Week 4 EOC: Role of Women in Contemporary Advertising

This ad for what is seems to be Kellogg's PEP Vitamins. The advertisement portrays a housewife adorned in a cute dress and apron, with her hair done, and her handsome husband in a business suit hugging her, and exclaiming "so the harder a wife works, the cuter she looks!" 

This differs a lot from today's advertisement's featuring women. 

This advertisement is for Nike and features a women appearing strong and in control. The ad shows the shoe in performance and the women being confident in herself. I can tell she is confident because of the fierce intense look on her face. The ad also shows a few empowering terms such as "Free Yourself". The advertisement is empowering and effective for women. 

EOC Week 3

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

The frame shows the actual Camel Lights mascot, Joe Camel, actively smoking. Joe Camel has a look of non-concern on his face as he puffs away on a cigarette.

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

The setting is a beautiful blue sky in the background. Joe Camel is leaning against a cool sports car with sunglasses on as if this is his leisure time. Joe Camel smoking is the center of attention in the ad. The bottom of the ad does feature the small surgeon general warning close to the bottom of the advertisement. The Camel is the center of attention, not the warning.

• 3. Who are the people or groups?

The Camel is depicted as a younger generation: wearing a t-shirt, causal jeans, smoking, driving a cool car, and wearing sunglasses. Camel Light published this advertisement in the late 90’s. From a fashion standpoint the outfit that Joe Camel is wearing a t-shirt and jeans, which were popular for the younger generation at the time. Joe Camel flexes his big muscles as he smokes: embodying “cool,” what every young person aspires to be.

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

The tobacco’s company point of view around this experience is that a cigarette is like an escape. Joe Camel parked his sparkly red sports car to lean against it and enjoy a cigarette on his own time. Even more important is the full pack of cigarettes tucked in-between his shirt and his muscular arm. He always has cigarettes on him. Tobacco companies believe, or want you to believe, that smoking is completely normal and a daily activity.

• 5. What are their goals?

The goals of Camel Lights are to making smoking seem cool, and more than that, normal. Joe Camel casually leans against his car to enjoy a smoke. Joe Camel in my opinion is being portrayed here as a young adult. In essence this advertisement is targeting the younger generation to smoke.

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

The tobacco industries assumptions are that teenagers strive to be as cool as Joe Camel. Their perception of the younger generation is shown through the Camel’s attire and body image. The facial expression and casual nature of the advertisement shows the leisure in smoking cigarettes.

• 7. Are there conflicts? Is there cooperation?

The conflicts are with the health factor of smoking. There is a surgeon general warning on the actual advertisement. People might see this conclude that smoking is cool and they should do it, or they may conclude that smoking is unsafe. Yes, there is cooperation, because people today smoke.

• 8. What are the outcomes?

The outcomes of this advertisement mean an increase in sales of cigarettes and tobacco products. That is the preferred outcome of the tobacco industry, but if anything people will see this and gain brand knowledge and will have had seen the perfect picture painted by Camel Lights. 

EOC Week 2: Three Examples of Questionable Ethics

Sisley is known for creating racy advertisements to promote their brand integrity. This ad is an excellent example of a questionable ethics situation. The advertisement features a woman sitting down with her legs open facing a bull ready to charge in her direction. The photograph is overly sexual and seducing and also very questionable. This ad promotes "sex", as the model is wearing almost none of their clothes. However, advertisements like this can create buzz and put a spotlight on the Sisley brand.

Nova Schin, a brand that produces non-alcoholic beer ran this ad campaign featuring a pregnant model. The ad campaign is extremely controversial and can give off the wrong idea. In the full ad it also features the words "beer belly," while the model is obviously pregnant. Some people believe that this just takes the idea way too far. 

 Gilly Hicks is a lifestyle brand, sharing close ties with its cousin brand Abercrombie & Fitch. This controversial ad pictures a male model holding a book with the title "Gilly Hicks Girls 101." The cheeky ad is very similar to other Gilly Hicks promotions. However, the young model  appearing half nude makes this ad controversial. 

 

About Me

My name is Shyann Desa and I am in the business of Fashion Retail and Management. I chose to study Fashion, because it is a fast-pasted industry that I believe changes every second of the day. I am not your average 'fashion junkie'! Instyle, Glamour, and Vogue magazine subscriptions are a must next to my Transworld Skateboarding and Trasher. I grew up working in skate shops, where I fell in love with menswear and streetwear. To add to my tom-boy personality a normal weekend in my shoes would include drag racing. At age 11 I began drag racing and it has brought constant challenges, struggles, successes, and enjoyable moments to my life.  Recently I have been opened up to a whole new type of fashion: high fashion. I currently work as a personal shopper at Topshop Las Vegas. I love the competitive nature and artistic freedom I am allowed to exercise in my profession. My diverse understanding of the fashion industry, from streetwear to high fashion, is what makes my opinions valuable. Determination and passion are two very strong words to me. In anything that I do my determination to learn and passion to become great is what leads me to succeed.

EOC Week 1: VW Lemon

The ad campaign “Lemon” by Volkswagen is known as one of the greatest advertising achievements.  The campaign was featured in magazines in the 1960’s. “It's the 1960s ad campaign for the Volkswagen Beetle. It, and the work of the ad agency behind it, changed the very nature of advertising, from the way it's created to what you see as a consumer today” (Business Journal).

Volkswagen did something remarkable in 1960 by creating some of the first ads that truly connected with the customer’s emotions. By stating that cars do have flaws and even their cars do, but that they will do whatever it takes to illuminate those, really connect with the customer and makes VW a brand of quality.

“What made the Volkswagen Beetle ad campaign so radical? Ads before it were either information-based and lacking in persuasion, more fantasy than reality, or reliant on the medium's ability to deliver repeated exposure.

Beetle ads, though, connected with consumers on an emotional level, while conveying a product benefit in a way consumers could relate to. Plus, the ads were breathtakingly simple” (Business Journal).

Visually the ad was simple and too the point, featuring just a picture of the classic VW Bug with the word “lemon” in bold and a description following it. The ad described how Wolfsburg inspectors rejected the entire car because of one blemished chrome strip on the dash. “You couldn't help but love a company willing to kid itself in public, and no one responded more to the Beetle or its advertising than America's vaunted "baby boomers." As these children of postwar affluence came of age in the 1960s, they embraced Volkswagens as a way to show rejection of what they saw as the materialism of older generations” (Auto Editors of Consumer Guide). So what’s a Lemon to Volkswagen? They display their commitment to quality in this simple revolutionary ad campaign that states they will “pick out the lemons and give you the plums”.