by Sean Owens
Category: Advertising
-
5 Ingredients for your Next Ad Campaign
by Sean Owens
-
Nobody Puts OBJ in the Corner
The NFL may already be the center of focus during the Super Bowl, but that doesn’t stop them from joining the competition for the most memorable advertisement of the night.
If don’t watch the Giants play, you may be unaware that Odell Beckham Jr. has become fairly well-known for his touchdown celebrations. See the below highlight reel for reference:
In a commercial with the slogan “To All the Touchdown Celebrations to Come,” Eli and Odell take on the epic 80’s classic Dirty Dancing. The two tackled the iconic choreography with near perfect accuracy. Although, admittedly, Odell’s moves are a little more polished than Eli’s, but that just adds to the charm of the ad.
The goal of the advertisement is to market for the upcoming season by highlighting the fact that, for most teams, the Super Bowl marks the beginning of a fresh start. For Eli and Odell, that means nailing the perfect touchdown celebration.
The ad is a mix of surprise, nostalgia, and humor, working in unison to secure its spot at the top of the numerous “Best Super Bowl Commercial” lists for weeks to come after the game–that’s free advertising. The cost to run an advertisement during the Super Bowl is worth it if the ad is successful. Not to mention the fact that several of the ads, including this one, go viral online before the game even airs.
How do you think they did?
-Katie Solinski
-
Total Taylor Shift
Taylor Swift, a global pop culture icon and musician, was known as a sweet innocent country artist. When she began her career, her songs quickly gained recognition and she immediately assimilated a loyal fan base. Since the release of her third studio album, Red, the music sensation has transformed her musical style and the way she brands herself.
The media targeted Swift shortly after her rise in popularity. She became known as a ‘heartbreaker’ because she seemingly generated tragic romances, which were the inspiration for many of her songs. She used the media coverage of her unfortunate circumstances, to make a transition from innocent country singer to unapologetic pop sensation.
Her latest album, Reputation, which released on November 10th, is a musical expression of her fight against the media chatter, which, coincidentally, was self-inflicted most of the time.
In her attempt to hang on to the musical trends, has Taylor Swift abandoned her true self, or is she just now showing it to the world? How authentic is Taylor Swift’s brand?
-
Humans of COM Studies: Lauren Arsena
Photo courtesy of Lauren Arsena.
Lauren Arsena entered UNCW in the Fall of 2014. At the time, she knew she was interested in marketing, but was unsure which major would be the best fit for her. She quickly discovered COM and the potential the department had to teach her, not only marketing, but advertising, public relations, and more.
In terms of campus involvement, Lauren is the President of the Association for Campus Entertainment. ACE is the student-programming board at UNCW; they are responsible for a wide variety of events across campus, including the Jesse McCartney concert in Kenan Auditorium last Friday, September 22. Lauren was an integral part of the team that brought Jesse to campus, resulting in the fastest selling show in ACE’s history. The show sold out in less than 90 minutes.
September 22, 2017: Jesse McCartney at the concert on campus. Photo courtesy of Hayley Kane (ACE Photographer).
Lauren first decided to join ACE because she wanted to have a say in planning events for campus, while still having fun. Before becoming the president, Lauren was the Special Events Chair, now known as the Activities chair. She worked on a few of ACE’s traditional events like Last Seahawk Standing and Speed Dating. She created a few new events of her own as well, including Swing Dancing and Salsa Dancing lessons–both free for students. Last fall, she brought an improv group to campus for a Murder Mystery Dinner. Guests interacted with the characters to learn who the killer was.
Lauren (right) and the Spirit Committee Chair Maddie (left) outside of Lumina Theater before one of ACE’s films. Photo courtesy of Hayley Kane (ACE Photographer).
She has gotten the opportunity to apply a lot of the knowledge from her courses to her position in ACE and vice versa. Lauren states, “I’m on the PR/IMC track, so I’ve learned a lot about how to effectively market on social media. ACE also helps me in my classes because I have experience in event planning, leadership, teamwork, and public speaking.”
Along with ACE, Lauren works as a Calendar Assistant for Campus Life. She uses Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to create the calendars in the bathrooms of the Fisher Student Center and Union. Her experience with the Adobe Creative Cloud inspired her to add a Digital Arts minor.
Two of Lauren’s recent calendars. Lately, she has been hiding a Pac-man ghost somewhere in the design. See if you can spot him! Photos courtesy of Lauren Arsena.
After graduation, Lauren would like to work in event planning for a few years. In the long term, she would like to return to school to work on a masters degree in Student Affairs. Her goal is to work with a student-programming board like ACE.
September 26, 2017: Lauren (far right) photographed here with Brandon Stanton (center), the creator of Humans of New York. Brandon’s work is the inspiration behind this post. Photo courtesy of Stefani Norris (right of Brandon).
“Interpersonal COM, public speaking, and PR have taught me how to market myself better to others so I feel more confident and ready to enter the workforce after I graduate.”
By: Katie Solinski
-
“I’d like to buy the world a Coke”
In 1971 Coca-Cola launched one of its very first in-color TV commercials. It was named; “I’d like to buy the world a Coke” and has been called, “one of the best-loved and most influential ads in TV history”. It featured a multicultural cast with actors and actresses from over 20 countries singing together on a hilltop in Italy. All holding a cold bottle of coke in their hands.
