Debate Exposes Doubt (Death Cab For Cutie)

Have you seen this commercial yet?What is the first thing that comes to mind when you see this is probably the same thing that I thought of “That is not even possible” Hummer makes you believe that you can customize your vehicle to whatever you want without limitations. This of course is not true. I did notice that as the vehicle launches off the pier it states “do not attempt” it doesn’t state “underwater option not available.” Ever since Beavis and Butthead “encouraged” children to burn down their living rooms and Barbie commercials made people believe that their doll would walk and dance on their own, every ad has to state the obvious. I read a great article about it in Dallas News that stated what the majority of us say when we see the obvious stated... DUH!!! As for the Hummer commercial, I would love to see the sales persons face the 100th time that he is asked “Can I get the underwater option on my customizable Hummer? “ And through gritted teeth they reply with “That was just a commercial, don’t you want a car wih real options?”

New Slang (The Shins)

Everyone has a website now. I actually search online for products and information before I go to the store itself. I have a whole internet folder with 50+ links to my favorite stores all over the world. But now websites have started integrated entertainment with the sell of their products, my husband calls it branded entertainment. Check out websites like m&m.com, skittles.com and who can overlook Disney.com. While researching their products, you can build your own avatar, play games, listen to music or watch video clips. Some companies have even started hitting you with advertising 1-2 punch by enticing you to visit their website to get the full idea of the ad you just spent 30 seconds watching. Other times, the site will offer exclusive clips or “webisodes” that further explain the product or draw you into a story further. Several years ago, one underground web hit were the “Terry Tate: Office Linebacker” series from Reebok…which my husband tuned in online multiple times to watch. I even have seen sitcoms advertising real sites. During an episode of the NBC show Scrubs, one of the characters, Todd, had a t-shirt that had “theToddTime.com” written on it. We tried to check it out immediately afterwards, and it took us two days to be able to access the full site because of how much traffic it was getting. These days, 20+ years after Tommy Tutone made 867-5309 the most prank-called number in history, people are still curious enough to see what’s real.

Center of Attention (Guster)

I recently saw one of the oddest forms of advertisiCCng on tv yet. I was watching ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ on TBS the other day, and they stopped the program at random points to advertise The Bill Engvall Show. According to the little man that was in the corner of my screen promoting this show, ‘The Bill Engvall Show’ has a similar plotline but seems less “New York” and more “Middle America”. The basic premise behind the ad, however, was this: They froze the show that was airing in mid-sentence and had the star of the new series pop in to plug his new show. The first time I saw it, I thought the show was over and he was using the credit time to promote his new show. But when the show started up again, I noticed the show was not yet over and realized that I had just experienced a new type of advertising.
In doing this, the ad immediately draws your attention to the program being advertised by forcing you to see what caused the interruption. In an era where commercials can be fast-forwarded with our digital recorders and channels are surfed away from the minute a show ends, this new ad technique makes the viewer stop and pay attention for a few seconds.
While slightly annoying, it served its purpose and delivered its intended message. The spoiled tv watcher in me, however, hopes this doesn’t become the norm. One of my favorite reasons for having a Tivo is my ability to skip an ad I’ve seen over and over again…as some stations (TBS, I’m looking your way) have been known to do.

In Harmony in Silver (Cold War Kids)

Last Friday the sequel to "Fantastic Four" opened up nationwide and did pretty well in the theaters, raking in about $58 million at the box office. It featured the four superheroes taking on an intergalactic enemy called “Silver Surfer” who is sent to scope out Earth as a potential meal for an even bigger bad-guy who eats entire planets to stay alive. Sounds decent, right? Well, once the Surfer is finished battling the comic book heroes, it looks like he’ll be taking on the US Government.

Fox Studios and The Franklin Mint had partnered before the movie’s premier to alter 40,000 quarters (to be distributed amongst every state in regular circulation) to promote the movie. Now, most movie promo items are pretty clever and inventive. This one seemed a little less exciting, yet collectible for fans. The entire setup for this promo was that a person would find one of these coins, enter the code on the back at the movie's website and *possibly* win a chance to see an early screening of the movie. But, what really propelled this promo item to the top of the want list was that it immediately became illegal. Which, in essence, made an already collectible item even more sought after. Don’t believe me? Just check out eBay and see for yourself.

