Week 3 EOC: Thank You For Smoking

    1. Determine the scenario: What happens in this frame?

In this Lucky Strike ad there is an illustration of a man clothed in white (possibly a physician) holding a pack of cigarettes. This ad is encourages it’s spectators to buy “Luckies” based on the fact that nearly 21,000 physicians said that they are less irritating compared to other brands.

    2. What is the setting? What are the conditions?

This ad ran in the 1930. During this time in America, ads promoting “health benefits” from smoking cigarettes what allowed and virtually went unquestioned.

    3. Who are the people or groups?

The advertisement was for Lucky Strike cigarettes. The ad depicts a physician a Lucky Strike pack.

    4. What is their point of view around this specific experience?

The physician in the ad is smiling at the pack of cigarettes he is holding. He seems to be enjoying it a little more than average. As if he just ran to the store to buy the pack (based on his rosy cheeks) and is about to settle his urging fiend for them.

    5. What are their goals?

The goal for this ad is obviously to sell cigarettes. But in a way that smoking a Lucky will benefit it’s consumer. Therefore, making consumer feel as if smoking these cigarettes is the best choice for them.

    6. What are their assumptions? What are their perceptions?

The assumption is that Lucky cigarettes are less irritating compared to other cigarettes at the time. They state this in their ad because “20,679 Physicians” said this.

    7. Are there conflicts? Is there cooperation?

The conflict with this ad is that it claims to protect you throat against cough. When the true protection against cough is not smoking at all. But of course they would never say that, they would loose sales.

    8. What are the outcomes?

This ad and ads alike during this era brainwashed their consumers into believing that cigarettes were good for them. Then generations of consumers believed these claims and fell into habit, possibly killing massive numbers of people.

Week 2 EOC: Three Examples of Questionable Ethics

The “Bread is Life” ad was for the Italian bread company BICE. The ad shows an assortment of bread thrown together, but three pieces of bread are obviously more distinct than the others. These bread resemble a penis and its neighboring testicles. The ad is definitely clever, but it should have stayed as an idea in the mind of its creator. The ad seems to be marketed toward a younger audience, probably 16 – 25+. But for those who do not belong in that audience the ad may be offensive. Especially for parents and children, you can only imagine the awkward conversaion, “mommy why does that bread look like a…”. This ad may not be at the top of the unethical list(may not be an actual list) but it definitely has its place.

<http://www.advertolog.com/bice/print-outdoor/bread-is-life-959005/>

The “The First Remote Ever Invented” ad is not for Eugene Polley’s "Flash-Matic" remote(the ACTUAL first remote ever invented), the ad is for Natan Jewelry. The ad shows a pair of female legs(I hope) crossed and two hands presenting a closed ring box to the legs. In the other half of the ad are the same legs and hands, but this time the ring box is open revealing an engagement ring and now the legs are open. This ad is real funny and clever, the type that definitely needs a double take. But just because its funny doesn't mean its not offensive, it may offend women spectators. And again, parents may be skeptical about their children being influenced by this ad, it may send the wrong message. Nevertheless, the ad is humorous.

<http://www.saleschase.com/blog/2012/03/23/natan-diamond-ring-remote-control-photo/>

   The “Cheat On Your Girlfriend. Not Your Workout” was an ad for Reebok. This ad should pretty much speak for itself. This ad recieved tons of negative publicity. The ad was posted only at a Reebok partnered gym in Germany. Eventually through pictures and videos the ad went viral and received worldwide attention. Reebok then had the ad taken down and apologized for them ever being up.

<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2118314/Reebok-forced-pull-controversial-Cheat-On-Your-Girlfriend-Not-Your-Workout-ad-campaign-public-backlash.html>

Week 1 : BOC

Art and business teeter-tottered in my mind through out my adolescent years. What to pursue? I was at the assumption that becoming an artist was beyond my reach. Therefore, through out 3 years of my high school career I enrolled myself into The Academy of Finance(AOF), a program offered by my high school. AOF student's received an adjusted curriculum revolved around business. With knowledge of business and passion for art, what to pursue? Advertising. Becoming an advertiser has allowed me to pursue both. My name is Jose Toral, I'm a creative director currently located in Las Vegas, Nevada. Prior to Las Vegas my home base was San Jose, California. There I attended the nearby Art Institute of California - San Francisco, were I majored in advertising. After leaving mark (of some sort) in the advertising industry I wish to one day start my own original-style (I hope its original, havent done my research) of business development company. That being said, I hope you enjoy my blog. 

Week 1 EOC: VW Lemon

Lemon

Doyle Dane Bernbach’s (DDB) 1960's “Think small.” ad campaign for Volkswagen (VW) is the number one campaign of the century; claims Advertising Age (http://adage.com/article/special-report-the-advertising-century/ad-age-advertising-century-top-100-campaigns/140918/). Although the campaign is one of the best and most memorable in advertising history, it was not the easiest. DDB had their worked cut out for them when they landed the VW account, they assigned Julian Koenig as copywriter and Helmut Krone as creative director. The agency needed a remarkable solution to sell the “Beetle” to the American market. The Beetle was a small fish in the large American automotive market, the market only consisted of larger fish - in the1960's Americans were attracted to big bulky cars. But how to get Americans to reel in that small fish and not release it? Especially one with a trail of bad reputation at the time. Mike Ogden from The Business Journal, writes, “The Beetle […] was tiny and, well, ugly. Who would buy it? On top of this, the car was manufactured in Wolfsburg, Germany, at a plant built by the Nazis. Given that World War II had ended only 15 years earlier, it's easy to envision a public relations nightmare”. (http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/1999/11/22/smallb7.html?page=all) Its history and affiliations made creating an ad campaign for the Beetle tougher than solving the Rubik’s Cube (for non-rubik-cube fanatics of course).  DDB eventually found a solution and created the genius "Think small." campaign. Not only was the campaign a success, it changed the direction of modern advertising. Rebecca Coleman author of "Lemon", writes, “DDB introduced the Beetle with this dynamic ad that seemed effortless, yet possessed a revolutionary approach to marketing. It connected with consumers, successfully integrating European small design into a culture with a big lifestyle. This ad, along with others from the campaign, was the first to represent a perfect balance of image, copy and simplicity, setting a benchmark that has inspired advertisers to do better ever since”. (http://www.writingfordesigners.com/?p=1731)  The campaign immediately became a hit, thanks to the ads' simplicity, honesty, compassion, and subtle humor towards its audience. The campaign still possess popularity today, though not from consumers but from advertisers and advertising fanatics.




Thanks for reading,
Jose