic. Watch this ad, and tell me you don't want to go shoot stuff.

Yeah. That was Jonah Hill. Which, is not all that surprising. CoD is known for celebrity cameos, the ads for the previous Call of Duty iteration featured Kobe Bryant and Jimmy Kimmel ( CoD:BlackOps )The reasoning, I think, is to appeal to a wider base. You see, based on gameplay alone, your average gamer will buy and play CoD because its just a damn good game. The trick here, is to attract people who might not otherwise play the game. I promise you, if you have any video game experience, you WILL enjoy playing this, especially online where you can match wits against other people

So, Activision, the game's developer, is doing two things with this ad; gamers familiar with the game will recognize the sneak peek at weapons and maps featured in the video, and the non-CoD'r will at least be intrigued enough to spend a little time on it.

The aims of this campaign are to entertain, keep fans intrigued, and attract gamers who might not already be fans of Modern Warfare. In these three goals, I think Activision succeeds.

mw3.com

Activision Stock Ticker

You-ification

1960's Mini

MINI has been an icon of the automotive world for a long time, over 45 years. Indeed, it is a symbol of the 60's in Britain and stands as a mascot for foreign cars in the US. So, a car company this old and established must have a hard time impressing younger markets, right?

Wrong. MINI has a new campaign that is aimed almost exclusively at young adults. And in none of them will you see anyone behind the wheel over the age of 30. How do they manage? Well, I think that MINI has focused on a few key elements to describe and enamor their younger audience:
-Individuality = Customization
-Adventure = New designs and products

I signed up for MINI's social media network and started seeing just how many ways I can make my MINI my own, and on top of that just look at this ad, and tell me you don't want to have that kind of fun in your life.




MINI's entire campaign focuses almost exclusively on these two ideas, and speaking as one young adult, it works. I'm signed up for a test drive of the new Countryman next week.

E-mail or Snail-Mail?

As a recent graduate of an American military training program, I have a very definite fondness for letters, and the United States Postal Service (USPS). There is just nothing quite like mail call at the end of a grueling day. Knowing someone cared enough to put pen to paper, especially nowadays, is truly motivating, I know many of my peers, or myself, would have had a much harder time if not for those letters from home. That being said...

The United States Postal service has been losing a great deal of ground to electronic mail, and it is easy to see why. E-mail is free (usually), relatively secure, and much more convenient. It would seem that for most people, receiving an e-vite is as acceptable as an RSVP card in the mail. In fact, the only thing keeping the United States Postal Service afloat right now, are businesses (Read: junk mail). In keeping with this shift in major consumers, the USPS has started a new ad campaign aimed at those customers.

Here, we see the USPS has a new approach, to emphasize the security, and convenience, of traditional mail for businesses to reach their customers. I think it speaks for itself in terms of simplicity and reminding people that it is, in fact, more secure to use paper over an electronic file.

I couldn't find a way to embed the other video in their campaign, but here's a link to it:

Face to Face Ad

Again, we look at the way "snail" mail can be a point of utility and value for a business in communicating with their customers. And, again, it is presented in a simple manner, that makes sense.

Overall, I think that no one would disagree, a letter in the mail will always be better than an email. But, with the "green," movement, and with people finding emails more and more socially acceptable, snail mail will continue to lose ground. However, I doubt the USPS will ever cease to exist.

Link to Washington Post article:

www.washingtonpost.com

Virtual Emotion (but emotion nonetheless)

I may not look it, but I am a fairly avid video gamer. I'm not particularly great at any one game, but I do enjoy wasting a few hours shooting terrorists, zombies, Nazis, or Nazi zombies. That being said, there is a new ad out from Sony that is sort of groundbreaking in its approach.

There are three major video game consoles on the market; Sony has the Playstation, Microsoft the Xbox360, and Nintendo has the Wii. Each of these consoles have certain game franchises which are exclusive to their platforms, in addition to each having a separate network for online gaming against other people. Furthermore, traditionally, the holiday season is the time during which the most anticipated games of the year are released.. So, all of this adds up to a ramp up in commercials for video games starting right around now, as most people cannot afford to buy the flagship game for each system (most people only have one). Often, these commercials are for one specific game, but Sony has done something new, they made a commercial which ties in all fans of Sony, regardless of what franchise they're most in tune with.

