Toyota Urges Adults To Be Cool

I have noticed a few car commercials lately that urge adults, more specifically parents, to be cool. The commercials are for two Toyota models, one being the Toyota Highlander and the other the Toyota Venza.

The Highlander is marketed toward parents with young kids, featuring the rear seat entertainment system, the stylish design that does NOT resemble a minivan or station wagon, and a tag line that says "just because your a parent doesn't mean you have to be lame."

The Venza on the other hand is marketed toward parents with older kids, urging them to get out of the house and have fun. It shows young adults commenting on how their parents are getting old, while showing the parents driving the Venza to a biking trail or concert all while featuring the Venza's cargo room, passenger room and bike rack.

I like both of these campaigns, they have the same concept but portrayed in different ways to fit the target market of each model. Overall I think the campaigns are funny and memorable, meaning they are probably successful with brand recognition in their market areas.

Geico; The Gecko, The Caveman and The Crazy Eyes

At one point Geico had three separate television campaigns all airing at once. There was the gecko campaign, the caveman campaign and the campaign with the stack of money that had eyes. Although it was strange to have all three of these running at the same time, the each had different messages. The gecko commercials originated to help people remember the company name and their business. The caveman commercials portrayed the simpleness of getting an insurance quote from Geico and the money campaign showed the savings that Geico customers could receive.

All of the commercials were funny, and successful in portraying their message. However, my favorite is the gecko, and I am glad that Geico is still using that character in some of their advertising. I am also glad that they have dropped the other campaigns because having so many different characters can be confusing and can weaken the brand personality and recognition.

Kim Kardashian Sues Over Look-A-Like Commercial

When I first saw the Old Navy "Super C-U-T-E" commercial, I thought the actress was Kim Kardashian. Turns out I am not the only one, the web was buzzing with comments about the celebrity's look-a-like, Melissa Molinaro,  who is seen singing and dancing in the commercial.

Now Kardashian is suing Old Navy for using the look-a-like actress, stating that her fans might get confused. You can read the Yahoo article here: http://omg.yahoo.com/news/kim-kardashian-sues-old-navy-over-lookalike-in-ads/67685

This is the Old Navy commercial:

Amazon Kindle Friends Commercial Mocks Mac

Earlier this month I posted about the new T-Mobile commercials and how they are too similar to the Mac vs. PC commercials of the past. You can view that post here: http://maureenglassonadgirl.blogspot.com/2011/07/t-mobile-copy-cat-ads.html I have recently spotted another Mac commercial copycat. This time it is a commercial for the Amazon Kindle. The commercial style is very similar to the Mac vs PC campaign and the T-Mobile campaign, with the same white background, two opposing characters and light background music.

I am guessing that at this point there is some strong research showing the effectiveness of this advertising style, and assuming that is the reason for so many similar commercials. However, I have to say, I would like a little more creativity in these commercials. The companies are certainly big enough to command a creative agency, so why follow the template designed by Mac?

Either way, the advertisements are effective in portraying the positive attributes of the highlighted product, in this case the Kindle.

If you are not sure what the Mac vs. PC campaign that I am referring to is, here is an example:

Magazine Ads To Remeber

I came across an article on the AdFreak blog that showed 10 very out of the box magazine ads. I love these ads because they prove that print advertising has the ability to still be out of the box and attention-grabbing. To see the AdFreak article go here: http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/10-great-magazine-ads-dont-just-sit-there-looking-pretty-132401

These are two of my favorites from the article. First there is an ad for Wonderbra, this ad is so simple, but so creative as well. It represents the brand well and gives readers something to do. Second is an ad for tanning lotion, it is a very simple ad as well, but is useful as a reflector to tan your face. I love the creativity of these ads and I hope that one day I will be able to work with accounts that encourage this style of advertising.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith Drive a Dodge Caravan

I recently watched Mr. & Mrs. Smith. I haven't seen this movie in years, and this time I noticed a lot of product placements. In one scene they are blowing holes through the walls of their house while attacking each other, however their Sub Zero refrigerator works well as a shield for Brad Pitt's character. My favorite product placement in this movie though was the Dodge Caravan.

