Lemme Upgrade ya

Beyonce is on everything. American express, Fragrances, House of Derion, Pepsi, Disney, and she even has her own phone. If Beyonce is the spokesperson for everything , what is going to set these brands apart. I feel likebeyonce is a great entertainer and should be promoting a few things, but she doesnt make me wanna buy anything, but her music. I also feel like this is taking beyonce's equity down , especially when she started doing commercials for Direct TV. REALLY BEYONCE ? REALLY? I am sure its not hurting her at all but it makes her seem less classy everytime i see her in an ad for something. She has "upgraded" a few to many brands for my liking.

Sampling

During thanksgiving break i was reading through a few Details magazines and looking at all the gragrance ads. I was thinking what sets any of these ads apart. They all position themselves as fragrances that will make you sexy. The only part of the ads that made me the little bit interested was the sampling. Just becuse Tom fords new fragrance has a bottle inbetween a ladies legs covering her "lady areas" does not make any one more attractive, it actually has a horrid smell. So i finally decided that "light blue" By D&G had the most pleasant smell. The ad itself was'nt appealing to me, even being a gay man, but i still feel like i am going to purchase the fragrance.

Holi-DUH? WHAT?

As part of Hyundai's new holiday sales event, they launched an ad campaign centered around the word "duh." The event is called the Big Duh Holiday Sales Event, and here's one of the tv advertisements for it:

Obviously, this ad is unique and quirky and catches your attention. But is it in a positive way? Cody and I first saw this commercial a few weeks ago when we were watching tv together, and actually got a completely different impression that what I think the marketers intended. Cody interpreted the "Duh" statement that they repeatedly emphasize to replace the "Dai" in Hyundai. Like Hyunduh, which, when said aloud sounds a lot like Honda, a rivaling car company. Once I watched this commercial several more times, I realized the "duh" has nothing to do with the brand of the car persay, but is more just a really annoying central idea for this ad campaign. The advertisements take our favorite Christmas songs and minimize them to a series of "duhs" in varying tones and keys, and then throws in some creepy, trippykaleidoscope-like shots of carolers spinning and singing in colorful robes. What does this have to do with this car company? The word "duh" does not make me want to buy anything. It makes me feel like I'm twelve. And I'm sure twelve year olds are not the target market for this product.

American Apparel: Brilliant Simplicity

So I was surfing around on YouTube a few weeks ago, searching for a tv advertisement that grabbed my attention enough for me to blog about it. Instead, as I clicked on various video clips, beside them, in the white margins of the page, I was encountered with ads for other companies, the most appealing of which was for American Apparel. So I promptly clicked on it and began an online shopping spree, completely distracting myself from my original task at hand.

American Apparel is a company specializing in men's and women's apparel aimed primarily at college-aged people and young adults, so choosing to buy ad space on a website like YouTube was a smart decision for them, seeing as it's most popular amongst this age group.

American Apparel's ad campaign could be described as raw, simplistic, bold, and sexually-charged. I personally find their ads to be brilliant. Without ever really saying much at all in text form, American Apparel ads consistently portray the image their brand is all about. Anyone who is familiar with the brand can instantly recognize an American Apparel ad when they see one. Their signature look of bold, basic garments hugging the bodies of hipster boys and girls standing against a white backdrop is one that has become synonimous with quirky trendy fashion and the American Apparel look.

I think many of its loyal customers also appreciate the brand's use of not always drop-dead gorgeous models with perfect bodies, but rather real-life models with flaws, untamed hair, and unconventional styles. American Apparel also will often use employees of the company in their advertisements.