It seems that the folks at Fox and Franklin never got the OK from the US Mint, and those guys their money very seriously. The Mint made it clear that they, in no way, endorsed this promo or gave any ok to do it. And, furthermore, defacing money is actually punishable by a fine. No word has been announced whether that penalty will be enforced to the studios yet or not. But, no matter what happens, it seems that the promo had its intended goal: drumming up interest in the movie beyond the normal advertising.

Think About It (The Whatnot)

Have you ever watched a commercial and loved it, but just don’t know why? Or maybe you did…in the back of your head. And maybe that’s exactly what the ad is going for.

Case in point: Go Meat!

Hillshire Farms meats has had an ad campaign running for a little while now that really sticks in the back of your mind and attempts to give you a chuckle at the same time. I’m sure you’ve seen the commercials where someone is enjoying a meat-based product and some sort of rally-cry/chant begins to reward the eater with their decision. At first, I saw these commercials and thought they were ok. My husband, on the other hand, loved them. In time, I’ve warmed up to them all thanks to the very simple goofiness of them.

But, what the advertisers were doing with this set of ads is aiming for a more female audience. By using the cheers, they are specifically targeting the inner-cheerleader in all of us. Company reps state that the image of meat has always been a masculine one, and are trying to focus these ads on the other gender. After all, it’s women who have been proven to the majority of grocery shopping in American households. Advertisers have almost always catered to this, albeit more aggressively in the past when a woman’s “place” was in the home.

But, this ad doesn’t sit back and focus solely on the stay-at-home wife and mother as it does women in general. The commercials almost always feature a woman as the center of the action, enjoying the Hillshire Farms product amid the (sometimes invisible) cheering section. By tapping the inner-cheerleader in all of us, the commercial cheers its way right into our brains in an attempt to get the women of the world to enjoy a turkey sandwich as much as their male counterparts.

Where the Humans Eat (Willy Mason)

While you should be asleep
But are wide awake
Fast Food restaurants
Know just what to make

They target the late shifters
The teens, the all nighters
The commercials are enticing
All thanks to the writers.

The midnight snacks
Are all there if you crave
There waiting at the drive through
That is now open late

Don’t eat late at night,
Is what we have been told
But burgers and fries
Are what’s being sold

You scarf down your meal
Then lay down for the night
Is it any wonder
Our health just isn’t right

So when the TVs on late
And it’s begging you to eat
Just turn the thing off
And get a good night sleep.

Picking Up (Syd)

Dallas has never really been on the cutting edge or music, in my opinion. Sure, we get a lot of concerts…but they are all very mainstream. Dallas seems content to stick with the norm.

Now, I never thought I’d say this about a Clear Channel venture, but something good has changed on the radio in Dallas. KZPS (92.5 on the dial) has ditched it’s classic rock format and moved in a new breed of “Outlaw Country” as it’s format. What does this mean to the listener? Well, you’ll stop hearing the same three Jethro Tull songs over and over again and instead will be set up with music as widely ranged as Bob Dylan, The Old 97’s, ZZ Top and Willie Nelson (who serves as the stations spokesperson). Think, heavy on the Southern-Based blues, rock and alt-country and you’ve got the format in a nutshell.

Now, what makes this all a little more different is the fact that the station is starting out to air…well, without commercials. Instead, the station has opted to have blocks of programming sponsored by different companies throughout the day. Basically, they are going with an integrated marketing approach in which the DJ would discuss the company and it’s product during a break, rather than dot the entire hour with varied commercials.

The concept isn’t new, by any means. In fact, most tv and radio was originally sponsored by a single product. Soap Operas, after all, got their name from this practice. But, ditching the over-commercialized annoyance that is modern-day radio is certainly a change of pace. It’ll be interesting to see how the decades-old concept works on the idea that it is new and “cutting edge”. All I know is that I’m glad for the change when listening to one commercial for, say, Southwest Airlines, than the same annoying Kia ad 45 times a day.

