London!

Today I arrived in London and thought I would pay some attention to their advertisements. First I noticed that since people here mostly take the tube or the buses the most advertising is on those. They have big advertisements on the bus of american movies coming out, so obviously they are coming out around the world as well. There advertising is very similar but just different locations.

Walmart

In chapter 20 in our marketing book there is everyday low prices (EDLP). While reading this I thought of Walmart. They have always low prices but rarely go on clearance. Walmart uses everyday low prices and that is what they are known for.

McDonald's

I saw a Youtube video on a lady who bought a hamburger and fries from McDonald's and set it unwrapped on her coffee table for six months, taking a picture everyday. After six months the hamburger and fries looked the same. I was curious if it affects customers who has watched this video. Also there is a chance that this video is fake. I think the video is very interesting but when people need a quick bite they aren't really thinking about the video and just in a hurry.

Iphone Suicides

Some people kinda joke that when you buy an iphone you are supporting suicide. You are not directly supporting it but this matter is a matter that Iphone company needs to deal with and not just put up nets to catch them. Apparently the company is making the employees sign a contract where they have to work 60 hours a week and they live in the dorms right next door. Obviously the employees could have not signed the contract and worked elsewhere but not sure of the whole story over there. Since 2007 there ha been 17 suicides off the two buildings so they put up the netting and the suicides have decreased.

The nets went up in May, after the 11th jumper in less than a year died here. They carried a message: You can throw yourself off any building you like, as long as it isn’t one of these. And they seem to have worked. Since they were installed, the suicide rate has slowed to a trickle.



This is at least getting it out there and very sad for the workers that thought this was a better option than anything else.

Madison's Hot Sauce

I work at a restaurant and we have hot sauce there called Madison's Hot Sauce and on the side label is says it is vegan and gluten free. I thought is was funny that right below that it states that this product is good on fish, chicken, jerky, pork, seafood, beef, etc. I guess the vegan and gluten free part will get the attention of those that are vegan and need gluten free products. But then it also satisfied the needs for everyone else that eats whatever and just needs some hot sauce. just need to know what foods to put it on to fit your needs.Definitely caught the attention of our eyes so must work!

          

Advertising Failures

I have talked a lot on here about the companies that advertise more but this one I want to talk about ones that failed and why they did. One example is Burger King when they launched the wake up with the king adds that did not increase sales and creeped people out with the plastic scary face the first thing they saw when they woke up. The second example is Snickers. This is when they had Mr. T Shooting snickers at a feminine guy speed walking till he ran telling him he is a disgrace and that men run don't walk. Gay rights groups did not like the ad and said they discriminated against them so the ad was quickly pulled.

There are many advertisements that fail and not work out but here is a couple examples.

Linking Facebook and Pintrest

I was thinking about the advertising on Facebook and Pintrest and how effective it was. I believe it works because many people will see it. They are just geared toward certain target markets. Facebook has a broad range of an audience with the majority being teenage to mid-twenties. With Pintrest having their target audience be women with over 510,000 female users. With Pintrest growing rapidly, it would be great to have your companies clothing, jewelry, or craft ideas. Also it helps that people can link their two accounts so   people can see the items on both, Facebook and Pintrest.

Honda Pilot

I was talking to my coworker last night and she has a 2 1/2 year old daughter that loves the new 2012 Honda Pilot commercial. Thought this was really interesting that the daughter brought the attention of the commercial to the mom. But from watching it I have noticed it catches the eyes of most views, which I imagine is there plan. So whether the commercial catches the eye of the 2 1/2 year old or the parents people will notice it, and the advertisers did a great job.

Girls Night Out Goddess

I was watching HLN today and they were discussing the new Applebees ads that include a girls night out goddess. The goddess is telling girls to get offline and gossip and drink face to face, it is funner. This somewhat makes sense since people are online constantly, even during dinner and group outings. But, this is ironic because this video is on Youtube and connects to Pintrest. So you have to be online to view the video and keep up by clicking on other pages and the message is to get offline. This ad is sending mixed signals and I do not think it gets any point across besides a fun girls night out goddess dancing in a video.

Disney to quit taking ads for junk food aimed at kids

I was reading USA the other day and noticed the article for Disney to quit taking ads for junk food aimed at kids. The Disney channel, Disney Radio, and everything that Walt Disney Co does will only feature healthy food in its ads and will promote healthy eating to the audience. They stated that this will be done by 2015. Also with this, Disney product will all be healthy so that parents know whenever there is a Disney trademark on it, it is healthy for their child to eat. These items will contain a Mickey check on them. I think this idea is great and will hopefully reduce child obesity. With this the parents have to take notice and help their children make health conscious decisions.

"This is landmark, because a major media company is taking responsibility for what food they advertise to children," says Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington D.C.-based consumer group. "This should be a real wake-up call to Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network to do the same."


Keith Ayoob, an associate professor of pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York who worked with Disney on its new nutrition standards, says, "Parents are hungry for ways to help their kids eat better. Kids want food that's fun and tastes good. These guidelines bring parents and kids together."

Ads Sell More Than Products

This Youtube video is very informative on the advertising of women and how sometimes it is not good for young girls to see or portray for how to look as they grow up. Not that all advertising is false information, but some of it can be. Kind of long but very good!

Donating Profits to Charity

When you walk through the grocery store or retail store there are companies that give a percentage of profits to charity. There was an experiment with two well known brands of water and made up brand, of coarse the customers bought the two well known one 95% off the time. Then in the experiment they added that the made up brand contributed some of the sales to charity, the sales went up dramatically. When a brand contributes to charity their sales increased. But it doesn't matter if you donate 5% or 100% they sales usually rise the same. 

People obviously buy these products to donate to a good cause but also to get the warm feeling of helping someone in need just by simply purchasing a product they normally would.

There are many brands that donate. Some examples include: Ethos water, Toms, and Newman's Own.