While trying to escape from the assassins that are hunting them, Mr. & Mrs. Smith 'borrow' their neighbors Dodge Caravan minivan and end up in a high speed shoot out on the highway. It is amazing that even while they are being attacked by three cars of assassins, they manage to feature the Caravan's easy seat removal, as well as the amount of cargo that can be held in the trunk. They also show the automatic trunk and side door open/close buttons on the roof between the front seats.

My favorite part, though, is when the feature the dual sliding side doors and Mr. Smith catches an enemy jumping into the van through one of the side doors and smoothly pushes him out the other side. And get this. . .he says "the doors are handy". . .haha I LOVE IT!

Sexy Shoes in the City

Sex and the City is a show known for is glamorous fashion and exciting portrayal of the city life. Naturally, the show is full of product placements. Especially fashion brand product placements, including shoes. And anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE shoes!

High end brands such as Louboutins and Manolo Blahniks are shown quite often. One episode is even centered around Carrie having her Manolos stolen at a party and the hostess lecturing Carrie on buying shoes that cost around $500.

In the first movie, there is another small plot line surrounding a different pair of Manolos. When Carrie leaves her new shoes at the apartment that she and Mr. Big are selling after their breakup she has to go back before she loses them. She runs into Mr. Big there, who then proposes to her using one of the shoes. With a character like Carrie who is very fashion oriented, the shoe placements add a reality to the show. Of course in real life, I am not sure that a writer could afford so many pairs of $500 shoes. . .but that is why this isn't a reality show.

Jello Tempts Adults

Jell-O recently came out with a new product called Temptations, which is a ready-made dessert line with flavors like cheesecake, lemon meringue, french silk and more. The new line is targeted at adults, although kids would like the product as well. The packaging is clearly aimed toward adults, however for a brand that is mostly known for quick and easy gelatin snacks that are perfect for kids lunches, it could be very difficult to attract adults to their new line of dessert products.

Their solution? Funny commercials that make both adults and kids laugh. Surprisingly, I think the commercials really portray what Jell-O is going for here, it may have been a kids brand before but Temptations are for adults only! Check out the commercials below.

Staples and The Office

One of my favorite television shows is The Office. I'm sure everyone has at least heard of this show, and it as a huge fan base. The show is about an office of employees that work for a paper company, and their daily struggle with their crazy boss.

While the Dunder-Mifflin Paper Company is a fictional business, their main competition is a company that we see quite often; Staples. This is a great product placement, because they are always shown competing with Staples for business. In one episode a salesman, Dwight, even goes to work at Staples, eventually coming back to Dunder-Mifflin though. The picture above shows a scene from this episode, other product placements that you can see are EPSON, Kodak, and Canon.

This is a great example of how product placement can make a program seem more realistic to the viewers. By adding a real life competitor, viewers can better understand the type and size of the Dunder-Mifflin Paper Company.

Mayhem

http://www.facebook.com/#!/mayhemhere

I absolutely love the Allstate campaign with the 'Mayhem' guy. The commercials are very funny, while still getting a point across to the consumer; Mayhem can strike at any moment. If you haven't seen the commercials, they consist of an actor playing the part of 'Mayhem'. He acts out different scenarios that all end with major damage to an automobile. There are a couple examples below.

It's not just the commercials that I love about this campaign though. 'Mayhem' has a strong Facebook presence as well, with almost one million people that 'like' the page. Followers like to post their own experiences with mayhem, like "I am the pack of gum you forgot to take out of your pocket when you started the wash" and "I am the in ground pool at the house you just bought... you are opening it up for the summer and I'm 3/4 full of water when the liner falls off". You can check out the Mayhem Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/mayhemhere

This kind of two way social communication makes consumers feel connected to the campaign and therefore they feel closer to the brand. Eventually they may chose to change their car insurance to Allstate, and be protected from Mayhem, in the meantime we can all watch the commercials and have a good laugh!

 

Hillshire Farms. . .Go Meat?