Raised by Wolves (Voxtrot)

You know those Geico Cavemen? Yes, the ones that are not exactly the stereotypical cavemen, but more high-class than most of us. Well, it seems like they are getting their own sitcom on ABC. They've come along way from the proverbial cave and into several factes of our daily lives.

The ad series has already spawned a website, and now a pilot has been picked up by the network that will focus on three cavemen living their thirty-something lives and facing prejudices in modern day America. Sounds like a decent show, but you’ve got to remember that this is…or was…an advertisement. It was originally set up as a way to get consumers to purchase a service and now we’re blurring that line between selling and entertainment. Personally, I like the commercials…but am not sure I’m ready for a full-blown tv series.

If you look at the history of ads, not many have been made it to entertainment programs…especially successful ones. Max Headroom and The California Raisins are great examples of what can happen when an ad has a mass appeal and becomes a successful tv show. On the flipside, Baby Bob, who sold Quizno’s subs had a tv show for a very short time that went nowhere.

So can a thirty-second ad be a ratings-successful show? And the question remains: how much of a factor will Geico play in this show? I suppose we will find out when the sitcom hits the airwaves in the fall of 2007. Talk about taking tv advertising to the next level!

Rockin the Suburbs ( Ben Folds )

When it comes to indie music, the next big thing may be right around the corner and you wouldn’t even know it. Due to the marketing of big-label artists, many struggling bands have been forced into obscurity in the past. But, not long ago, the world entered a new phase in music making with the rise of the internet and music hasn’t been the same since.

There was an article in the NY TIMES recently about musicians and the advent of the internet that further explored this dynamic by taking to some of these self-made Do-It-Yourself ‘rockstars’. Specifically, the article focused on New York-based singer Jonathan Coulton. Coulton was a computer programmer a few years ago who liked making music in his spare time but figured he’d never get anywhere if he didn’t just make the leap to full time music-making. He quit his job and started posting a song a week on his personal website. Cut to a few years later, and he is making between $3,000 and $5,000 a week doing what he loves, all from his home and never having to deal with a label.

Much of the record industry will blame the internet for destroying music as we know it, from mp3s and Napster to albums ‘leaking’ to the public before they are supposed to be released. And, truth be told, there has been a decline in record sales overall. But people like Coulton and other indie bands, are relying on this same medium to turn them into overnight success stories.

These bands use grass-roots marketing approach, and get a hand from their fans to get their music out there…and the fans love being a part of it. The level of barriers between a musician and a fan used to be vast. Now, with only a mouse click and an email, you can be in contact with some of your favorites. Your fans are your audience, your consumer and your biggest critic….it’s nice to see artists out there who want to jump right to that market and skip the middle-man mentality of a label.

Maybe the labels should take a look at themselves before blaming MP3s for their lack of sales.

Different Names for the Same Things ( Death Cab For Cutie )

With taglines like “You can do it, we can help” (Home Depot) and “Let’s build something together” (Lowes) it is obvious that customer focus is the main idea in these stores; the type of customer is where the difference begins.

Until recently Home Depot was typecast as dingy dark warehouse that people in paint covered overalls visited. They realized that they needed to have more of a stable customer base since home building booms would not always be in high demand. With the new Do it herself and Kid’s workshops they have started to market the whole family. Home Depot also offers products based on regional needs as well as offer 250,000 special order products, just in case you still can’t find what you’re looking for. They also have their own tool rental company and since it is self owned, they have more control over the price.

Lowes was more for the trendy couple that wanted to renovate, update or redecorate their home. With their detailed product signs, it gave everyone the confidence to find exactly what they needed with little help. The cleaner wider isles make the store visually more appealing. They have always offered how to workshops and project centers for those less knowledgeable. In addition to their regular weekly ads, they also give you the opportunity to sign up and receive their project catalog in the mail. This catalog gives several ideas of improvements and even calculates the total price based on their materials and prices. Their spring catalog had just come out and I saw a few individuals referencing this while I was in the store.

The difference between marketing strategies between Lowes and Home Depot are not as obvious to the everyday deal seeker as they are to their loyal customers. When I asked one customer why they shopped at Lowes, they came back with the simplest form or loyalty out there “Because I am a fan of their NASCAR driver.”

