Final Post

Since I began this blog, I have had my eyes open the world of media and marketing in our current society. The massive amounts of it that we consume everyday is intriguing and something that is worth noting. Media which consists of any type of mass communication is and will most likely be an a very integral part of our society as far as I can tell for a long time.

Media has become a big part of my life. I am constantly online reading articles or some other written work. However, I don't plan on cutting back on the amount of time I spend doing this. As I stated before, media has become an integral part of my life. However I am positive it is not necessary to the way I live and is definitely a luxury. I also noticed that my main source of media is the internet rather than any other form such as magazines and newspapers.

When I do see media, especially in advertisement form, I often am able to pick apart fairly quickly and get at to the core components of how the advertisement works and hopefully will help curb my spending habits. I never really realized the extent of how much effort goes into advertising a project and how effective the advertisements can be in getting you to by something you don't necessarily need. It is also interesting to note the change of marketing since the 40's. Techniques like glittering generalities are much more common than back then which relied heavily on advertising techniques that revolved around the connotations of words.

During this semester, my media consumption increased due to the fact I was having a hard time scraping together media blog posts because I don't magazines nor do I watch television. It's just something that doesn't interest me. This ended me having to start reading more magazines and watch T.V to find commercials to include in the media blog posts. When going through this, I found a very interesting and disturbing commercial but besides it, I found very few exceptional pieces of advertisements.

I believe that media literacy is a great thing to have at your disposal because it allows for more critical thinking in regards to spending habits. Being able to see through ads and not be persuaded by them is a great thing because it leaves room for you to explore other avenues of information gathering of the product. Being able to keep control of your spending is a very important life skill and becomes easier with media literacy.

By keeping this blog, I have learned a ton. It was quite an interesting endeavor and although not the most rewarding, definitely not a waste of time. As I stated before, I feel media literacy is very important and this blog definitely sharpens your skill in that area.

Little Baby's Ice Cream Ad

This commercial has to be the most disturbing piece of advertising possible. The eyes sear into you mind. The level of oddity this commercial brings forth is unparalleled in the advertising world. This ad is attempting to sell ice cream oddly enough. Just the beginning is cringe worthy but then there is more. There is only one advertising technique in this whole ad that I was able to notice as well as an appeal that it used.

The appeals it uses are your physiological needs but barely. The physiological needs are basically negated however in the creepiness of the commercial that definitely ruined my appetite. However it attempts to get to this need because he is eating the ice cream albeit off of himself.

The technique obviously used is gestalt. The entire commercial screams what heck/ oh God why O.o. The fact that the man wearing the ice cream stares at the camera and eats ice cream is disturbing to say the least. I suppose it could be considered humor and wit as well but I fail to see it.

Overall I think this commercial isn't effective. It does attract a ton of attention but it doesn't do much to promote the product, hence the poor effectiveness.

Telefonica Ad

This ad was in a magazine I recently was flipping through. Telefonica is apparently a telecommunications company that's based out of states and as far as I can tell, in either Europe or Latin America. Whats it's trying to sell is its telecommunications services to you. The ad is fairly interesting and caught my eye fairly easily. Advertising needs and techniques are fairly common through this ad.

The needs that this ad addresses are the needs to achieve and  need for autonomy. The need to achieve is that the advertisements states that with them you can improve your business and implies that your business will be really successful. The need for autonomy can be seen in that they state the amount of businesses and people use their service for their business.

The first technique I noticed was the use of gestalt. The rubix cube earth is very interesting and eye catching. This is gestalt because it is oddness of the picture that is selling the ad. However it does state the purpose later in the text talking about transforming the world.

The next technique was the use of bandwagon. They use the bandwagon technique through the fact that they state that they have 280 million customers. They also use the testimonial technique by saying that they were named #1 on Fortune Magazine's Worlds Most Admired Companies.

Overall, this ad was fairly effective. The use of gestalt adds an interesting aspect. The fact that they are a telephone company though is obscured a little to much by the use of gestalt and that is what keeps it from being a great ad.

Acura Ad

I recently came across this car ad in a magazine. The ad is trying to sell the Acura TL which appears to be a luxury mid sized sedan. The car is fairly interesting as well as the boxing glove put above it and is similarly formatted to the Hermes watch ad. This ad in the same sense shares a few of the advertising techniques with the Hermes watch ad.

The needs this ad gets to are the needs for attention and to aggress. The need to aggress is achieved in the ad's text where it states "Aggression in its most elegant form." The need for attention is seen in that the car is portrayed in a very flattering fashion. It also states how elegant the car is.

