I Am Man- Burger King Ad

Nikki McHale
Blog #3

I chose the Burger King ad for the Texas Double Whopper. The ad shows a man leave an upscale restaurant with his date still at the table to go eat a “real” meal. He sings, “I am man” as a group of other men form behind him and join in the singing. They portray stereotypical man actions such as flexing their muscles and hit each other in the stomach. There is also a part where the men get so riled up they toss a car over a bridge into a dumpster truck while another man in chains strapped to the truck pulls it in order to reach the burger. Also, the only women seen in the ad are in the background and also acting out stereotypical things such as cheerleaders and display girls.

The theme of the ad is very apparent: real men eat real food, meat. And that meat comes from Burger King. The ad is directly targeting men, not women. However, I don’t believe they are saying women don’t eat at Burger King, they are implying that their new burger, the Texas Double Whopper, is specifically for men. They disregard the other competition by saying “chick food” and “keesh” could never fill a man, they need this burger. The ad uses a humorous tone in order to intrigue the audience and keep them watching. The ad also uses music to hook the listener. The song describes what’s in the burger, the name of the burger, and who should eat the burger, and by putting it to music; the audience doesn’t loose attention to that information. If the ad had just listed off the dialogue, the listener might have tuned out, however the song helps keep the interest.

Macy's Commercial

Advertisement: Macy’s Commercial

The advertisement that I chose is a Macy’s commercial that shows several lines created by celebrities. However, the main focal point is model Gabriel Aubry. It depicts new hire Gabriel being led through a Macy’s store. He passes by celebs such as Martha Stewart and Mariah Carey. They ogle him as he walks by.

The commercial continues as Gabriel arrives in the Calvin Klein mens section featuring himself as the model for the line. He turns to see a group of women staring at him. The camera pans to Donald Trump in his own section saying “So very shallow”. The irony is that Donald Trump is standing in front of a life size picture of himself, surrounded by his own line.

This advertisement uses Gabriel Aubry’s physical attractiveness as its attention grabber. Macy’s decision to feature several celebrity lines in this single commercial is also effective. The target audience varies. It appeals to young women with the use of Gabriel Aubry and Mariah Carey. Martha Stewart's collection is associated with mature women. Young and older men are targeted as well with the Calvin Klein and Donald Trump lines. It is also generous in its use of the Macy’s star logo. It begins and ends with it, and shows it four additional times.

The tag line used at the end is "Bringing the stars together - That's the magic of Macy's".

Nike Hyperdunk Commercial

Ian Gulbransen
Blog #2

The advertisement I chose to dissect is for a basketball shoe made by Nike, the Hyperdunk. It starts off by introducing us to Terry (The victim) and we learn that he is at a “Hyperdunk Recovery Center.” He is asked to tell the story of why he is at the center and as he does the commercial begins to flash back and forth from the story being told to the actual event taking place. We are then introduced to Leroy Sharpstein, a young man who Terry had picked on and knew well. Leroy wanted to challenge Terry at a game of street basketball and Terry had no problem with that because he felt Leroy would put up no real fight and that the game was his to win. Minutes into the match however he took notice to the shoes (Nike Hyperdunks) that Leroy was wearing and that the game wasn’t going quite as easy as he had expected. He begun to get distracted by his hunger and fatigue and it happened, Terry got posterized (Dunked on) by Leroy. The most degrading thing that can happen to you on a basketball court took place and Leroy had gotten his revenge on the bully. The Hyperdunks were the difference maker and now Terry is being treated at the center for the humiliation.

This television ad plays to a target market who would understand the humor they use and the reasons they use it. Basketball players understand what it means to be dunked on and anyone who can relate to a guy standing up to a bully and getting his redemption can take away something from this ad as well. The Hyperdunks are front and center for maybe three seconds, but it doesn’t matter because this ad is showing you what these shoes can do for you. The message being that when wearing the Nike Hyperdunks you too can stand up to the bully and win or play basketball on another level than you’re accustomed to. The results are clear, but the strategy Nike is using makes this ad campaign unique.

Nike’s target consumer for the Hyperdunk is basketball players who purchase basketball apparel and footwear. They compete in that market with a number of companies like Adidas and they always stand out because they not only use superstar athletes, but they also tell stories and create a brand experience that basketball junkies get excited about. Nike’s Hyperdunk shoe is the lightest basketball shoe ever made and the R&D that went into it is really amazing, but instead of focusing on these points they decided to concentrate on just giving the consumer a reason why. They delivered on this front and by creating a creative story that infused humor and their product they were able to speak directly with the target market for their shoe. Nike created a campaign around the Hyperdunk that involved many mediums. They used Kobe Bryant in viral videos, created magazine and billboard ads showing the Hyperdunk flying by someone’s shoulders and TV commercials of “real” people using the product. The result of this advertising effort being that they were able to create an overall brand character centered on this shoe and all of the consumer benefits of buying it. This is something that their competitors can rarely duplicate and is what propels Nike’s business.

Nike advertises the brand over the product and the style in which they do so is usually both entertaining and original. This TV spot was no different, plus having it banned from TV didn’t hurt the buzz either.

Fresh Step Scope able Kitty Litter

Blog Assignment #2

Nina Martin

Advertisement: Fresh Step Scope able Kitty Litter

Visual Description of Ad: Background very plain. You can tell it’s supposed to be inside a house. The cat is standing on top of a carpet and in the background is a wood-paneled wall. The only real visual element in the ad is the main character, the cat.

Meaning of the Ad: Your cat, like you, has bodily functions. But unlike you they cannot flush the odors their feces make down the toilet; instead you can use Fresh Step to erase the odor. Main Message: It works so well your cat won’t even be able to smell it.

This item is a low involvement product. It involves little thought, and no emotional feelings as well. But through creative advertising, like Fresh step, a customer is more likely to remember their brand.

Target Market: Cat owner, who uses an indoor cat box

Strategy: Address the issues of a smelly cat box by promising to dismiss odors. Fresh Step has though t about their product in practical terms. It catches the attention and interest of the person reading a magazine, hopefully leading the customer to take action, by purchasing the product. A litter box is a place for a cat to deposit bodily fluids. The actual purpose of the kitty litter is to mask odors and smells while being up to scoop up feces in one clump, erasing the cause of a mess.

Product Benefit & Consumer Benefit: The Product benefit becomes the consumer benefit. No mess, no odor.

Tone: A comical way to look a purchasing an uneventful, everyday product, like kitty litter.

Blog Assignment #1

Justine Salvador
CWID# 805575388

Advertisement: Wrigley's 5 Gum, Mouthwatering Berry

This advertisement is for a new flavor of gum by Wrigley's. Their slogan is "stimulating your senses." The basis of this ad is a woman walking onto a pipe in some type of factory manufacturer place. She is holding a remote and then presses a button and pink juices come flowing out of all of the barrels and come rushing towards her.

This ad is supposed to capture their slogan. Their gum is to stimulate the senses. If you have ever seen any of the other 5 gum ads, all of them have one thing in common. Each one has a main character that is bombarded with some type of stimulation to their senses. This one in particular, the sense that is shown is touch with the rush of the liquid all around her. The strategy to this ad is to create a sensation about how good their product is. All of their commercials convey a similar style and structure. Which is sort of a dark and grungy feeling. They want to make it known that their product is different.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to the blog for Comm 353 at Cal State Fullerton. All semester, students will be blogging about their favorite ads they've found, and talking about why they're successful.