Advertising Campaigns - Essay Example

In putting together an advertising campaign for a particular product or service, advertisers are typically only focused on how that advertisement canwork to better promote their product or service over their competition. Most often, they are so focused on how to sell their product that they forget to pause and consider how their latest scheme might positively or negatively affect society. Subtle clues within the action or dialogue can indicate how people react to specific behaviors that may be receiving a new definition thanks to advertisements such as those usually used for beer commercials. These types of advertisements frequently play on the side of dark humor, serving to entertain and retrain social standards at the same time. Occasionally, the effect a particular advertisement might have on the public is the primary focus of the ad with the product a perceived secondary reference. These types of advertisements spend a great deal of time demonstrating the greater societal need and then feature their product, usually one that helps address the concern in some way, at the tag end of the commercial, appearing to be almost an afterthought. The attitudes and philosophy of a given company can often be determined by the advertising they put out. By examining the visual clues, subliminal messages and other aspects of the ad design, not only can the careful observer learn much about the company, but can also assess how the advertisement is impacting or contributing to the general thought and behavior of society. Humor is often used as a means of making a product appear more in tune with the ‘in’ crowd, but usually do this at tremendous expense such as the Bud Lite commercial entitled “Bear Attack.” This advertisement opens up with a noisy and confused camera angle that quickly focuses in on two men and a dog running away from an angry and very large bear. One man tells the other to split up and the bear (and the camera) follows the one who spoke. Cornered against a sheer stone wall, the man digs a Bud Lite bottle out of his backpack, twists open the cap and places the beer on a rock. Throughout this action, the bear becomes increasing still, dropping to all fours and becoming almost tame at the sight of the outstretched bottle. However, just before the bear can grab the bottle, the other man comes running at an angle between the first man and the rock, snatching the beer away in the process and further upsetting the bear. The announcer then tells us the name of the product as we watch the cool yellow liquid poured into a tall glass with beads of sweat already trickling their way down the sides and the bottle set down on a blue screen before the slogan pops up letting us know that this beer is “always worth it.” The scene then cuts to the top of another hill as the first man, with torn clothing and exhausted, finally catches up with his friend, who has apparently long since finished the beer and now seeks praise for his quick moves in snagging the beer: “Did you see those moves?! I was on fire!” This dark sort of humor may function well to draw a quick laugh from a group of college fraternity boys, but its message exploits more than it seems. While the idea that two men hiking in places so far away that very large bears might be chasing them, yet they still choose to carry this type of beer with them while they go helps to reinforce the idea that beer is always appropriate, the fact that they’re taking bottles into the wilderness demonstrates a profound lack of concern for natural places and wildlife. The advertiser no doubt thought that having an animal as wild as the bear is portrayed would make it seem as if their beer is so good that even primitive life knows of it and appreciates it. He succeeds instead in de-mystifying nature, placing it more into a ‘city’ perspective and tacitly granting permission to treat the forest in much the same way one might treat a city street, leading to the idea of broken beer bottles littering the floor of the forest is expected and normal. The anger of the bear, chasing the men with no apparent provocation sends out a message of nature as a hostile, threatening thing better avoided. The action of the friend, who runs in to snatch the beer out from under the bear’s paws just when he seems to be calming, is supposed to be the funny part, but the idea that he’s left his friend to be killed by a further enraged bear while he enjoys the beer that might have saved him sends out a very disturbing message about appropriate friendship relationships. Actions such as this would have been considered supremely dishonorable and disgusting not so long ago, but with advertising such as this, the idea of responsibility for one’s neighbor has gone out the window in favor of selfish self-gratification with no guilt or adverse consequences. Advertisements don’t always display such blatant disregard for societal concerns. Ford’s commercial for their Escape Hybrid featuring Kermit the Frog works to capitalize on the attitudes and beliefs of parents concerned about the quality of life in their children’s future as well as those who feel responsibility for the environment. The advertisement opens with an image of Kermit the Frog singing “It’s Not Easy Being Green” as he rides his bicycle over a rocky trail through brush-covered hills, paddles his way through rushing rapids through a rocky gorge, climbs a steep cliff looking over a pine-covered mountainside and finally parts the leaves of thick, bushy undergrowth to reveal the SUV. He peeks inside, giving the advertiser the opportunity to show off the interior and then walks around to the back where he sees the word “Hybrid” stamped to the side. The song stops as Kermit makes the observation that perhaps “I guess it is easy being green.” Then he stands there and nods his head vigorously as he stands back to look at the car while an announcer’s voice comes in to tell us this is “The 36-mile-per-gallon Ford Escape Hybrid.” The commercial ends with a white screen and the car’s name and logo prominently displayed, along with a website address where people can learn more. There are several ways in which this commercial works to influence the viewer. To begin with, their use of the character Kermit the Frog both conjures childhood memories for the target demographic as well as brings to mind thoughts of caring for the children of the world as the character is frequently a star in children’s programs. His song seems to be the lament of the environmentally conscious everywhere as they struggle to live a healthy, outdoorsy life while still doing the responsible thing for the environment. His travels through this environment are surrounded by the color green, though, emphasizing that maybe it isn’t so hard to be green, even while his activities and locations are reminiscent of several of the more popular activities people do while on vacation. Vacations, of course, represent relaxation and enjoyment, not the struggle and effort suggested in Kermit’s song. Finally, the fact that Kermit finds the SUV at the top of the mountain suggests that it was able to overcome all of the challenges he had already gone through during the space of the commercial. Not only is it environmentally friendly and frog-approved, it is spacious and rugged as well. By simply announcing the name and the gas mileage, the advertiser gives off the impression that this is all a person needs to know about this vehicle to make it worth buying. At the same time, the message being sent out to the community by this advertisement is that it really isn’t all that difficult to be green, taking small steps to protect the world that’s constantly around us without significantly affecting our own comforts and luxuries. Although a believer in freedom of expression, a close look at the advertisements on TV display a wide range of both responsible and irresponsible messages sent out on a regular basis that typically goes unnoticed and unremarked upon. Because the consumer market typically pays only scant attention to these commercials, the messages they send are able to insinuate themselves into the popular culture. The more humorous they are, the more they are remarked upon and discussed in general conversation and the further their message is spread. This is the intent in an effort to sell the product, but the secondary effect is a general acceptance of the type of selfish behavior demonstrated by the second man in the Bud Lite commercial, allowing this sort of behavior to be enacted within the general society and breaking down any kind of connections that might have been made under older codes of honor that are now featured as merely the butt of jokes. However, there is evidence that advertisers can choose to advertise their products with a high degree of social responsibility, as is demonstrated in the Escape Hybrid commercial. Although it helps if the product, like this example, is one designed to assist the environment, this is not always the case nor is it a necessary prerequisite. Rather than banning or restricting the types of things that can be included in commercials, it would be better to run independent commercials that serve to educate the consumer on how to see through the marketing ploys and encourage them to promote more responsible and positive messages on TV through their feedback to the companies involved in objectionable advertising. References “Bear Attack.” AdvertisementAve. March 31, 2006 < http://advertisementave.com/tv/ad.asp?u_player=mediaplayer&adid=663> “It Aint Easy Being Green.” AdvertisementAve. March 31, 2006 < http://advertisementave.com/tv/ad.asp?adid=367>. Read More

