Half naked people and sexual ads are very common; we see it everywhere all the time. However, when Ruby showed up in the windows of The Body Shop stores, people freaked out. The Body Shop’s slogan is ‘Know your mind, love your body’ and Ruby was trying to promote just that. The ad is just saying that this is what the common woman looks like! It’s not just promoting The Body Shop, it’s also promoting reality.

Toy makers Mattel insisted on banning the curvaceous Ruby because they believed that she was the anti-Barbie and that was offensive to Barbie. I guess Mattel thought that Ruby shouldn’t look similar to Barbie because it might ruin Barbie’s “perfect” image.

Despite its positive message, people took offense to it mainly because of Ruby’s nudity. But I say, “What’s the big deal?” sure she’s naked but she’s just a doll! Children always dress and undress their dolls, so this is nothing new to them so you can’t say that it’s not appropriate for the public to see. There are nearly naked actual people in ads all the time but I guess plastic nakedness is too much.

 -Ruzanna

 To represent how fast the Intel Core Duo Processor is they have sprinters in position for take off from their cubicles. But those sprinters happen to be clones of an African American man “bowing down” to their white collar Caucasian boss.

 There are a number of things this ad says; it says African Americans are inferior to the “white man”; it reinforces the stereotype that all athletes are black, and it shows that the employees are not recognized as individuals. The employer can “maximize the power” of his employees through his superior standing so that they can work harder for him.

Or, is this just an innocent ad with the best intentions? Or is it suggesting instead that the white man is just slow and needs help? You be the judge.

 -Ruzanna

I feel this is the direction anti-drug ads should be going. They shouldn’t try and scare you, but they should show you a reality. Showing this reality can really hit the viewer and make an impact. This is a big change from the older anti-drug ads that would make me laugh. The one that I thought was amazing was where the stoned teenager is having a conversation with their dog. It always killed me. This new breed of anti-drug ads are going after something more dangerous the weed and they know it. You can see the difference in the ads and the impact the ads are trying to make. Your thoughts? Check out the rest of the campaign here.

-Ezra

So far in this blog we have talked mainly about print and television ads. I started to think outside the box and I tried looking for other forms of Ads. I started to think about it and I realized that billboards are ubiquitous. Whether your driving or walking, you always see billboards that catch your attention. A billboard can be extremely dangerous, an example would be a billboard of a half naked model, this can cause many distractions, which can lead to car accidents or pedestrians getting hit.  These kinds of billboards not only create danger, but they can create controversy. So, what constitutes a controversial billboard? Across the country the Freedom From Religion Foundation put out a series of billboards and bus advertisements that questioned religion.

I thought these advertisements were extremely clever and I enjoyed them, but some people disagreed. In some states, the local authorities called for these Ads to be pulled due to complaining from local religious organizations. Now it becomes a first amendment issue. Should the billboards be censored? That is something you can decide, I want to focus on the effectiveness of these billboards in particular. I found them very effective, not because people would give up religion, but because it raised awareness for the FFRF. I don’t think their goal was to get people to give up religion, it was for publicity and to raise interest. I think that is exactly what controversial Ads do, they are effective in a way where they get free publicity from the interest and hate they generate from the media. I loved the Ads, but let me know what you think…

       -Ezra

Has anyone noticed that Sit-N-Sleep always has a sale of some sort? There are always hundreds of dollars to be saved on Sealy, Spring Air, Sterns & Foster, and Tempurpedic mattresses. But when I went to a Sit-N-Sleep the other day, I was suspired to see the initial prices of mattresses. A twin size mattress was $1200 before the sale, which marked it down to $700. I don’t know anybody in their right mind who would pay this much for a mattress. I have a theory that in actuality Sit-N-Sleep never actually has a sale. In reality, the “sale” prices they advertise are merely what they would ask, sale or not and is probably a normal price for a mattress. But in order to draw in customers they fool the customer into thinking that they are getting a real bargain on a mattress,
It’s also come to my attention that Sit-N-Sleep is not alone in this. I was in a JC Penny today and I noticed that they were advertising a large wooden picture frame that held in excess of forty pictures. The initial price was $200, but was on “sale” for $100. Again, I find it extremely hard to believe that anyone would pay anything over $100 anyway. Its merely an observation and I really have no evidence to support my hunch. Has anyone else noticed this? Or perhaps I’m being paranoid and someone could inform me as to why I’m wrong?

love always,

Anders

First thing you see is the reaper, on its way to take more lives. She gets into her car with the playful red cherries hanging from her rear-view mirror and arrives at a NASCAR tournament. NASCAR has been heavily sponsored by cigarette companies for decades and it is the perfect place to enjoy many free samples. Death stares you in the face when she offers free tobacco. To make smoking appealing the samples are handed out by beautiful young women when just moments ago they represented death. Basically disease and death are being disguised by clever marketing ploys by tobacco companies.

The commercial is clearly targeting a young male audience since they are also the main targets of tobacco companies. It is also perhaps trying to get a message across about children as well since you see many kids and babies in strollers (with another reaper walking amongst them) when the original reaper first arrives at the tournament. There is a popular lullaby tied into this ad called “Lullaby and Goodnight” originally by Johannes Brahms, performed here by artists HoneyHoney. There is a connection between lullabies and smoking here since they both instill calmness. The lyrics of the song may also suggest a permanent peace and by that I mean death; death for the smokers and maybe children that have been affected by it as well. Here are some of the lyrics…

“Lullaby, and good night…lay you down now, and rest, may your slumber be blessed…shining angels beside my darling abide…close your eyes and rest your head”.

 -Ruzanna

What makes an AD stand out? Is it the product? Funnier? Better looking people? To me, an AD stands out if it is clever and effective. A clever AD is subjective, but what makes an AD effective? Obviously, if you go out and buy a product because of a commercial it can be considered effective. To me though, an effective AD is memorable, whether or not you plan on buying the product. About two months ago I saw a Direct TV spot and I instantly fell in love. I’ve only seen it once until today and it still stands as one of the funniest and oddly controversial spots I’ve seen. Check it out below…

I love the way Direct TV makes the “Cable Company”, into a sort of weird group of people. One of those people that we all know but would never really be friends with. It’s a similar strategy as what Apple did, making a PC into an overweight middle aged nerd, while the Mac guy is young and hipper than ever. After the cable guy introduces his campaign to, “Get Youthenized”, someone yells Direct TV will never know what hit them. They seem so naive and out of it and right when you think they can’t make this commercial any better the CEO type says excitedly, “ Where gonna Youthenize America”. Euthanasia is a controversial topic that is not normally joked about. I have only seen this commercial once and I wondered if Direct TV might have pulled it because of its content. I find this commercial extremely effective in the a way where it stuck in my head. But the question I ask myself is, was this spot socially appropriate? I thought this commercial was in good fun. Lemme know what you think…

-Ezra