Advertising and Race

It comes as no surprise when concluding that minorities have had either little or negative representation in advertising. The biased portrayal of racial minorities by the media is partly due to the class-based nature of the media. Companies that reach a wide market targeting the middle and lower class will have a tendency to include minorities in their advertisements. Take this Target commercial for example :

The two racially different girls are having fun dancing and decorating their rooms. The message: Target is the place to go for all of your dorm room needs, no matter what your race. Targeted at young girls going to college about the ages 

of 17-25. Now I want to show a contrasting advertisement of a high-end product like Armani to make the difference in ethnic diversity apparent. These are only a few of their ads but I've included a link to a site with all of their other ads, but believe me when I say that there is not racial diversity at Armani. 

Children and Advertising

Children are a part of three distinct consumer markets. First, they have their own money and buy things that are targeted to them. Second, children influence their parents’ spending. Parents give in to influence from kids on many choices. This is known as parental yielding. Lastly, kids grow up and become adults, but they may stay loyal to the brands they loved when they were young. This McDonalds ad addresses two of the three parts of the child’s influence on the market. With the offer of the toy and the general happiness that apparently comes from the McDonalds experience, children prompt their parents to take them to McDonalds and get them a happy meal. Just as important as parental yielding is the focus on the future market by giving children a positive experience at the restaurant resulting in brand loyalty that lasts into adulthood and will hopefully create a cycle in which the adult then brings their children to McDonalds.

            The targeted audience of this commercial is obviously young girls around the ages of 4 to 7, ideally any nationality but honestly, the Barbie is Caucasian and the non Caucasian is barely visible; almost outcast honestly. So with this ad, the audiences most attracted will more then likely be young Caucasian girls.

La Nuit De L'Homme: The First Commercial On This Blog That Made Me Want To Buy

“Now you, too, can woo women with just a sultry look, if you just dab on some La Nuit De L'Homme cologne by Yves Saint Laurent.” This is what the article read following the release of this commercial. This ad is very unique, and significant be it that it stars famous actor Vincent Cassel and is directed by the renowned Darren Aronofsky. The effectiveness of this advertisement resides in its presentation. It isn’t cheap, or vulgar, or aggressive. It’s smooth and entertaining. I loved watching this ad, not because it has a guy getting hit in the balls or hot women with beer, but because it was beautifully made in a way that borders art. This “ad” has a broad audience. Though it looks as though it was made for an upper class society, it’s really for anyone that wants too feel a little fancy and woo the ladies. Also, women will see this beautifully made commercial, and like the Old Spice guy, want their man to smell/be like the man they see in the commercial. Thus this commercial targets both male and female of ages 21-40.

Facebook Ads

Facebook advertisements are interesting to analyze, because it isn’t a matter of asking the typical questions like who is the intended audience. Facebook ads are customized to fit the things that you like. Literally. Every time you click that little thumbs up icon and tell your Facebook community what you like, Facebook records that and makes sure to use that information against you. Take a look at these ads for example:

 

Keyword targeting is perhaps one of the most powerful ways to reach your target audience on Facebook. Say you wanted to promote a new sci-fi movie on Facebook – you could easily target your ad against all users who had placed “Star Wars” or “Star Trek” as interests in their profile. With the ad on the right, this consumer probably "liked" aviator sunglasses on Facebook (since he obviously likes them in reality as well) and because of this he is now subtly plagued with advertisements promoting sunglasses. Will this result in a culture that instead of putting everything out there for all to see(what we have now), becomes introverted because of this invasion of privacy on behalf of advertising agencies. Or will the exact opposite occur. The surrendering of our likes and dislikes to producers giving them all the necessary information to start producing what consumers really want?

Print Ad That Caught My Attention

I really like this print ad primarily for its universal appeal. People of all ages use pencils and chew gum. Granted, this ad is nothing game changing but I wanted to add some variety to the types of ads I use; this being one of the first print ads I’ve talked about. Because it is a print ad I see large change in the dynamic and method of advertising. Its not flashy, but very eye catching, primarily because of the contrast in focus. The most interesting part of this ad is that the product is secondary and placed inconspicuously in the corner. That to me was brilliant. The image in the ad is so cool and captivating yet obscure enough to make a consumer take a second and ask the question, “what is this advertisement trying to sell?”. It makes the consumer seek out the product then take the time to put together the ad and the product to determine the message. It is a was creative way to engage the audience in a way that commercials do, all with a single image.            

Does the ad have any real significant impact on our popular culture? No, but it’s a neat ad with some impressive graphic design that give me this unexplained feeling of expected fun to go with the consumption of this gum.