I was on fire!” This dark sort of humor may function well to draw a quick laugh from a group of college fraternity boys, but its message exploits more than it seems. While the idea that two men hiking in places so far away that very large bears might be chasing them, yet they still choose to carry this type of beer with them while they go helps to reinforce the idea that beer is always appropriate, the fact that they’re taking bottles into the wilderness demonstrates a profound lack of concern for natural places and wildlife.

The advertiser no doubt thought that having an animal as wild as the bear is portrayed would make it seem as if their beer is so good that even primitive life knows of it and appreciates it. He succeeds instead in de-mystifying nature, placing it more into a ‘city’ perspective and tacitly granting permission to treat the forest in much the same way one might treat a city street, leading to the idea of broken beer bottles littering the floor of the forest is expected and normal. The anger of the bear, chasing the men with no apparent provocation sends out a message of nature as a hostile, threatening thing better avoided.

The action of the friend, who runs in to snatch the beer out from under the bear’s paws just when he seems to be calming, is supposed to be the funny part, but the idea that he’s left his friend to be killed by a further enraged bear while he enjoys the beer that might have saved him sends out a very disturbing message about appropriate friendship relationships. Actions such as this would have been considered supremely dishonorable and disgusting not so long ago, but with advertising such as this, the idea of responsibility for one’s neighbor has gone out the window in favor of selfish self-gratification with no guilt or adverse consequences.

Advertisements don’t always display such blatant disregard for societal concerns. Ford’s commercial for their Escape Hybrid featuring Kermit the Frog works to capitalize on the attitudes and beliefs of parents concerned about the quality of life in their children’s future as well as those who feel responsibility for the environment. The advertisement opens with an image of Kermit the Frog singing “It’s Not Easy Being Green” as he rides his bicycle over a rocky trail through brush-covered hills, paddles his way through rushing rapids through a rocky gorge, climbs a steep cliff looking over a pine-covered mountainside and finally parts the leaves of thick, bushy undergrowth to reveal the SUV.

He peeks inside, giving the advertiser the opportunity to show off the interior and then walks around to the back where he sees the word “Hybrid” stamped to the side. The song stops as Kermit makes the observation that perhaps “I guess it is easy being green.” Then he stands there and nods his head vigorously as he stands back to look at the car while an announcer’s voice comes in to tell us this is “The 36-mile-per-gallon Ford Escape Hybrid.” The commercial ends with a white screen and the car’s name and logo prominently displayed, along with a website address where people can learn more.

There are several ways in which this commercial works to influence the viewer. To begin with, their use of the character Kermit the Frog both conjures childhood memories for the target demographic as well as brings to mind thoughts of caring for the children of the world as the character is frequently a star in children’s programs. His song seems to be the lament of the environmentally conscious everywhere as they struggle to live a healthy, outdoorsy life while still doing the responsible thing for the environment.

His travels through this environment are surrounded by the color green, though, emphasizing that maybe it isn’t so hard to be green, even while his activities and locations are reminiscent of several of the more popular activities people do while on vacation. Vacations, of course, represent relaxation and enjoyment, not the struggle and effort suggested in Kermit’s song.

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