To Michael. I'll be honest, when I first watched that, I got goosebumps. Say what you will, but when you accomplish something difficult, virtual or not, there is a definite feeling of pride. This is even more likely with the scope of video games nowadays. Some games have HUNDREDS of hours of gameplay built in, you may well build your character from the ground up, going through missions and tribulations together. You grow attached to your character, whether it be a soldier, a greek mythology figure, a spy, or an adventurer. Sony has capitalized on this emotional connection, to solidify that idea that a video game is more than just a game, it is now, more than ever, a way to escape into a world where you can achieve the impossible.

Sony: Long Live Play
Xbox360
Wii

Beer Keg Capitalism

Its a Friday night, freshman year of college, and you're looking for a party. How can you find a good place to go hang out? In the times of our parents, word of mouth did, and still does, the bulk of the marketing. Someone is cool with the underclassmen and they talk to their friends, who talk to their friends, and so on. Word gets out via text and passes from dorm room to dorm room.


The parties would be simple, a few kegs in a basement, some Christmas lights or black lights strung up, and an iPod plugged into the stereo... But, a new trend has emerged.
Freshmen are demanding better, and they're being rewarded. On a campus as small as Marquette's, there really is only ever three, maybe four, decent, "public" house parties. So, competition is limited, but plays a crucial difference between breaking even and making enough to cover rent. If you have beer, music, and people, it used to be good enough. But now, you can see houses competing for business. Like any other enterprise, they use two methods; marketing, and improving their "product." Upperclassmen are now using mass-texts, Facebook marketing, and Twitter advertising. Parties are themed now, and professional-quality amateur DJs are setting up shop in the basement corner.


How did this happen?
At first, and I think rightly so, people were leery to use social media to market underage drinking. But many college students have grown up with these forms of media and have gotten both saavy and comfortable enough to use them to this end. This is HUGE.


Its a barometer of how these forms of media are integrated into our lives, and affecting our psyches. Which, judging by how much better my weekends have been getting, is positive.

Why, yes, I DO like Megan Fox

We all know Facebook makes its money from advertising, and we all know that they've been saving all of the info we ever typed into a comment box or status update since we got an account in high school. And, yet, it is really uncanny their ability to zero in to what I like, and sell me things I already have. Not just products, but a lifestyle, a set of tastes.

Case in point, one of my "interests," is sailing. Its on my profile though it isn't that pertinent to my day to day life. Still, I always see little ads on my screen for sailing schools and sailing products. Going a step further, a few days a go I tweeted about needing a new jacket, and one of my fellow bloggers tweeted me a link to Atlantis Weather Gear, Atlantis.com, which I checked out. Boom. The next time I logged into Facebook, there it was, did I want to "like," Atlantis Weather Gear?


In addition to products, you can see your entire personality represented in things Facebook thinks you should "like." Do I enjoy hunting? I do.. and country music? Yes... Do I want information on a masters in homeland security? You get the point.

What's even better, is now Facebook has joined Spotify, spotify.com, a music sharing application and the result is a live feed of what your friends are listening to, and an opportunity to check out their personal playlists, you can even tailor a radio station, a la Pandora, but with input that it pulls from your page. I've noticed it has the uncanny ability to play exactly what I wanted, and I never really put in too much information.


None of this is necessarily news, most of us have known it occurred, and we've all heard how great, or terrible, this is. I for one, am aloof. If it makes life better, cool. There's nothing on my page everyone doesn't already know about me anyway.

The Koozie Effect

I'm not sure when it started, but more and more companies are using a student ambassador to serve as a liason for their brand and the communities of students on campus. It is a strategy being used by a huge variety of companies, from Taco Bell, www.tacobell.com, to Southern Tide, southerntide.com, to Zaarly, zaarly.com.