Women in Sports

In class we discussed how advertising is often skewed in regards to sports and gender. We discussed advertisers tendencies to sexualize women athletes and admire them for their attractiveness rather then their abilities. But this isn’t always true. I believe its all in how the athlete is wiling to portray themselves. Take this ad for example. This is a commercial with Maria Sharapova that acknowledges her beauty but also her amazing athletic abilities.

            This is a very nice commercial. It speaks to a young female demographic, but the universal Nike message speaks to young men as well. This commercial is the direction that advertisers need to take to promote positivity towards female athletes and lessen the objectification that is associated with them. This advertisement’s influence on pop culture is quite positive. It tells girls that there is a healthy balance between outer beauty and athletic success.

Hope: The Obama Ad

I know this is old and almost irrelevant at this point in time, however, I believe this ad is significant enough to be revisited. I wasn’t old enough to vote at the time, but I was old enough to truly grasp the political process unlike years past. For, I saw a message break barriers and make history. It was an entire campaign that revolved around one powerful word, hope. The Obama campaign strategists played it by the book when coming up with this campaign. The image/word was simple, relevant, and competitive. The red, white, and blue tied into the image of a gentle face looking off into the distance with the powerful word hope emanating creates the most important part of political marketing; the trust. It’s an amazing image that warms the heart and pushes “consumers” to believe. These consumers obviously being 18+ Americans, both male and female of all ages and backgrounds (he was running for presidency, he can’t afford not to be completely inclusive).

Hyundai: Where Would We be Without Technological Progression

I like the way that instead of painting a unrealistic picture of what the product could make you (if you drink Dos Equis you could be more like the most interesting man in the world, or if you use Axe body spray girls will disrobe and throw themselves at you) it cleverly tried to point out what life would be like without it. Its subtle enough to where the audience will not take offense to you basically saying “you need this or else!” yet straight forward enough to make the consumer think about what life would be like had no one recognized progression and innovation. Demographically looking at ages 16+, any gender, any ethnicity, and any income because of the great diversity of the actors in the commercial. The advertisement uses the ELM theory because the ad uses peripheral processing, very entertaining to watch and the message is not hidden, it’s spelled out for you.

Never Say No To Panda

Here is another example of a hilarious set of foreign commercials that have made their way to computers around the world. This once again proves the power of a comedy filled advertisement. This advertisement is one of the most versatile in regards to a demographic aim. The use of the cute mascot attracts kids, even parents and the borderline dark humor will be most appreciated by both males and females ages 13-25.  However, to differentiate this post from a past post I’ll includes examples of foreign commercials that do not have the same universal appeal.






The Australian ad is racist. I don’t know if that’s funny in Australia but I GUARENTEE you it would not go over well here. Culture differences I suppose? Now the Japanese one… I don’t even know where to begin. It’s both creepy and confusing. I can’t confirm this but it’s allegedly a commercial for insurance… I know that with out any translation it is almost unfair to judge the ad, but good Lord, the animals instantly grow breasts and a raccoon swings his male genitalia in sync with little red riding hood’s song and dance. There are no words that could clear that up for me. And unfortunately these are the kinds of commercials that lead Americans to unjustly believe that the Japanese are just weird (this is the effect on our popular culture).

Social Learning and Masculinity

During the social reform of the 1960’s, America experienced a rise in violence, political unrest, and a general “decline in public morality”. The masses were said to have learned this behavior through the media, be it that they were in fact the first “TV generation”. What was true then seems just as true now, but with social learning through media becoming the proprietors of the masculine guise embedded into our young men’s heads today.

We can only hope that media does not play the primary role in the exemplification of the “real” man. Ideally a young boy’s (or even girls, for they too have their own idea of what a man should be) first example of a man is his father. The danger lies in a situation where the father is either too preoccupied with work or other activities or simply not present at all in the child’s life. It is at this point the child is forced to seek out the male image, and in a day and age in which youth are more media savvy then ever, the media becomes the one to teach little Johnny what it means to be a man.

Unfortunately, the media often gets it wrong. Prosocial and antisocial behaviors are frequently intertwined and very subjective.  The power rangers exhibited bravery, teamwork, and even ingenuity; all of which can be considered prosocial qualities. However, the leader of the power rangers was always a white male that when faced with adversity used violence to settle ALL disputes. It would have been preposterous for power rangers to negotiate or solve their intergalactic issues diplomatically, because like the film Tough Guise points out, to deviate from the medias image of masculinity is to be considered a “wuss, wimp, fag, or sissy”. There are no homosexual crime fighters, no sensitive male super heros, and at least while I was growing up little to no portrayals of successful men of color. And because of this, we have an epidemic of skewed ideologies pertaining to masculinity.