Nourshiment Nation (Rogue Wave)

I have always thought that the marketing execs for McDonalds were geniuses. There wasn’t one child out there that did not know that the golden arches = happy meal = toys = playground. It was like Christmas all wrapped up in one red and yellow building handed to you by an overly happy red headed clown. And of course how many parents caved under the loud scream of peer pressure brought on by their young ones and ended up stuffing their faces with big macs and quarter pounders several times a week because their children did not understand that mommy was ( or should have been ) watching her weight. On the other hand, how many children should have to worry about calories, better yet, know what they are? I don’t think any of us realized how bad this processed goodness was for us until the 2004 release of “ Super Size Me “. Before that movie, we were the basic suckers for the McDonalds marketing techniques. I spent at least 4 meals a week during each of their Monopoly campaigns. Honestly believing that the next super sized fries was going to have my winning Monopoly piece. It has been a year since my husband and I watched this eye opening documentary and it has been equally long since we have been to McDonalds. You would think that this movie really affected the sales of McDonalds, no way. This didn’t stop children from screaming for the ever-so-tasty chicken nuggets. So McDonalds retaliated with a healthier line of food marketing towards all of us who had seen this movie and were more aware of what they had been feeding us. As a result do you think we will see McDonald’s bankruptcy anytime soon? Not if they keep up the same marketing techniques they have always had.
If "Titanic" couldn’t keep people off boats, "Super Size Me" won’t keep people from McDonalds.

Coffee and Cigerettes (Augustana)

At 13, after stealing one of my dad’s packs of cigarettes, I realized that no matter how cool the kids made it seem, smoking was not for me. That was until I saw this ad and I actually said “ I would start smoking to carry around those as accessories “. Which is what I would guess RJ Reynolds would hope thousands of other women across the world would say. I thought that the cigarette companies were supposed to keep the glamour out of smoking? But don’t think that RJ Reynolds is not getting some heat over this. And although it is obvious that they are trying to market the female smoker, there are a lot of women’s groups that feel that it is exploiting their gender. As one interviewee stated in a New York Times article “More women die of lung cancer than breast cancer, by a wide margin yet the tobacco companies still “want to increase their market share among women.” And although you are not able to legally buy cigarettes until you are 18, it seems that the advertising for them is marketing a much younger audience. Can anyone argue that this is not on purpose? If a 30 year old women who has never smoked, joked about changing her view on the idea, How much of an impression would this make on a an already easily influenced teenage girl?

Come downstairs and say Hello (Guster)

This is the year of milestones for me. Not only did I just turn 30 in April, I will be married for 10 years in June. Professionally, I will have full circle with my company.

I started Mercedes Benz Financial in 1999, a few months before the merger to Chrysler was completed and DaimlerChrysler Financial was formed. And just a few months ago we found out that the companies are going to divorce and separate back to the original. With this split, I will be staying on the Chrysler Financial side of the business. I started with Mercedes and I am ending with Chrysler. It’s probably the most interesting thing that I have gone through in my professional career and although I am extremely excited, I am also a little nervous about the changes and loosing the opportunity to see friends and confidants that for so many years were just a few steps away.

It wasn’t until my 30th birthday that I finally decided what I wanted to do when I grew up. However, I had no idea how to get to there; Just an idea of how to get closer. I decided to keep my major in business since it could be considered a catch all but I added a minor in Marketing. I already market and advertise for my party planning business, Know Surprises. My husband and I love to market our favorite musicians on a daily basis. I currently run a fan based website, SydFans.com, for fans of one of our musician friends. As I looked back on my life, I had always a little of a natural at marketing things that I love, so how could I go wrong?

As I thought more about my new found path in life, I wondered if I was as much a natural as I thought I was. What if one day I am given the task to market something that I am not able to find interesting, would I be able to convince others that it was the next best thing, even if I didn’t think it was?

So over the next 10 terms until I get my degree, I will be soaking up as much marketing knowledge as I can find room for in my brain. I will even plan on forgetting some of the math related classes in order to make more room. I hope all of you will stop by frequently and say hello and offer your advise and knowledge.