These companies are looking for a means to tap into an existing network provided by the Rep in order to increase their brand awareness on campus. In return, the student gets hands on experience in both an executive and networking role, as well as all the koozies, Croakies, and stickers they and their friends could ask for.

VV Croakies

Indeed, all it takes is one box of branded freebies and a bright student to turn an entire school's Facebook feeds into a rolling slideshow swamped with pictures of friends in branded plastic sunglasses (we call them Rage-Goggles). That is the true power of this Campus Ambassador/Rep, they can make any social gathering into a marketing event. You would have thought my pre-party for Day Glow last Friday was sponsored by Zaarly because of how much of their stuff my friends and I have accumulated.

The truly savvy companies look at the trends and fads on campus, the Rage-Goggles are a prime example, and focus on those for their freebies. I can't even count how many of the above I have, and when I am at a party you'll always see me with a koozie from a brand I'm probably wearing at the time. This instant conversation starter makes me, and all the other kids with the same, into tiny billboards, but unlike a real billboard, I can talk.

So, here's to koozies, Croakies, and rage-goggles, and if you see a purple one anywhere, grab it 'cause that's the only color I'm missing. 

Selling War

Its no secret that the American military establishment works and collaborates with Hollywood, it has proven a fruitful relationship for both since it became a real partnership following World War One. Hollywood gets access to areas and equipment and the Military gets some good PR and advertisement.

Recently, we've seen such films as Battle: Los Angeles, www.battlela.com, which portrays the Marine Corps fairly accurately (The tactics and lingo are slightly off, but they got the most important part, the attitude, correctly) and Battleship, www.battleshipmovie.com, which features the modern US Navy. These films serve almost unapologetically as feature length commercials, everyone knows they aren't winning Academy Awards. And yet, we still flock in droves to watch Marines kill aliens.


There are however, films that seem to depict the negatives of military service, Platoon or Jarhead are notable examples. But in the words of novelist Matthew Swofford, they still work as a recruitment tool, "because the magic brutality of the films celebrates the terrible and despicable beauty of their fighting skills."


So whether they mean to or not, any movie that displays the violence and character of action present in war will serve as a commercial. And, as one of the kids who fell for it, I am totally okay with that.


Sources:
http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2011/09/09/Brandcameo-090911-Warrior-.aspx


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92421139

ADD? More Pills!

It might be the cynical side in me, but while watching Millionaire Match-Maker tonight, a commercial for Intuniv, a new medication for children who have ADHD, came on. It was interesting because I hadn't seen a commercial for an ADD/ADHD medication in a long time, and it raised my eyebrows a little because of the show selection. I mean, let's be honest, when I watch Match-Maker, I know I'm indulging in a bit of trash-TV. I consider it a guilty pleasure, and I know a lot of people who feel the same way. So, that brings us to my point.
Does Intuniv purposely market to the kind of woman/mother who watches that kind of TV? If so... I guess I sort of applaud them for shamelessly picking the correct demographic. What kind of target does that kind of company seek? The Mom who worries if her kid's got ADD, and I apologize for this mindset of mine, but I think that's the sort of adult woman who's watching this stuff at 9pm on a Sunday night. I found the TV spot on YouTube, at 1:07 we see a Mother watching her son do what to me seems like totally normal kid behavior. If I was in a maze at the age of 11 I guess I'd appear like a candidate for an ADD medication as well. The Mom states that the doctor agreed, and then we cut to Happy Family at Breakfast watching the son pack his backpack, then Approving Teacher nods as the son presents a diorama, then karate practice, Happy Family at Dinner, and finally, Happy Family at Board Game Night. The whole commercial seemed so tiredly cliqued that I immiediately didn't take this product seriously. Oh well. I guess my future kids will just have to handle their ADD without a bunch of pills.

Intuniv's official site:
http://www.intuniv.com

The Twitter Friend

I noticed an interesting thing, the other day. I spent some time on the East Coast this summer, and one of the small boutiques near the resort I was staying at, Jimmy and Sook, really sold me. I purchased one of their polos and tweeted about it to a blogger I follow, @GreatLakesPrep, he then did a blog post about the polo. Which was noticed by another blogger, @BowsandBoats, who I then tweeted to about a sweater I purchased as well...