The commercial has been called “groundbreaking” and was a part of the Coca-Cola campaign, “It’s the real thing”. The slogan, as well as the commercial was created by Bill Backer (creative director for the Coca-Cola account at McCann). The idea of the commercial came to Backer while in an airport on the way to London. He quickly wrote down the words, “I’d like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company” on a white napkin so that he would not forget it in the morning.
Backer got help from established song writers Roger Cook, Billy Davis and Roger Greenway to write the full song for the commercial. The song became such a hit it was recorded by the New Seekers, a British pop-band. It was so idolized that it was played on the radio as a full-on song.
The lyrics read;
“I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony”
“I’d like to buy the world a Coke”
“And keep it company”
“It’s the real thing—Coke is”
“What the world wants today”
The commercial has received praise throughout the years, and rightfully so. Davis truly captured the essence of Coca-Cola’s brand identity explaining that, Coke was more than a liquid refresher. Saying that, Coke is a “tiny bit of commonality between all people”.
The commercial gave hope to a multicultural world in where a bottle of Coke could be shared together amongst anyone in “perfect harmony”. The Coca-Cola bottle was used as a symbol of peace. By using a multicultural cast the commercial aimed for a world filled with greater acceptance and inclusion. Erasing divisions between people with different skin colors, ethnicities, and backgrounds.
The commercial first aired in 1971. The same year as the US voting age was lowered to 18, Disney World welcomed it’s first visitors, the Pentagon Papers were published, and National Public Radio broadcasted for the first time.
A lot of things were changing at this time. You could possibly argue that in a state of doubt and anti-Vietnam war attitudes, Coca-Cola was ahead of its time releasing this “feel good” commercial focused on friendship and happiness. And it might have been a slight nod against the war oversees.
Take a look at the commercial yourself! Why do you think this became such a hit? Why do you think it resonated with people?
P.S. If you watched Mad Men, the final scene of the show is followed by the Coca-Cola Hilltop commercial. Showcasing just how iconic it was and still is today.
– Olivia Nilsson
-
Who we are when we think no one is looking
First of all, I just want to say that if you want to stay living in a bubble thinking humans are unbiased beings that always have fair and good intentions, maybe you should not read this book…. or maybe you should!
Dataclysm, written by OkCupid co-founder and President Christian Rudder, dives into the deep world of internet data and how our personal data is used to “spy on us, hire and fire us, and sell us stuff we don’t need”. Dataclysm is a book right in its time, since we now spend most a lot of our lives online.
Rudder uses analytics to collect data that explains who we are, what we desire, and want. But also, what we hate, love and fear. He explains that our “true self” is shown when we think no one is looking, however someone always is. Because, the internet is nowhere to hide. If you are on the internet and you are online, you are oh so visible. Just a simple Facebook “Like” can reveal more than you think about a person.
Rudder explains that Facebook knows if you brake up with a boyfriend/girlfriend, if you like Dominos, or if you moved to New York City. And sites like Google, knows if you need a new dress for a formal, if you are gay, angry, lonely, or even racist.
This book is filled with fascinating statistics, and Rudder uses numerous graphs and charts to showcase his findings. This book is eye-opening and should be read by every millennial since our lives are so very deep centered around the internet and the information that we put there. Dataclysm is both a fun read as well as an important one.
I truly recommend this book to anyone who uses the internet! – which is all of you.
– Olivia Nilsson
-
Contagious, by Jonah Berger was all about how things catch on, or become “contagious”. The book started out by talking about a popular restaurant, Barclay Prime. When this restaurant came about, there was almost no advertising involved, but it still became a huge and famous place to eat. Berger begins by talking about how this restaurant became “contagious” by only word of mouth. This made him curious about how other ideas and products spread, and how advertising and word of mouth effects what people will do and buy.
His book was broken into six chapters which were his six principles throughout the book.
The first was social currency. This was all about what makes someone talk about something more than another thing, and how it spreads.
The second was triggers. He believes that people naturally want to keep a conversation going, so if there is a pause or break in the conversation people will be more likely to bring up an idea or product.
Emotion was his next principle. He believes that if someone is passionate about something, then they will be more likely to talk about that thing.
Principle four was called public. He states that if you see someone else doing something, you will be more likely to do that thing too. If someone is talking about and idea or product, or doing something new, you will be more likely to want to try that idea or product for yourself.
Practical value and stories were the last two principles. Practical value was more on the advertising side rather than the word of mouth side. Berger believes that if a product saves money or improves your lifestyle you will be more likely to buy that product. Stories was the last chapter and principle that Berger spoke about. He said that ordinary stories we tell everyday get spread, and if an idea or product is in one of those stories, people will be more likely to buy that product.
This book was all about how ideas and products spread. Berger did a fabulous job of incorporating his own stories and personal events in the book. This book was a super easy and interesting read. I would recommend it for anyone looking to spread an idea or product, or even just if you’re looking for a new book to read.
-Jennifer Howard
IMC Hawks Blog 