The first technique I felt that was evident was the was the use of facts and figures. They use facts and figures technique in this ad in that they state a few of the specs on the vehicle like its 305 horsepower engine and 6 speed automatic transmission.

The next technique that was quite obvious was the use of gestalt in that the boxing glove doesn't seem to have any correlation to the vehicle but definitely draws your attention due to how odd it is. The only hint to how it is related is that in the text of the add it states that the car shows your aggressiveness in an elegant form.

Overall this ad is somewhat effective. The use of gestalt is an interesting break away from other advertising techniques. Unfortunately, it only seems to use gestalt and facts and figures rather than incorporate a few more techniques which, in my opinion, would have made it a much better ad.

Hermes Sellier - Hermes Horologer Ad

I recently came across this very odd ad in a magazine. This ad is as far as I cant tell, is trying to sell a watch. The watch model being sold is called the Arceau Grande Lune and currently sells between 5000-6000 dollars. The watch company advertising their project is the a Swiss company which explains the odd title of the ad. Overall, this ad utilizes a few techniques and an appeal.

The appeal that this ad gets to is the appeal to one's need for prominence. This is evident in that Swiss watches are renowned for their craftsmanship. They are also known for being linked to high society and aristocratic life as well as extreme wealth. The fact that the watch being advertised costs around 6,000 dollars should also be noted and helps the appeal to prominence. 

The first technique I noticed was gestalt. I felt that this technique was evident in the random horse in the top picture. It raises the question of what the horse is doing in the ad seeing as it is a watch advertisement. However, the horse actually has a very interesting relevance. After researching the watch a bit more, I found out that it is supposed to be inspired by the hoof shaped portion of the stirrup. The entire watch design was meant to emulate the style in which the Paris Saddle makers produced their saddles.

Overall I feel that this ad is not especially effective. The lack of multiple techniques hinders it although the use of gestalt is used interestingly enough to grab the audiences attention but does nothing to convince the reader to buy the product.

Mercedes Benz Ad

I recently came across this Mercedes Benz ad in a magazine. The advertisement was meant to sell their 2012 SLK car model. In this ad they use multiple techniques and appeal to needs to convince you to purchase the car that a fairly common throughout most ads.

The appeal this ad gets to is the appeal to your need for affiliation. This is seen in that the largest font of the ad is saying that most relationships are made online. They then go on in the smaller font to talk about how you will have a relationship with the road if you purchase their car.

The first technique I noticed was that Avante Garde. This is evident in how the ad states that the SLK is all new. This represents their use of avante garde in that they are suggesting that since it is all new, then when you buy it, you will be the only one.

The second technique I noticed was the use of gestalt. The technique gestalt is used because the way the ad is written is off and odd. It is almost joke, advertising their product as if the car was part of a movie that revolved around your life. It could also be argued that it is using wit and humor to appeal to the person being advertised to. In my opinion it is not because I don't see how it could be funny.

Overall this ad is fairly odd but not in a good way to make it stand out but just seems weird. It seems to be average in effectiveness due to the use of the common techniques and appeals.

RBC Capital Markets Ad

I recently saw this ad in a Bloomberg Markets magazine. After taking a glance at it, I realized just how much could be derived from this simple ad. The business that this advertise is advertising for is the RBC Capital Market Bank which is trying to convince to switch to their banking service. Throughout the ad, there are multiple advertising techniques that are fairly common.

Overall, this ad attempts to work your need to achieve as well as the need for prominence. The appeal to the need to achieve is present when the ad states that "Confidence, the key to success on every course." This reflects the need to achieve in that they later state that you can have confidence when using their banking service. The use of the appeal for prominence is evident in the that it shows a professional golfer.

The first advertising technique I noticed was the use of snob appeal. I saw this in how the picture is that of a pro golfer and the statement that the confidence will win you on any course. They are trying to get at through saying you could be golfing with the same guy if you use their bank because you will become wealthier and then you can do what the guy in the picture does.

The next technique I noticed was the use of testimonial. Although not the typical style of an actual celebrity endorsing the business, it used its status as the official patron of the PGA to acquire the same affect. The fact that they are the patron of the PGA is meant to show their success and how powerful they are, hopefully convincing you that they can be trusted and used as your bank.

Overall I feel that this ad was mediocre. No where near super eye catching or convincing. It just would seem  to be the average ad. They do use a fairly standard tactic in utilizing marketing techniques but in my opinion not enough.