This all sounds very complicated, and it goes on with even more shared purchases and advice from one of us to the other. My point, though, is what this means for the companies who's products we admire. Andy Smith, the owner of Jimmy and Sook, and I have exchanged emails on what the kids at Marquette are into, and what that means for his brand. In the little circle of like-minded people in this area, preppy kids who live the East Coast life here on the Third Coast, Twitter is just one way for small companies that cater to our tastes to directly communicate with us.

It makes me wonder if they realize this, I purchased a belt from Chesapeake Ribbons, @chesapkeribbons, and was rewarded with a tweet back asking me to let them know if everything was what I expected once it arrived... For large companies, Twitter is a novelty, or a way to see big trends. But for the small business, the person who packs my order could well be the one handling their Twitter. The potential for incredibly personal marketing and relations is something that they cannot afford to miss out on.

#FollowMonday:
@GreatLakesPrep
@AnchoredStyle
@KnotBeltCo
@BowsandBoats
@JosephPScannell
@Total_MU_Move

The Few. The Proud. The Really Good at Marketing.

The bane of the college student's summer, the internship. While many of my friends and peers slogged through their time in an office building for credit and a little pay, I enjoyed a different environment. My office was not air-conditioned, I had no desk, and my bosses were a little more vocal.

     I spent the last half of my summer at United States Marine Corps Officer Candidate School in beautiful Quantico, Virginia. I can succinctly describe it as the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, the most fun I never want to have again.

The above video does a great job, though, of showing why, despite the difficulty thousands of college students apply every summer. It has been said that our generation is the most service-oriented in American history, that some kids honestly don't know if they want to join the Peace Corps or the Marine Corps.

It is commercials such as this one that understand that desire to serve, to improve, to be something greater, a part of something, and use those sentiments to attain an end. In this case, the spot educates and inspires those like-minded individuals on what they can do if they possess the determination.

What Brand Am I?

      My name is Gustavo Alan Lopez Villanueva. I was born in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. My parents were migrant workers and emmigrated to the United States when I was 6 years old. And, my brand is Highland Park Whiskey.

      Highland Park Whiskey is best known for the man who founded it, Magnus Eunson. He was a beadle by day, and smuggler of illicit alcohol at night.

      “Although Eunson was never formally trained in the ways of distillery, he was said to be cunning, and sly, and made it through many tough times because of ingenious ability to outsmart the authorities.”

50 Year Bottle

      Highland Park has received a great deal of accolades for its excellence, and as a spirit has the clear social schema of a good time. One look at its website, http://www.highlandpark.co.uk, displays the serious tone these people have. Highland Park is all about producing the highest quality product possible, to continue their legacy. But once you look a little more closely you see how proud they are of their founder's lifestyle, an attitude of chasing victory and success using what little one has.

      Now, there are a great deal of high-end whiskeys, what sets Highland Park apart? Well, it is known and respected as “The Best Spirit in The World.” It stands for tradition, first-class living, and having a backbone. It was a preferred drink of Winston Churchill and various other heads-of-state. Magnus Eunson created this company from nothing; using only wits and cunning he established a distillery that is known worldwide. And that is why I identify with it. I also just plain love whiskey.

      By day, I attend a private Catholic school, am a member of the world's most respected military force, and take both my academics and professional life seriously.

      At night, I loosen my tie and have a good time, never forgetting that without work, there's no play. I pride myself in my wit, taste, and pursuit of excellence. I connect with Highland Park because I, and my family, came from nothing but now know success. I've always been willing to do what it takes to win, no matter what, and my reputation often precedes me. I am known for hard work, my professional appearance and demeanor, and my ability to take what I'm given and turn it into a winner. My brand is Highland Park Whiskey.

Awards won:

http://www.highlandpark.co.uk/news--media-centre/awards

FaceBook Link:

http://www.facebook.com/HighlandParkWhisky