Bridgestone Tires

Visual Description
Mr. Potato Head is speeding along a curvy mountain roadway in a bright yellow convertible care while Mrs. Potato Head sits in the passenger seat next to him. In an annoying voice, she nags at him saying, “Slow down! Slow down! What’s the hurry? You’re driving like a maniac! Are you listening…are you listening? I can’t stand it when you ignore me! This wind is messing up my hair! Oh don’t give me that look, watch the road!” She screams as Mr. Potato Head approaches a herd of lambs in the road and comes to a screeching halt. Her lips then fly off of her face and out of the car over an embankment. The lips continue to move, nagging and complaining, as they tumble down the rocky mountain side. Unable to continue yelling at Mr. Potato Head, she takes off her eyes and puts on mean eyes instead. He chuckles, pushes his foot back onto the gas pedal and takes off.

Meaning of the Ad
The comical visual appeal of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head quickly catch your attention. Mrs. Potato Head’s constant nagging becomes interactive and when her mouth flies off, as the viewer, you too are relieved. The visual of her face with just a hole where her mouth used to be creates the funny realization that she can no longer talk. Mr. Potato Head laughs along with you and puts his foot back on the accelerator. Mocking the relationship between a man and his wife or girlfriend, the situation is relatable. Bridgestone’s brand statement: “For drivers who want to get the most out of their cars, it’s Bridgestone or nothing”, is clearly conveyed by paralleling it with the idea that “getting the most out of your car” is getting Mrs. Potato Head to finally shut up.

Target Consumer
The target consumer for Bridgestone tires are adult males who own or lease a vehicle. This particular commercial directly addresses male audiences who are old enough to have been in a relationship such as Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. Using such classic figures such as Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, it is assumed the consumer knows who they are. The comical approach helps to reach the younger adult male demographic as well.

Product Benefit
Bridgestone tires will help your car maneuver more effectively.

Consumer Benefit
In order to get the most out of your car, Bridgestone tires are the only option.

Tone and Voice
The brand experience Bridgestone creates is all about the consumer. Having Bridgestone tires gives the consumer the control they want. Bridgestone serves as an assitant or aid to the consumer's vehicle. It is more than a tire, it is a service.

Mr. Potato Head used Bridgestone tires to get Mrs. Potato Head to stop nagging at him. The tires did more than keep his car from slamming into a herd of animals, they helped knock Mrs. Potato Head's lips right off. As Mr. Potato Head laughs and proceeds to accelerate, this time in silence, Bridgestone tires has served its purpose.

I'm Paulina and I'm a PC

Kylie is a 4-and-a-half-year-old PC. This ad is part of the “I’m a PC” campaign that Microsoft has launched to counter-act the PC vs. Mac commercials where Mac shines in comparison to the PC.
The ad shows how easy a PC is to use… it’s so easy, an almost 5-year-old can do it! It does a good job catching attention with a beyond-adorable child that wants to communicate something important to her family. Ease is the only product benefit that the commercial focuses on. The consumer benefit can be interpreted by the viewer: with an easy-to-use PC, the consumer has more time to spend doing other things like spending time with the family, the consumer can create projects faster, or the consumer can just navigate through the technology faster. Although the product benefit focuses on one aspect of the computer, the consumer benefit can be adapted to numerous people, widening the target demographic.
The target demographic for this ad is anyone and everyone that has even thought about buying a computer. When something is marketed as “easy,” especially so easy that a four-and-a-half-year-old could do it, it’s meant for everyone. If a child so young can do it, a baby boomer who has only ever seen a computer can do it.
The PC tone is a welcoming one. Its campaign says that anyone can use a PC and invites everyone to do so. This works off of the HP campaign that asks “What Do You Have to Say?” In that campaign, HP used celebrities to show the variety of ways the HP could be used. Here, the PC offers various characters to show diversity, allowing it to fit into various lifestyles.
However, although this commercial offers more personality to Microsoft, it seems as though this campaign was launched to counter-act Mac’s campaign. In a way, it’s trying to save face and rebuild the brand. Although the company should be supporting its latest pushes into the future, taking a step back and trying to reaffirm itself in the market is probably a good idea for the time being.

Paulina Swiatkowski

Music that Makes You: Grammy Awards

Visual

   The 30 second TV ad begins with a multicolor picture of the iconic phonograph trophy issued to Grammy winners. Then in a split second the phonograph explodes into many different titles of songs. As the song titles fall, flutter, and twirl from many different perspectives, Thom Yorke's voice, of the critically acclaimed rock band Radiohead, begins to talk about David Bowie's Ashes to Ashes video being, "the craziest thing he had ever seen". As he continues describing the event in which had inspired him to become what he is today, a portrait of his visage is created out by flying titles of previous songs that have influenced him throughout his career. Throughout the 30 second slot a soft melody of Radiohead's own song is playing in the background. Next to the portrait of Yorke is the phrase "celebrate the music that makes us". Ending the visually stimulating commercial is the date, time and place reminder of where the Grammy celebration will be showing.

Target Audience

   Due to the fact that music is such a broad spectrum, the target audience in this case would be a wide rage of music listeners and followers between the ages of 18-34.

Product Benefit/Emotional Benefit:

   The Grammy Awards have always been a critically acclaimed association dedicated in recognizing the utmost outstanding in the recording business. Instead of the commercial focusing on the ability of the musician to create good music, the commercial flips the idea around and focuses on the music that creates a great musician. In a sense, giving the understanding that anyone can have influences that make them who they are today. This way humanizing the idol portrayed on the screen.

   The commercial in a simplistic way reaches out to its audience by associating them to the idealistic musician on the screen (Thom Yorke). In a sense creating the idea that the musician (Thom Yorke) is like any other person that can have those "remembered times" when music influenced them. In the end, not only are the Grammy's going to just recognize unattainable musical idols, but also regular people who where impacted by the music that people like you and I heard and where influenced as well. The audience believes that they can connect to the musical artist that will be at the Grammy event, due to the understanding that they too have been molded into the person they are today by music they have listed to.

Tone/ Voice :

   In this case the commercials nostalgic interpretation of the musicians experience to explain the music that made him, builds on the brands (The Grammy's) already established mission statement of continuing to "positively impact the lives of musicians, industry members and our society at large."