Liquid Mountaineering

I felt extremely stupid for falling for this, but that’s what makes it a great advertisement. It feels as though one is watching a clip of a documentary you’d find on the discovery channel, but in reality is a commercial for Hi-Tec shoes trying to sell their product to young outdoorsy people. Brilliant! All marketing firms, take out a pen and paper and take notes. This is how advertising should be. It should be so discreet that I can’t tell I’m being sold a product. Require me to look into it, do some research. We are at a point in time where it is part of popular culture to not have all of the answers, because we have the technology (often right in our pockets) to find the answers. It is something that as a generation we almost enjoy (we do it with music, movies, even news). So advertisers should stop underestimating a demographic that is almost too smart for “conventional advertising”, we tend to not pay attention.

Music in Advertising

These series of commercials were extremely popular (at least until they were over done). Why was that? For no other reason then the commercial epitomizes most of the functions of music in advertising. The commercials are entertaining, made even more so by the presence of the catchy music. The music give what would be a series of very obscure commercials some structure, mediating between the disjointed images. Now, the most important function of the music in these commercials especially (since the music is what holds the information the company wants to convey) is the memorability. It serves the purpose of the classic jingle; to stay with you and be that song the consumer finds themselves singing and don’t know why. And with this specific kind of music, the advertising firm is targeting a certain kind of group with a certain kind of lifestyle. This kind of music is kind of hip, kind of goofy, something that would attract a young demographic that is getting out of college and trying to buy a house.


A possible impact that this commercial may have on popular culture is the development of real bands that form and find fame from advertisements. We may be heading toward an era of a decline in underground music and a trend towards commercialization and an attempt to break through from an extreme commercial stand point. 

Ads in Angry Birds

In this post I want to discuss in game advertising like this one here found in a still from the VERY popular game Angry Birds. Now unlike the examples seen in class, this ad is extremely blatant and more importantly annoying. At first I was surprised to see this type of advertising in a day and age where advertising is so well hidden and creative. The examples of in game advertising seen in class were “well hidden” often on in game billboards and banners. I find this specific form of advertising too abrasive. It doesn’t flow, it distracts from the game and it becomes so annoying that it’s angering until the point where the consumer simply ignores it completely.

            So is it affective advertising? Well, sort of. The ads are so non inclusive and distracting that at least for the first couple of weeks you play this game, you cant help but notice the ads. And as far as the effect on popular culture, I believe this trend of blatant in game advertising will lead to a society in which ads in games will be seen as a norm instead of an exception. Now, cell phone popularity is almost universal so a specific demographic is hard to pin when discussing a game such as this. However, we can give it a broad range of ages 12-32; those who are tech savvy enough for smart phones that use them for leisure and not just business.

Fanta: Comedy with an International Reach

The intended audiences are teens, probably between 13-18, possibly even college students because high school was close enough to where these classroom situations are still relatable. I mean, college students still have crazy professors. I know that advertisers often try to localize advertisements because cultural differences are often great. Core values and humor especially, are regularly not universal. However, globalization and the boom of social networking are quickly closing the gap on cultural differences that distance once occupied. 

Now, a commercial that I would never see on television is on my Facebook news feed both entertaining me and doing its job as an advertisement, selling me Fanta. This is the future of advertising. Viral Videos that are so universally entertaining that people seek them out and pass them on with no cost to the company. Localization is important, but it should by no means be the only means of creating advertisements. For even after laughing and walking away from my laptop, I can’t help but want to taste a peach Fanta. Well done Fanta.

The Most Interesting Man in the World

The beer industry is a very competitive market due to huge barriers of entry, and unfathomable amounts of competition, from huge brewery conglomerates to the millions of locally brewed beers around the world. To ensure that one beer is exalted above the rest, companies have invested billions of dollars into beer advertising. America’s funniest and best commercials year after year come from beer companies such as Coors, Budweiser, and Miller. They usually all involve either, being manly, being cool, getting hot (specifically busty) girls, or being extremely humorous (an usually a humor geared towards men). But one company has stood out above the rest in its current marketing campaign combining all of the characteristics previously mentioned.

             Dos Equis newest spokesman is “the most interesting man in the world”. The commercials are the whole package. In regards to the advertising appeals mentioned in class, these commercials cover most of them; sex, guidance, dominance, prominence, attention, and even escape. At this point you should probably watch the add below. Yea, prominence oozes from it, and not even in a blatantly pretentious way! He’s so calm, cool, and collected its funny but so cool at the same time. That’s the way prominence works in commercials, and the reason why celebrities usually are the ones filling this role. Ads that use prominence as a main advertising appeal focus on creating a person or a kind of person they feel they public will want to be. The catch is, the only way to fulfill this wish is to by their product.

            The Dos Equis “Most Interesting Man in the World” is meant to make one laugh, but at the same time point out how awesome he is by listing off all of his amazing feats that the ordinary man could never replicate, however, the one thing anybody can do to be more classy, more appealing, more adventurous, is drink a Dos Equis. Well played Dos Equis, well played.