Deer Mayhem

Allstate Insurance has been running a series of advertisements geared for the "what if" in life. These Mayhem commercials have been marketed towards consumers who seem to forget about the unexpected and be well prepared in the case of an accident. Seeing a seismic shift in the marketing auto insurance has been making toward younger generations, how do you feel about the impact it’s been making? Have these commercials made you second guess what coverage your insurance plan covers?

Perfectly Handcrafted for YOU

As most of us know Starbucks recently changed their logo, removing the text, enlarging their signature "siren" logo and changing the color to all green. This change was welcomed by many customers and had others criticizing the move. Time would tell whether their brand was strong enough to be recognized by global consumers. After the unveiling of their new logo, Starbucks launched a commercial for their Tribute brand coffee honoring this new logo. This commercial reflects the Starbucks brand and the idea that each coffee can be individualized for each customer. Whether someone wants a tall-nonfat Mocha or a Grande extra shot no foam Mocha Cappucino, the process of designing your drink has endless options. This is highlighted in their commercial.





This commercial takes customers from the beginning process of growing coffee all the way to the process of the barista making a specialized drink for "Sue." Do you think showing the "life of a product" can be effective in making something such as a Starbucks Coffee drink more personalized and special? Or do you think showing all the steps Starbucks takes to ensure the highest quality ingredients for each customer doesn't matter to an individual? If you think it isn't effective how do you think Starbucks should advertise for their new Tribute blend? Any opinions on their new logo?

Engineered for Magic. Everyday.

When car most car manufacturers produce television advertisements, they attempt to capture consumer interest based on one or two factors of competitive advantage. Whether they are promoting performance, safety, styling, or luxury - most constrain their promotion based on what factor separates them from other manufacturers' offerings. 

With over 80 years of specialization performance and speed, Porsche has significant brand equity and does not need to emphasize these aspects of their products as do other manufacturers. In this commercial, Porsche manages to effectively communicate the versatility and usefulness of their vehicles. Essentially, Porsche is suggesting that owners can have their cake, and eat it too! 


Do you think Porsche executes this message of product versatility well?


How could the presentation be improved? 

- Jimmy 

Clean gets dirty? The power of Axe

While searching for beauty commercials I stumbled upon Axe. After viewing a variety of their commercials (and peoples 'remakes' of them) I can see that Axe is marketing sex. This isn't all that surprising considering they're beauty products like body wash and hair gel and that they're competing with Old Spice who's man is constantly shirtless. I haven't actually seen their commercials on tv though so I'm curious as to what channels they target, etc.




What do you think? Is sex just an easy go to marketing tactic? Should they get more creative, or is this working for you? Or maybe it's just funny?

The Power of the Cuteness Factor

This commercial was shown to me a few weeks ago and I couldn't help but feel happy when I saw that adorable white ball of fluff and watched the romantic proposal unfold.




This commercial for Fancy Feast featured the events leading up to a marriage proposal and we saw the preparation that the man went through to get ready to propose. He designs an entire room for the kitten with ramps, play toys and new paint and rug. Finally, we see an adorable persian kitten with a silver heart charm collar inscribed with "Will You Marry Us?" on a pink ribbon. Aww!

Fancy Feast is a gourmet cat food brand designed to be an expression between owner and pet as "a way to say I love you." According to Fancy Feast's Facebook site, "For more than 25 years, Fancy Feast® Gourmet Cat Food has created exquisite expressions of devotion, inspired by the love you have for your cat." This description is similar to a marriage or romantic relationship. It also represents the serious dedication that Fancy Feast has to provide high quality ingredients to the consumers, the cats. This message becomes clear in this engagement commercial when we see the new kitten given as a surprise gift during the proposal and after the woman sees the "marry us" tag, the kitten is given a big serving of fancy feast in a glass dish. The couple is eating from chinese food cartons and isn't moved in yet, hence the boxes all around, but they manage to find a "fancy" dish for the kitten!!

Do you think the idea of a marriage proposal involving a kitten is a good marketing strategy for a cat food brand? Do you think targeting the emotions of consumers can be an effective strategy? Any other thoughts?

The Magic of the iPad 2

Apple's second generation tablet the iPad 2 has been a hit since its debut in mid-March. What is so intriguing about the product isn't what it can do, but what it represents. The magic, beauty and experience all integrated into one unit emits a type of experience that only Apple can claim. The iPad 2 is a mediocre upgrade to the original iPad, which now boasts front and rear facing cameras, thinner and lighter hardware, as well as a faster processor. But Apple wants you to forget everything about the technological aspect of this device, focusing only on the experience, design, and "magic" it creates.

Apple's marketing is something unmatched by its competitors. What once was a "niche" and elite status symbol now represents millions of people on a global scale. The goal behind Apple's success is it's constant mindset that makes you believe you have something so different, so advanced, yet so delightful it attracts customers and makes them believe they are more than simply the owners of a piece of technology, but the owner of something delightful. Although the iPad 2 boasts the same iOS software as the iPod Touch, despite the larger screen it doesn't seem to be hurting Apple in any way.

Has Apple's marketing had any effect on you as a consumer? What makes Apple's products so delightful to you? I would love to hear your input on how Apple has kept you loyal, happy, or dedicated to their products, as well as any negative experiences you might have had!

Musical forest

What a fantastic commercial! At first it seems just like a YouTube video, some guys who went into the forest and are creating this xylophone for fun. And to be honest I thought it was just a YouTube video until the very end when they show the cell phone. And because it uses music notes instead of words, it can be understood by all languages, another bonus for them. Great commercial, only negative is that it is a little long. I don't know how it would work for tv or if it's soley for YouTube. Any thoughts on international commercials?