Tiger. But not that Tiger.

From Stephanie Rund

I really liked this advertisement when I saw it, because the personality of the characters, it caught my attention. I think that Gatorade used ambiguity when they created this advertisement because you do not really know what it is for until the end of the commercial, you do not know it is a Gatorade commercial, let alone “Gatorade Tiger” I think that Gatorade is targeting kids, especially kids who play sports, and the parents of these children. Their message is saying that Gatorade helps you concentrate in times that you need to perform, and when you do well, people celebrate it, “Hydration For Concentration.” It is also marketed towards health conscious people because it is low calorie, which is one of their main points. I think Gatorade is also using “stories of transformation” for their story line because Tiger has issues where he basically fails, but then comes back after he drinks the Gatorade and can focus on his golf swing. Tiger also had a guide that helped him through his quest.

Intentional? Not?

From Chaz Faulhaber
Click to see the ad!

I chose this ad primarily because I can’t figure out if it is intentionally done this way, (as in the billboards were selected to contrast one another), or if this is an ad war between two agencies. Perhaps this marketing strategy is used elsewhere in the world, however I don’t feel that Audi would continue running the same billboard ad if BMW can continually top them with the word, “Checkmate”. Regardless, someone had to have seen the Audi ad, and then made a counter ad immediately afterward. What this would suggest would be a direct example of positioning one’s product against the competitor, however each ad can stand alone, therefore making this ad both one of Positioning strategy and Generic strategy. In my opinion, the Audi people should never have put their ad out with that wording.

Prof. Sheehan really likes these ads

From Tyler Niesh:

I chose to do the ad for the new Kia Soul for a couple reasons. The first reason I chose this ad was I think that it does a good job incorporating humor as well as something we do not expect to see. Hamsters driving a bright red car, as well as other hamsters running on hamster wheels (trying to state that other vehicles are inferior). I also think that this ad is memorable, something that people will remember after they watch it, whether it is because of the humor, the music, or something else. The second reason I chose this ad is because I think that this ad is a good way to introduce a new vehicle; it is not like your usual car ad. You don’t spend the majority of the commercial hearing about what the car has or what it can do which I think is a good thing. First get the people interested in the car, then if they want to know more they can figure it out.

Making Millions of Dollars in 15 Minutes

From Robert Hribernick

The National Basketball Association’s most recent advertising campaign, which promotes the upcoming playoffs, builds on the theme they established with its, “Where Amazing Happens” campaign. This time the ads pose the question, “Where Will Amazing Happen This Year?” The ads are pretty stunning, showing slow-motion, black and white footage of amazing plays from recent years’ playoff games, played over Ludovico Einaudi’s mesmerizing “Fly” piano solo. They perfectly capture the drama, the emotion, and the sheer basketball wizardry that the NBA playoffs are known for, and are among my personal favorite series of advertisements. Despite their artistry and effectiveness, they are undeniably simple, and incredibly easy to produce, allowing the NBA to reap millions of dollars and an entire series of ads in about an hours work on Final Cut Pro.

The first link is one of the NBA’s ads, featuring the league’s latest messiah, LeBron James.

This second link is an ad from a series my roommates and I made that uses the same format of the NBA’s ads to promote our Miniball league, which I edited together in 15 minutes.

Resonating Red Bull

From Eric Landon

I chose this advertisement for Red Bull because of our conversation about Internet advertising in class.  I think that this advertisement is a perfect example of how advertising on the Internet can be done very successfully.  This advertisement is shocking and comes across as just another youtube video that people would want to pass on to friends to see.  The only part of the video that mentions a product is at the beginning where Travis Pastrana drinks a Red Bull quickly and says “I hope this works.”  The advertisement is funny, it evokes resonance with Red Bull “gives you wings” commercials that everyone knows from television, and it is a shocking and insane stunt.  Red Bull has done a great job connecting themselves with the extreme sports world and a youtube video/commercial like this was a great way to advertise on the Internet.

Cute Animals = Good

From Sarah Lowe:

This is a creative ad that reinforces the many functions of a phone. Other cell phone ads use attributes that humans can use but this ad shows how the phone can be animal user friendly as well. Samsung knows the appeal of cute animals and used the concept of cuteness in an interesting fashion.