I was reading the AdFreak blog today and saw that they had a post on the new Hillshire Farms commercial. I saw this commercial yesterday and was thinking the same thing that many people were. . .where is the tag line? Hillshire Farms had made their tag line, "Go Meat!", very popular with their previous campaigns. However they attempted something different with this new commercial, trying to target women, but I have to say that I prefer the old commercials. You can read the AdFreak comments here: http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/hillshire-farm-tries-and-fails-move-beyond-go-meat-133184


Go Meat Commercial:

New Commercial:

Ford Product Placements Target Young Market

I noticed some product placements for Ford on my favorite fall and winter television shows. First I saw the Ford Fiesta appear on Vampire Diaries, driven by Caroline. They also integrated television commercials, digital and print advertising in the campaign, using the show's name and characters. Next I saw the Ford Focus given away as a prize on America's Next Top Model.

With these new placements it appears that Ford is targeting a younger market for these two models. By choosing these two shows to showcase their cars, they are targeting a teen to young adult market, instead of the mature adult market that many cars are marketed toward.

Pure Michigan

http://ref.michigan.org/mtr/marketing/ads.asp#2010

Today is the 4th of July, and it reminds me that when it comes to spending time outdoors and enjoying your environment, there is no better place to do it than Michigan.

http://ref.michigan.org/mtr/marketing/ads.asp#2010

The Pure Michigan ads make Michiganders proud of our state and its wonderful opportunities for adventure. The voice for this campaign is Michigan's own Tim Allen, who claims that this is some of his best work, and all of the footage is filmed on site in Michigan. In 2009 Forbes named the campaign #6 in its 10 best travel campaigns of all time.

The campaign began in 2009 and is funded by the state and private investors. Last month private investors contributed another $3 million to expand the Pure Michigan campaign to other states, the state government matches every dollar that the private contributors make. If you haven't seen the ads yet, you can see them all here: http://www.youtube.com/user/puremichigan?nrc=blog. Also check out michigan.org for ways to discover Pure Michigan!

State & Main

This is a scene from the 2000 movie State and Main. The scene shows the director (William H. Macy) and his partner (David Paymer) considering adding a product placement to their movie because they need the money. The particularly funny part of this is that the brand is a .com and the movie takes place in the 1800's. Eventually they include the brand and get their money.

My dad gets a real kick out of this plot in the movie. He is very aware of product placements, with a daughter like me he has to be! However, with all of his product placement knowledge, I can still guarantee that if you mention product placement to him, this movie will be among the first examples that he brings up.

I like this example as well because it shows that product placement is not as easy as some might assume. It is not simply throwing products into movies and television shows. Product placement is a carefully thought out process of matching the products with the target markets of the programs and integrating them in a realistic and subtle way. Adding Bazoomer.com to an 1800's movie is not what I would call a carefully considered product placement, but it does make for a funny plot line!

Subaru

I have noticed a few Subaru commercials recently that I really like. The commercials are funny in a cute way. They have each grabbed my attention at different times, however I could only remember the brand in two of them.

I still think the commercials are great though. They each show different aspects of the car, the first one shows the adventurous purpose, while the second shows the safety and family oriented side of Subaru, the last one shows the brand loyalty that Subaru consumers have. From what I have heard from Subaru owners, it is a brand cult that has a very loyal following. I am a Jeep girl myself, but in the end the commercials are cute and funny while getting the brand personality across, which makes them successful I think.

T-Mobile Copy Cat Ads

When I first saw the T-Mobile commercials with the all white background, cool T-Mobile girl and clueless guy, I was very confused. They were almost an exact copy of the Mac vs. PC commercials. The obvious difference that caught my eye was that the commercial was comparing the T-Mobile My Touch 4G to the Apple iPhone.

The ads are, indeed, a blatant copy of the Mac advertisements that preceded them on television. I am not sure what the research behind this campaign was, its possible that T-Mobile might be piggybacking on the success of the Mac commercials and the positive brand image that Apple maintains. The web is buzzing with consumers who are calling T-Mobile a "copycat" and Mac fans upset with the company.

However. . . the ad was successful in grabbing attention. Can you remember the T-Mobile campaign before this one? I can't.