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.